I need to know how to route multiple instances of the same components in the
same way in order to save time and make a good looking board.
I am building a board to drive two bipolar stepper motors. I am using an
L298 and an 8 diode array for each motor. I did the schematic and board
layout for the first motor to my satisfaction, and went to do the second
motor driver.
For the schematic, I copied and pasted the L298 and diodes, in fact the
whole arrangement, wires and all. The program properly gave new names to
the components and there it was, two identical motor drivers with proper
names for the components.
Here is the problem. When I went to do the board layout, the components
were scattered off the edge of the board, and I had to manually place them.
OK so far. BUT, I had to manually route the airwires to get it to look the
same as the first driver.
Is there a way to automatically, using "copy" or some other technique, to
make the second driver route and look the same as the first? I realize that
it is just an aesthetic thing where small boards are concerned, but for more
complex systems it would be useful, especially if, for instance, I was doing
eight drivers instead of just two!