15 Apr
2008
15 Apr
'08
8:50 p.m.
On Apr 15, 2008, at 9:30 PM, Eric Smith wrote:
I missed the original post somehow, but I work with Gerber files
extensively and can probably help here.
FWIW, I generate Gerber files all the time using free software
under UNIX. I use gEDA for schematic capture and PCB for PCB layout
and gerber file generation. PCB is separate from gEDA, but it's
distributed with gEDA due to significant developer overlap. I use
this suite for personal stuff as well as commercial designs.
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire
Port Charlotte, FL
Everyone seems
to want Gerbers, but without documenting exactly what
they are. I found a PDF describing "RS-274X", which appears to be
most
of it, but there are lots of conventions it doesn't describe.
That's the spec. What is missing? The Wikipedia page has useful
links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerber_File
You also need an Excellon drill file:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excellon
I've found indications that there exists some
open-source
software, but
extracting documentation from code is a mess.
I dunno about extracting documentation, but gEDA is purportedly useful
for doing board layout.