FW: Gerber help sought

-----Original Message----- From: cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org [mailto:cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of der Mouse Sent: Tuesday, April 15, 2008 8:45 PM To: cctalk at classiccmp.org Subject: Gerber help sought Prompted by my latest project (a cable pinout sensor - just plug a cable into it and you get the pinout), I want to look into the possibility of having one-off PC boards made. 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. I've found indications that there exists some open-source software, but extracting documentation from code is a mess. I'm going to be asking various people whose addresses I've found in various places. But you people are documentation packrats, so I'm asking here as well: anyone have any such doc? /~\ The ASCII der Mouse \ / Ribbon Campaign X Against HTML mouse at rodents.montreal.qc.ca / \ Email! 7D C8 61 52 5D E7 2D 39 4E F1 31 3E E8 B3 27 4B -----REPLY----- Hi, I recently had to do something very similar. Maybe I can help you with Gerber file generation. I have recently designed a PCB version of my Z80 home brew computer using a free/open source EDA program called KiCad. The latest version is excellent and now includes an autorouter & optimizer for PCBs. Get the latest versions from the sourceforge site as the "stable" version is pretty stale, I think. Linux and Windows versions are available. http://www.lis.inpg.fr/realise_au_lis/kicad/ It uses the awesome free PCB routing tool at: http://freerouting.net I have an example circuit board up on my project site. http://groups.google.com/group/n8vem The gerber files are bundled in the ZIP file. KiCad includes a gerber file viewer utility. KiCad and freerouting.net are a great combination and are easy to use and learn. I was able to learn the program from a total cold start to nearly complete project (schematic, PCB layout, part selection, routing traces, gerber file creation, drill file, etc) in just a few days. My plan is to have the PCBs made at (they seem pretty inexpensive, if there are cheaper / better options available, I would like to hear them) https://www.barebonespcb.com/!BB1.asp Thanks and good luck! Andrew Lynch PS, if there are any experienced CCTALK veterans who'd like to review & critique my home brew Z80 SBC design, I would much appreciate your comments. I have completed PCB routing & optimization but haven't placed the order yet. A little peer review from knowledgeable person(s) would definitely be a big help. I'd rather find the faults *before* the boards a cut!