I'm making a 4 layer board, with ground on one of the inner layers, as usual. I would like to keep the digital and analog grounds logically separate, although they of course connect on the PCB, and the standard solution to this is a net tie component, which allows me to connect the nets exactly where I choose to.
My problem is that while the newer KiCad versions (I'm using 5.1.5) finally officially support net ties, there is no obvious way to place the tie on an inner layer. I wouldn't want to bring my ground to the front via vias (no pun intended [2]) and back again just to satisfy a DRC rule by tying them on an outer layer.
So the question: how can I place a net-tie in KiCad on an inner layer? "Official" solutions are preferred, but workarounds and hacks are also welcome. I would really like for the final solution to pass DRC though, and even better if the net tie itself is not DRC exempt [1].
[1] In earlier KiCad version, the net tie you could make yourself was based on the DRC not noticing graphic polygons, which would make the tie pass DRC. However, as a side effect if you happened to pass another track through the graphic polygon of the tie, that wouldn't get picked up by DRC either, so extra manual checking was needed.
[2]
pun indented
Best Answer
Sadly version 5 (and earlier) rely on a workaround for making net ties. This workaround as you noticed relies on footprint pads plus graphic elements on copper. Sadly there is no way to get such a pad to an inner layer.
Version 6 (planned to be released within a year or two from now) will most likely have a direct net tie tool that will not be limited this way.