GerbTool Panelize Question

[Active8]

What's the best way to panelize different designs in GerbTool
without fouling things up? I'd just use gerbmerge, but it chokes on
Layout's gerbers. Bummer, eh?

TIA
--
Best Regards,
Mike

 

[qrk]

On Sat, 28 Feb 2004 11:01:37 GMT, Active8
<mTHISREMOVEcolasono@earthlink.net,invalid> wrote:

What's the best way to panelize different designs in GerbTool
without fouling things up? I'd just use gerbmerge, but it chokes on
Layout's gerbers. Bummer, eh?

TIA

Most important, you need to manually set up your apertures for your
Layout design. All your designs need to use the same aperture list.
All designs must use the same precision. You should probably use a
274-D Gerber format. In the past, I have had problems with Layout
obeying an aperture list when it comes to vias. Perhaps they fixed
this, but I doubt it since the Orcad folks seemed uninterested in this
bug.

Mark

 

[Active8]

On Mon, 01 Mar 2004 19:41:26 -0800, qrk wrote:

On Sat, 28 Feb 2004 11:01:37 GMT, Active8
mTHISREMOVEcolasono@earthlink.net,invalid> wrote:


What's the best way to panelize different designs in GerbTool
without fouling things up? I'd just use gerbmerge, but it chokes on
Layout's gerbers. Bummer, eh?

That's fixed now, but I'm still interested in what you had to say.
Thanks for the reply.

TIA

My reader's messing with me again. Didn't see your reply until

today.

Most important, you need to manually set up your apertures for your
Layout design.

LOL. I love it. Answers to OrCAD questions lead to more questions

What should I do? Load a technology file and set Layout to stick to
apertures in that list?

Could this be done with two designs using different tech files as
long as the aperture lists were the same?

Maybe I could load the .tch files, save the aperture lists, merge
them manually, and set layout to use those apertures in the "Gerber
Settings" dialog.

Seems to me I'll then be prompted that a new aperture needs to be
created if I place a footprint that doesn't have an aperture already
defined, assuming I set layout to *not* make apertures from existing
apertures.

All your designs need to use the same aperture list.
All designs must use the same precision.

I see the m.n format is different for gerber and drill in GerbTool.
That doesn't make sense, precision-wise.

And the layers must correspond like 1 - top, 2 - bot, etc. That
makes sense.

You should probably use a
274-D Gerber format.

and that's what the manual recommends. Why? Because of the OrCAD
bug?

I'd like to be able to send out 274X even if I have to hack around
with 274-D to get the info I need for the aperture list. I don't
think gerbmerge will like 274-D, either.

In the past, I have had problems with Layout
obeying an aperture list when it comes to vias. Perhaps they fixed
this, but I doubt it since the Orcad folks seemed uninterested in this
bug.

What probs and what did you do?

Mark
--

Best Regards,
Mike