Optimal

The Optimal tool finds the smallest distance between two copper features in a Gerber object. Use it to choose the tool diameter for isolation or copper clearing. It also shows how often that minimum occurs and where.

Where to find it

• Menu: Plugins > Optimal.
• Keyboard: Alt+O.
• The panel opens in a tab next to Project and Properties. The tab shows the plugin name.

Quick start

1. Load a Gerber object with copper features.
2. Press Alt+O to open the tool.
3. In Source Object, select the Gerber object.
4. Keep Precision at 4, or set the number of decimals.
5. Click Find Minimum.
6. Read the Determined value. Use a tool with a diameter at or below this value for isolation.
7. Read Occurring to see how many times the minimum is found.

Screenshot placeholder: images/Optimal-1.png — the Optimal panel with the Determined value, Occurring count and the Minimum points coordinates text.

Parameters

Source Object

Parameter	Description	Default
GERBER combo box (Source Object)	The Gerber object to evaluate. Only Gerber objects are accepted.	—

Parameters

Parameter	Description	Default
Precision	The number of decimals kept for the found distances. Range 2 to 10. Wraps around at the limits.	4

Minimum distance

Parameter	Description	Default
Determined	The safe minimum distance, in mm (or inch in an inch project). It is the minimum found, minus one unit of the last decimal place. Read only.	—
Occurring	How many times the minimum distance is found. Read only.	—
Minimum points coordinates (checkbox)	Shows the coordinates of the points where the minimum was found.	Off
Points text box	Lists the coordinates as x, y lines, one line per point. Read only. Shown when the checkbox is on.	—
Jump to selected position	Moves the view to the point on the line you select in the text box. Enabled after a search.	Disabled

Other distances

Parameter	Description	Default
Other distances points coordinates (checkbox)	Shows the other distances and their points.	Off
Gerber distances text box	Lists the other distances from the smallest to the largest. The absolute minimum is not listed. Read only.	—
Points coordinates text box	Lists the coordinates for the selected distance. Read only.	—
Jump to selected position	Moves the view to the point on the selected line. Enabled after a search.	Disabled

Buttons

Button	Description	Default
Find Minimum	Starts the search on the selected Gerber object. It runs in a background job.	—
Reset Tool	Clears the results and resets Precision.	—

Advanced

• How the search works. The tool takes the valid copper shapes from all apertures of the Gerber object. It merges them into one geometry. Then it measures the gaps between neighboring shapes. The minimum and its count are exact. The tool does not check every pair of shapes, because that is slow on large boards.
• Safe value. The Determined value is the minimum minus 10 to the power of minus Precision. This makes the value safe for isolation. If the result is 0 or less, the tool shows "Could not find a safe tool diameter."
• One shape. If the object has one polygon or none, the tool shows an error. There are no distances to find.
• Non-Gerber objects. The tool refuses Excellon and Geometry objects.
• Abort. A running search can be aborted with the normal abort of the app.
• Preferences. The saved precision is tools_opt_precision, default 4.
• Tcl. There is no Tcl command for this tool.

See also

• Isolation Routing — use the Determined value to choose the tool.
• Non-Copper Clearing — clearing uses a tool diameter too.
• Gerber Object
• Object Distance — measure the distance between two objects.
• Tools Database