Centroid file ? -- assembly newbie

+1.

I was more productive after an hour of using Kicad 4 than after many months using Eagle.

Clifford Heath.

Diptrace.

Playing with that -- think I like it.

Den tirsdag den 26. juli 2016 kl. 20.12.08 UTC+2 skrev mkr5000:

asochist I am went ahead and did most of the PCB anyway without really chec king.

just a shopping list but don't see anything that the assembler needs (as i n Centroid file?).

you can probably generate the file as part of the process of generating the gerber files

but do you really need it? Using a toy like fritzing I can't imagine the vo lume or complexity is high enough to justify anything but hand stuffing so you just need a component placement

I had.

r the occasional user -- been saying that for 20 years though. Every single program has some catch (pin count, board size limitations) The online stuf f forces you to use their service blah blah blah. They all suck. (and there 's dozens out there).

ist" would be nice. There is NOTHING.

KiCAD is looking decent now and it is free open source, you'll probably hav e to watch a half hour youtube tutorial to run use it

-Lasse

the push-n-shove router alone makes is so much faster than eagle

-Lasse

Really if anyone can help is I'm wanting to know can you generate a Centroid file from gerber files?

and thanks for the Kicad suggestion -- had no idea it was free.

I'll try it as well.

Kicad will do the machine files?

Unfortunately, gerbers don't contain semantic info like component footprints. They're just flat vector graphics.

Normally, there's a mechanical or placement layer that has a courtyard (bounding box) and "+" in the middle or origin of the part (the centroid, imagine that!).

I normally use separate layers for these features, as you can see in red (center) and green:

You could plot these layers as gerber too, but that still wouldn't be very helpful; you want a list of locations and angles and stuff. (They're usually used for placement guides, and to print out assembly guides, for hand assembly.)

No idea if Fritzing supports extra layers, so...

Is there no table listing components and their locations?

Tim

--
Seven Transistor Labs, LLC 
Electrical Engineering Consultation and Contract Design 
Website: http://seventransistorlabs.com

Fritzing was just something I looked at and I agree with someone who said i t's a toy -- but has potential. Started using Diptrace last night and I thi nk this may be the one and does the machine files to have the board assembl ed I believe (appreciate a confirmation if someone knows). All I know is sc reaming circuits said they require a BOM file and Centroid data. Says X-Y-T heta and Side

Is there a common filename extension for these files?

Diptrace is very complete but also pretty darn intuitive -- which is good f or a dumbass like me. Going to try and learn it today.

That would be tough. Normally the XYRS file is generated when the Gerber files are generated along with a bill of material (BOM).

--

Rick C

Kicad definitely can produce the assembly file.

Jon

Is there a primer for Kicad?

As one who hasn't done any PCB layouts since the rolls-of-narrow-black-tape-and-sheets-of-donuts method I need a manual that hand-holds me thru each step.

G-job level only ;-) ...Jim Thompson

--
| James E.Thompson                                 |    mens     | 
| Analog Innovations                               |     et      | 
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems  |    manus    | 
| San Tan Valley, AZ 85142   Skype: Contacts Only  |             | 
| Voice:(480)460-2350  Fax: Available upon request |  Brass Rat  | 
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com |    1962     | 

             I'm looking for work... see my website.

Den torsdag den 28. juli 2016 kl. 00.45.35 UTC+2 skrev Jim Thompson:

this playlist has seven videos shows all the steps of going from drawing a schematic all the way to making and checking gerbers

-Lasse

Thanks, Lasse! ...Jim Thompson

--
| James E.Thompson                                 |    mens     | 
| Analog Innovations                               |     et      | 
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems  |    manus    | 
| San Tan Valley, AZ 85142   Skype: Contacts Only  |             | 
| Voice:(480)460-2350  Fax: Available upon request |  Brass Rat  | 
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com |    1962     | 

             I'm looking for work... see my website.

--
Reinhardt

GC-PowerPlace from

will generate centroid data from gerber but takes time to get to grips with and can be time consuming depending on the design complexity and the type of data available.

Ideally CAD data should be used as this will contain all the information you need but not always available.

If gerber data is all thats available then

can generate the centroid data

Almost certainly, the Gerber file losess the pin 1 orientation. Some software has a different pad shape for pin 1 of an SOIC, so that can help, and pin 1 on most resistors and caps doesn't matter.

Jon

And pin-1 on LEDs is all messed up.