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DavidM
United Kingdom
458 Posts |
 Posted - 24 Jul 2017 : 15:25:07
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It is always worthwhile spending a little time checking over your Gerber data before sending it off to your fab shop. A few minutes spent doing this can save a lot of heartache - and money - if issues are caught at this stage before anyone starts making boards.
Although Easy-PC can itself read Gerber data (with either of the Gerber Import cost options installed), there are clearly benefits to using a third party tool to check the files. This avoids the situation that is sometimes rather oddly described as 'eating your own dog food' - using checking tools from the same company that generated the data.
There are various viewers around that you can download, some free and some paid, some better than others, but a fairly new arrival is certainly worth checking out. This is the online Gerber viewer from Ucamco, the firm that owns the Gerber format. It is really easy to use, just sign up on the web page, then you can drag-and-drop Gerber files onto the browser for a quick visual inspection.
You can give it a try here: http://gerber.ucamco.com/
David. |
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nigelwright7557
United Kingdom
9 Posts |
Posted - 07 Aug 2017 : 01:51:40
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I always use GCPrevue gerber and drill file viewer for verification.
Its free.
Just use import from the menu for your gerber/drill files.
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Iain Wilkie
United Kingdom
1010 Posts |
Posted - 07 Aug 2017 : 09:52:05
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If you want to take this to the next level, where you can check that the gerbers have been translated correctly from the nets you can use FAB3000 from Numerical Innovations.
https://www.numericalinnovations.com/collections/fab-3000-gerber-cam
Its not cheap but when you move to 4 layer or more this can reassure you that there are no hidden mistakes.
I use it on all our multi layer layouts.
http://www.numberone.com/blog
Iain
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Edited by - Iain Wilkie on 07 Aug 2017 09:54:09 |
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toni9999
United Kingdom
39 Posts |
Posted - 07 Aug 2017 : 13:33:13
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This is also a good free option which we use along with GcPrevue
https://www.zofzpcb.com/
It allows you to import a IPC netlist file so check connectivity.
T |
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edrees
United Kingdom
766 Posts |
Posted - 08 Aug 2017 : 13:05:24
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@toni999
Just trialled the Zofzpcb software you suggested and was initially very impressed with the features (using the example files provided). However, when I tried one of my simple Gerbers (V21) it made a complete mess of it. It introduced various track shorts and copper shape errors. The same simple Gerber file imports perfectly well into other "free" Gerber Viewers, so I have to report that I have little confidence with Zofzpcb viewer. |
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toni9999
United Kingdom
39 Posts |
Posted - 08 Aug 2017 : 13:15:06
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I have entered very complex PCB into it and once i had added an extra layer with just the board outline in it and set the CAM rules file to point to the coreect files for each layer it has always worked flawlessly.
It has picked out bugs in each PCBs copper pour feature may times.
I would say i havent tried V21 yet. So it may be something has changed that needs slightly tweaking. Will let you know the next time i try a PCB created in V21.
T |
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edrees
United Kingdom
766 Posts |
Posted - 08 Aug 2017 : 14:26:59
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@toni9999
Hi, -seems related to that simple Gerber file, -maybe design specific. Another 4 copper layer design (created in V21) Gerber file set seems to import OK into Zofzpcb, -so probably not finger trouble or V21 related. Don't presently have time to investigate the problem with the simple Gerber file, -will update if I ever get to the bottom of the issue. |
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Topic |
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A new Gerber viewer