Any pcb layout programs allow you to import jpeg image as ba

[joe]

Why would I want to do that you ask? Well, I want to create a pcb
board from artwork in magazines (and modify them). It would help
greatly if I scanned the artwork, then import it as a background image
to help me line up the traces and parts. My layout program can't do
it, and I can't seem to find a demo of a layout program that gives
that option.

joe

 

[Leon Heller]

"joe" <hiddenvalleyelectronics@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:8fa37d61.0308220931.58e4bc68@posting.google.com...

Why would I want to do that you ask? Well, I want to create a pcb
board from artwork in magazines (and modify them). It would help
greatly if I scanned the artwork, then import it as a background image
to help me line up the traces and parts. My layout program can't do
it, and I can't seem to find a demo of a layout program that gives
that option.

You won't find a PCB layout program that will do this. The best they can do
(some of them) is import a Gerber file that may then be edited.

Leon
--
Leon Heller, G1HSM
leon_heller@hotmail.com
http://www.geocities.com/leon_heller

 

[Wouter van Ooijen (www.vo]

Why would I want to do that you ask? Well, I want to create a pcb
board from artwork in magazines (and modify them). It would help
greatly if I scanned the artwork, then import it as a background image
to help me line up the traces and parts. My layout program can't do
it, and I can't seem to find a demo of a layout program that gives
that option.

I use eagle and used one of the ulp scripts provided with it to get a
gif image of a wasp onto my PCB (on the silkscreen in this case, but
that's just a matter of choosing the layer). But note that it is
imported as a bunch of dots.


Wouter van Ooijen

-- ------------------------------------
http://www.voti.nl
PICmicro chips, programmers, consulting

 

[AtPCLogic]

Subject: Any pcb layout programs allow you to import jpeg image as
background?
From: hiddenvalleyelectronics@yahoo.com (joe)
Date: 8/22/03 1:31 PM Eastern Daylight Time
Message-id: <8fa37d61.0308220931.58e4bc68@posting.google.com

Why would I want to do that you ask? Well, I want to create a pcb
board from artwork in magazines (and modify them). It would help
greatly if I scanned the artwork, then import it as a background image
to help me line up the traces and parts. My layout program can't do
it, and I can't seem to find a demo of a layout program that gives
that option.

joe

Neat idea..... scaling might be problematic, but a clever way to enter a
layout....

Cheers,
Brad
PC Logic

Schematic entry and PCB design software
http://www.pclogic.biz
http://members.aol.com/atpclogic/index.html

 

[Don Lancaster]

joe wrote:

Why would I want to do that you ask? Well, I want to create a pcb
board from artwork in magazines (and modify them). It would help
greatly if I scanned the artwork, then import it as a background image
to help me line up the traces and parts. My layout program can't do
it, and I can't seem to find a demo of a layout program that gives
that option.

joe

Adobe Streamline?
--
Many thanks,

Don Lancaster
Synergetics 3860 West First Street Box 809 Thatcher, AZ 85552
voice: (928)428-4073 email: don@tinaja.com fax 847-574-1462

Please visit my GURU's LAIR web site at http://www.tinaja.com

 

[DarkMatter]

On 22 Aug 2003 10:31:42 -0700, hiddenvalleyelectronics@yahoo.com (joe)
Gave us:

Why would I want to do that you ask? Well, I want to create a pcb
board from artwork in magazines (and modify them). It would help
greatly if I scanned the artwork, then import it as a background image
to help me line up the traces and parts. My layout program can't do
it, and I can't seem to find a demo of a layout program that gives
that option.

joe

PCB layouts are made from schematics, and PCB layout software is
keyed toward that end. You will not find ANY package that takes line
art bitmaps, and makes layouts from them. It is a silly concept.

If you want to copy a PCB from a mag, get a REAL layout package ,
and place the part package pads or vias, and draw the traces. The
experience from that practice alone is much more valuable than taking
some photo layout and moving pads around to specific pad centers for a
chip layout. IN fact, it sounds like it would take much longer than
standard throw it down, and tie the pins together layouts.

The best package for hand layout of 6 layers or less IMO, is called
Tango PCB. It may even do 8 layers.. I have never needed to know.

It has limited printing capability, but is a VERY precise layout
package. It is also out of "print", as in not available, and not
supported. I wish there was a Linux hack of it or something.

Anyway, I don't think that you\ll find what you are looking for, and
that you'd get more meaningful experience from laying out yourself
from the picture even, than some "import" feature. It really is quite
easy.

 

[Hal Murray]

PCB layouts are made from schematics, and PCB layout software is
keyed toward that end. You will not find ANY package that takes line
art bitmaps, and makes layouts from them. It is a silly concept.

I'd expect many packages will have some way to get art work onto the
silk screen layer for logos.

If the package doesn't support it directly but does have a scripting
input to draw lines, you can write some code to turn the raw bit map
into lines and format the output into the scripting language. It will
be verbose, but might get the job done.

--
The suespammers.org mail server is located in California. So are all my
other mailboxes. Please do not send unsolicited bulk e-mail or unsolicited
commercial e-mail to my suespammers.org address or any of my other addresses.
These are my opinions, not necessarily my employer's. I hate spam.

 

[joe]

"Leon Heller" <leon_heller@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:<3f465e73$0$13637$cc9e4d1f@news.dial.pipex.com>...

"joe" <hiddenvalleyelectronics@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:8fa37d61.0308220931.58e4bc68@posting.google.com...
Why would I want to do that you ask? Well, I want to create a pcb
board from artwork in magazines (and modify them). It would help
greatly if I scanned the artwork, then import it as a background image
to help me line up the traces and parts. My layout program can't do
it, and I can't seem to find a demo of a layout program that gives
that option.

You won't find a PCB layout program that will do this. The best they can do
(some of them) is import a Gerber file that may then be edited.

Leon

But I see pcb boards with graphics on them all the time, fancy logos,
pictures etc. How do they do that? They must be importing some type
of image... bmp, gif or whatever on the silkscreen layer. Mind you, I
will be using the jpeg image only as a guide. The layout itself will
be created using the standard manual pick and place and routing
features of the layout program. When done, the jpeg (i.e., silkscreen
image) will be deleted.

 

[nospam]

hiddenvalleyelectronics@yahoo.com (joe) wrote:

Why would I want to do that you ask? Well, I want to create a pcb
board from artwork in magazines (and modify them). It would help
greatly if I scanned the artwork, then import it as a background image
to help me line up the traces and parts.

I am not aware of any PCB CAD which allows this.

An alternative which most will support is importing the image as PCB
primitives on spare layers which can be deleted after 'tracing'.

There is a free tool here

http://www.wburrows.demon.co.uk/softsoft/wintopo/index-free.htm

which claims to convert various bit mapped graphics formats to various
vector formats including Autocad DXF.

So maybe you are looking for a PCB package which supports DXF import. Or
maybe you can find a gerber tool that will import DXF and export gerber.

I am sure it can be done, I am also pretty sure it will be troublesome
(file format conversion and import/export seem to be universally flakey).

 

[Active8]

In article <h8rdkvgv9f1p9aj654lhermkpque4evoit@4ax.com>,
nospam@nospam.invalid says...

hiddenvalleyelectronics@yahoo.com (joe) wrote:

Why would I want to do that you ask? Well, I want to create a pcb
board from artwork in magazines (and modify them). It would help
greatly if I scanned the artwork, then import it as a background image
to help me line up the traces and parts.

I am not aware of any PCB CAD which allows this.

An alternative which most will support is importing the image as PCB
primitives on spare layers which can be deleted after 'tracing'.

There is a free tool here

http://www.wburrows.demon.co.uk/softsoft/wintopo/index-free.htm

which claims to convert various bit mapped graphics formats to various
vector formats including Autocad DXF.

thanks for the link. i'll check it out.

dxf is what i was thinking, but i couldn't do it since my dxf file is of
a 3D design.

Autocad has an optional package called Overlay which is used to import
things like aerial photos or map images into Autocad. saved as a dxf
file, you could import it into a layout program, perhaps.

mike

So maybe you are looking for a PCB package which supports DXF import. Or
maybe you can find a gerber tool that will import DXF and export gerber.

I am sure it can be done, I am also pretty sure it will be troublesome
(file format conversion and import/export seem to be universally flakey).

 

[Roy Battell]

In article <8fa37d61.0308220931.58e4bc68@posting.google.com>, joe
<hiddenvalleyelectronics@yahoo.com> writes

Why would I want to do that you ask? Well, I want to create a pcb
board from artwork in magazines (and modify them). It would help
greatly if I scanned the artwork, then import it as a background image
to help me line up the traces and parts. My layout program can't do
it, and I can't seem to find a demo of a layout program that gives
that option.

joe

Vutrax has a free add-on option for the Windows version that can
convert line drawings Windows Bitmap format to Vutrax format vectors
for import into any Vutrax Schematic, PCB or general diagram.
It on the web site in [Vutrax Interfaces] in the [Downloads] section
and is called 'Bitmap to Vutrax Vector Converter'.
You will have to use Paintshop Pro or similar to prepare your
image as a monochrome bitmap.
If you move the imported image onto a convenient spare layer you can
use it as a 'ghost' for your real artwork.

Vutrax is free up to 256 pins (The ghost image not counting) at
either of
http://www.vutrax.co.uk (Main UK site for Vutrax CAD)
http://www.protonique.com/vutrax (Central Europe Mirror)

--
Roy Battell.
To use this address remove the digits included to remove Spam ...
Mail: news@vutrax666.co.uk

 

[Active8]

In article <MPG.19b0cff1181075739897f7@news.east.earthlink.net>,
mcolasono@earthlink.net.invalid says...

In article <h8rdkvgv9f1p9aj654lhermkpque4evoit@4ax.com>,
nospam@nospam.invalid says...
hiddenvalleyelectronics@yahoo.com (joe) wrote:

Why would I want to do that you ask? Well, I want to create a pcb
board from artwork in magazines (and modify them). It would help
greatly if I scanned the artwork, then import it as a background image
to help me line up the traces and parts.

I am not aware of any PCB CAD which allows this.

An alternative which most will support is importing the image as PCB
primitives on spare layers which can be deleted after 'tracing'.

There is a free tool here

http://www.wburrows.demon.co.uk/softsoft/wintopo/index-free.htm

which claims to convert various bit mapped graphics formats to various
vector formats including Autocad DXF.

thanks for the link. i'll check it out.

that works well. vectorized an image to dxf that opened in layout. all
you have to do is modify the ini files to get it on the right layer.

wow. i thought cd business cards were cool. but aside from simple images
on the board, in a place where they're not obscured by parts, big deal.
good way to copy artwork, though. too bad capture doesn't import dxf. it
would beat having to have a printout. you could just do a side by side
on a large sheet, delete the vector image, and reduce the drawing size.

tnx again,
mike

dxf is what i was thinking, but i couldn't do it since my dxf file is of
a 3D design.

Autocad has an optional package called Overlay which is used to import
things like aerial photos or map images into Autocad. saved as a dxf
file, you could import it into a layout program, perhaps.

mike

So maybe you are looking for a PCB package which supports DXF import. Or
maybe you can find a gerber tool that will import DXF and export gerber.

I am sure it can be done, I am also pretty sure it will be troublesome
(file format conversion and import/export seem to be universally flakey).

 

[Dana Raymond]

An interesting thought came to mind. Are you trying to make it easier to
copy an existing PCB by 'redrawing' it? Drawing over the background with new
primitives?

Thats a clever way to import a PCB into a new layout package, but is
unlikely to work for anything other than the smallest PCBs with the loosest
routing rules, due to the limitation of graphic file size and resolution.

Good example of lateral (instead of linear) thinking though!

Dana Frank Raymond

"Frank Bemelman" <bemelmanx@euronet.nl.invalid> wrote in message
news:3f471f88$0$28896$1b62eedf@news.euronet.nl...

"joe" <hiddenvalleyelectronics@yahoo.com> schreef in bericht
news:8fa37d61.0308220931.58e4bc68@posting.google.com...
Why would I want to do that you ask? Well, I want to create a pcb
board from artwork in magazines (and modify them). It would help
greatly if I scanned the artwork, then import it as a background image
to help me line up the traces and parts. My layout program can't do
it, and I can't seem to find a demo of a layout program that gives
that option.

For Protel there is a seperate utility 'bmp2pcb.exe' which converts
for instance your company logo into a collection of 4 mil wide
lines, and then you can place it anywhere on your PCB. It works
very well, but in my case the logo consists of some 700 primitives,
as there are lot of circles and characters in it.

I don't know what happens when you 'bitmap' an entire PCB and convert
it. Although you can set the coarse, the width of lines into which
it gets converted, there is no easy way to scale it. You would have
to resize your original bitmap, to get the final sizes correct.
You would end up with a collection of tens of thousands primitives.
Protel may choke on that, for instance when I move my logo around,
the screen-refresh is really going nuts for some seconds.

--
Thanks,
Frank Bemelman
(remove 'x' & .invalid when sending email)

 

[Active8]

In article <h3R1b.11622$y52.372385@twister.austin.rr.com>,
draymond@austin.rr.com says...

An interesting thought came to mind. Are you trying to make it easier to
copy an existing PCB by 'redrawing' it? Drawing over the background with new
primitives?

Thats a clever way to import a PCB into a new layout package, but is
unlikely to work for anything other than the smallest PCBs with the loosest
routing rules, due to the limitation of graphic file size and resolution.

yeah. i did a web page background like that. took a picture of a
Trilithic Tricorder SLM and drew an outline on a separate layer in PSP.

but he doesn't have to do it 1:1 ... if he sets the grid and snap
options right and uses good parts. the image would just be used as a
reference which might be easier than looking back and forth from
magazine to screen.

mike

Good example of lateral (instead of linear) thinking though!

Dana Frank Raymond

"Frank Bemelman" <bemelmanx@euronet.nl.invalid> wrote in message
news:3f471f88$0$28896$1b62eedf@news.euronet.nl...
"joe" <hiddenvalleyelectronics@yahoo.com> schreef in bericht
news:8fa37d61.0308220931.58e4bc68@posting.google.com...
Why would I want to do that you ask? Well, I want to create a pcb
board from artwork in magazines (and modify them). It would help
greatly if I scanned the artwork, then import it as a background image
to help me line up the traces and parts. My layout program can't do
it, and I can't seem to find a demo of a layout program that gives
that option.

For Protel there is a seperate utility 'bmp2pcb.exe' which converts
for instance your company logo into a collection of 4 mil wide
lines, and then you can place it anywhere on your PCB. It works
very well, but in my case the logo consists of some 700 primitives,
as there are lot of circles and characters in it.

I don't know what happens when you 'bitmap' an entire PCB and convert
it. Although you can set the coarse, the width of lines into which
it gets converted, there is no easy way to scale it. You would have
to resize your original bitmap, to get the final sizes correct.
You would end up with a collection of tens of thousands primitives.
Protel may choke on that, for instance when I move my logo around,
the screen-refresh is really going nuts for some seconds.

--
Thanks,
Frank Bemelman
(remove 'x' & .invalid when sending email)

 

[Frank Bemelman]

"Dana Raymond" <draymond@austin.rr.com> schreef in bericht
news:h3R1b.11622$y52.372385@twister.austin.rr.com...

An interesting thought came to mind. Are you trying to make it easier to
copy an existing PCB by 'redrawing' it? Drawing over the background with
new
primitives?

Thats a clever way to import a PCB into a new layout package, but is
unlikely to work for anything other than the smallest PCBs with the
loosest
routing rules, due to the limitation of graphic file size and resolution.

Good example of lateral (instead of linear) thinking though!

Well, for the few old PCB's I have ever imported to Protel, I simply
re-entered the entire schematic, and did a new layout, copying it
from the old one, just by looking at it. Nothing bigger than a
two-layer 6" x 10", and a pretty boring job.

--
Thanks,
Frank Bemelman
(remove 'x' & .invalid when sending email)

 

[DarkMatter]

On 22 Aug 2003 21:18:10 -0400, DJ Delorie <dj@delorie.com> Gave us:

Define "precise", compared to the generic layout parameters ? Does it
handle 0.0001" accuracy or something?

We do 0402 SMD layouts with it all the time.

 

[joe]

A E <aeisenhut@videotron.ca> wrote in message news:<3F482050.F8F40253@videotron.ca>...

Leon Heller wrote:

"joe" <hiddenvalleyelectronics@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:8fa37d61.0308220931.58e4bc68@posting.google.com...
Why would I want to do that you ask? Well, I want to create a pcb
board from artwork in magazines (and modify them). It would help
greatly if I scanned the artwork, then import it as a background image
to help me line up the traces and parts. My layout program can't do
it, and I can't seem to find a demo of a layout program that gives
that option.

You won't find a PCB layout program that will do this. The best they can do
(some of them) is import a Gerber file that may then be edited.

Pantheon does it.

How, which command?

 

[Donald J. Miller]

Circad has a "reverse engineering" mode which lets you import a BMP file as
a background that you can trace over while doing your layout. There are
program features that let you scale the BMP image appropriately on both
axis.

Info is available at www.holophase.com

 

[John Larkin]

On Mon, 25 Aug 2003 00:23:48 GMT, "Donald J. Miller"
<donmillerNOSPAM@mindspring.com> wrote:

Circad has a "reverse engineering" mode which lets you import a BMP file as
a background that you can trace over while doing your layout. There are
program features that let you scale the BMP image appropriately on both
axis.

Info is available at www.holophase.com

Funny, I could almost swear that somebody recently said...

"PCB layouts are made from schematics, and PCB layout software is
keyed toward that end. You will not find ANY package that takes line
art bitmaps, and makes layouts from them. It is a silly concept."

John

 

[DJ Delorie]

DarkMatter <DarkMatter@thebarattheendoftheuniverse.org> writes:

We do 0402 SMD layouts with it all the time.

Pardon my not being impressed, but, so what? They're still far bigger
than the one mil resolution of even cheap layout programs.

My original question was: what is different about that layout program
that makes it "more precise" to you?