Catch clearance risks before they become real failures
In PCB development, it is easy to focus on routing, performance, and manufacturability. But for safety-critical designs, one of the most important questions is whether conductive elements are actually far enough apart. This is exactly where Hazard Analysis in PCB-Investigator adds real engineering value.
The plug-in generates a comprehensive risk assessment in just seconds and highlights potential short-circuit areas directly in the layout. It does more than check obvious copper spacing: it also evaluates board edge distances, uncoated drill holes, and indentations that are often overlooked in manual reviews.
Why this matters in real projects
Electrical safety is not only about nominal geometry on the screen. Leakage currents, solder balls, and even tiny metal particles can create a failure mechanism when exposed copper is too close to other conductive structures. Standards such as DIN EN 60664 / VDE 0110, IPC-2221A, and UL60950-1 define the clearance requirements that help prevent these risks.
Hazard Analysis supports this work by making critical spacing issues visible early in the design cycle. That means fewer surprises during design review, prototype validation, and production release.
Built for engineering workflows
For engineers and technical decision-makers, the key benefit is speed with context. The tool automatically calculates the shortest distances between conductive parts and supports a detailed view of exposed copper areas that may be too close for comfort.
Minimum clearance values and filter criteria are fully customizable, so teams can align the analysis with internal design rules, application-specific safety targets, or customer requirements.
When safety margins are visible in CAD, they are much easier to control before they become costly corrections.
What you gain
- Faster identification of potential short-circuit hotspots
- Better visibility into edge, hole, and copper clearance risks
- More confidence in standards-oriented design decisions
- Flexible analysis settings for different workflows
If you are working on dense layouts or safety-sensitive electronics, Hazard Analysis is worth a closer look. Learn more and see how PCB-Investigator helps you remove risk earlier: https://www.pcb-investigator.com/en/features/developer-tools/hazard-analysis/
