GerbMerge -- A Gerber-file merging program
In release 1.9
In release 1.8:
In release 1.7:
GerbMerge is a program for combining (panelizing) the CAM data from multiple printed circuit board designs into a single set of CAM files. The purpose of doing so is to submit a single job to a board manufacturer, thereby saving on manufacturing costs.
GerbMerge currently works with:
GerbMerge is written in pure Python. It depends upon the following packages for operation:
All of the above packages come with easy installation programs for both Windows, Mac OS X,
and Linux.
## Automatic Installation with PIP
This repository can generate a tarball for installation with PIP. In the repository, run:
```
$ python setup.py sdist
$ pip install dist/gerbmerge-1.9.3.tar.gz
```
PIP will automatically resolve the dependencies. `-1.9.3` will change with the current tool version.
To easily run the installed package without looking up your python path, use python's "run module as script" feature:
```
$ python -m gerbmerge First, install all of the packages listed above in the Requirements section.
Run the gerbmerge1.8.exe installation program. I will assume
you choose all of the default installation options. The installer
will create and populate the following directories: The above assumes you have Python installed in C:\Python24. The
first directory is where the actual program resides. The second directory
contains the documentation, example files, etc. In the C:\Python24
directory is a sample batch file GERBMERGE.BAT which shows you how to
run the GerbMerge program.
Extract the gerbmerge1.8.tar.gz file then install as follows: The installer will create and populate the following directories/files: The above assumes your Python library directory is as indicated (it may be
elsewhere but the installer should be able to find it, so don't worry about
it). The first directory is where the actual program resides. The second
directory contains the documentation, example files, etc. A sample program for
invoking GerbMerge is installed as /usr/local/bin/gerbmerge...feel free to move
it somewhere else.
Not all Linux distributions are the same, however. If you have trouble, there is a useful set of instructions from Chetan Bhargava for installing GerbMerge on Ubuntu distributions.
Open a DOS box and invoke the Python interpreter on the gerbmerge.py file.
Have a look at GERBMERGE.BAT (and put this on your Path somewhere) for an example.
You run GerbMerge by invoking the Python interpreter on the gerbmerge.py
file of the gerbmerge package. For example: The gerbmerge shell script that comes with this software contains an
example for running GerbMerge, modelled on the above. By default, this shell
script is installed in /usr/local/bin so you should just be able
to type gerbmerge from a shell prompt.
The configuration file specifies global options and defines the jobs
to be panelized The layout file specifies how the jobs are to be laid out. The names of these files are the two required parameters to GerbMerge:
The following links describe the contents of the configuration
file and layout file.
For the manual absolute placement approach, GerbMerge also needs the configuration file
as well as another text file that specifies where each job is located on the panel and
whether or not it is rotated:
The place.txt file looks something like:
This method of placement is not meant for normal use. It can be used to recreate
a previous invocation of GerbMerge, since GerbMerge saves its results in a text file
(whose name is set in the [MergeOutputFiles]
section of the configuration file) after every run. Thus, you can experiment with
different parameters, save a placement you like, do some more experimentation, then return
to the saved placement if necessary.
Alternatively, this method of placement can be used with third-party back ends that
implement intelligent auto-placement algorithms, using GerbMerge only for doing the
actual panelization.
For the automatic placement approach, GerbMerge only needs the configuration file:
Each job must have a Gerber file describing the board outline, which is assumed
rectangular. In Eagle, a board outline is usually generated from the Dimension layer.
This board outline is a width-0 line describing the physical extents of the board. If you're
not using Eagle, you don't have to generate a width-0 rectangle, but GerbMerge does need
to use some Gerber layer to determine the extents of the board. GerbMerge will take the maximum
extents of all drawn objects in this layer as the extents of the board. Each job must have an Excellon drill file. Each job can have any number of optional Gerber files describing copper
layers, silkscreen, solder masks, etc. All files must have the same offset and must be shown looking from the
top of the board, i.e., not mirrored. Each job may have an optional tool list file indicating the tool names
used in the Excellon file and the diameter of each tool. This file is not necessary
if tool sizes are embedded in the Excellon file. A typical tool list file looks like:
Before sending your job to be manufactured, it is imperative that you verify
the correctness of the output. Remember that GerbMerge comes with NO WARRANTY.
Manufacturing circuit boards costs real money and a single mistake can render
an entire lot of boards unusable.
I recommend the following programs for viewing the final output data. Take
the time to become very familiar with at least one of these tools and to use
it before every job you send out for manufacture.
For Windows, GC-Prevue is a good program
that I have used often. It is a free program. GraphiCode makes lots of other, more
powerful Gerber manipulation and viewing programs but they are quite pricey ($495 and up). Another free Windows program, ViewMate is similar
to GC-Prevue. I have not used ViewMate much, but that is mostly due to familiarity with
GC-Prevue. The two programs are comparable, although I'm sure that someone who is much
more familiar with both could point out some differences. If you have the need/motivation to adapt GerbMerge to other CAD programs,
have a look at the gerber2pdf program. It is written in Python and
implements a much more complete RS274-X input file parser. Combining GerbMerge
with gerber2pdf should be a fairly simple exercise. Also, feel free to
send us samples of Gerber/Excellon output of your CAD tool and we'll see if we can
add support for it.
This program handles apertures that are rectangles, ovals, circles, macros
without parameters or operators, and Eagle octagons (which are defined using a macro with a single parameter, hence currently handled as a special case).
The panelizing capabilities of this program do not allow for arbitrary
placement of jobs, although there is a fair amount of flexibility.
All jobs are assumed to be rectangular in shape. Non-rectangular jobs
can be handled but will lead to wasted space in the final panel.
A maximum of 26 different drill sizes is supported for generating a
fabrication drawing. The --octagons=normal option is the default (22.5 degrees) and need not
be specified. A rotation of 0.0 degrees can be achieved by specifying --octagons=rotate. Copyright © 2013 ProvideYourOwn.com. All Rights Reserved.
This repo is a fork of gerbmerge, version 1.8 from Rugged Circuits LLC: Copyright © 2011 Rugged Circuits LLC. All Rights Reserved.
mailto: support@ruggedcircuits.com
GerbMerge comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY. This
is free software licensed under the terms of the GNU General
Public License Version 3. You are welcome to copy, modify and redistribute this software
under certain conditions. For more details, see the LICENSE file or
visit The Free Software Foundation.
Thanks to Jace Browning for major contributions to this code. This help file is based on a template for the help file for mxTools
by M.A. Lemburg.
This software was created with VIM;
thanks to the authors of this program and special thanks for
the Python syntax support. Thanks to M.A. Lemburg for his
mxBase
package, Mike Fletcher for his
SimpleParse package, and
the authors of gerbv, a great
Gerber file viewer for Linux/Mac OS X, and, of course, to the
Python developers and
support community. Thanks to Joe Pighetti for making me start writing this program, and to
the Grand Valley State University Firefighting Robot Team for making me finish it. Thanks to Matt Kavalauskas for identifying Eagle's annulus and thermal macros and supporting
the development of the aperture macro code. Thanks to Bohdan Zograf for the Belorussian translation of this documentation. Copyright © 2013 ProvideYourOwn.com. All Rights Reserved.Installation
Windows
c:\Python24\lib\site-packages\gerbmerge
c:\Python24\gerbmerge
Unix / Mac OS X
python setup.py install (You may need to be root to install to system directories)
/usr/local/lib/python2.4/site-packages/gerbmerge
/usr/local/lib/python2.4/gerbmerge
/usr/local/bin/gerbmerge
Running GerbMerge
Windows
Unix / Mac OS X
Operation
There are three ways to run GerbMerge:
Manual Relative Placement
For the manual relative placement approach, GerbMerge needs two input text files:
Manual Absolute Placement
job1 0.100 0.100
cpu 0.756 0.100
cpu*rotated 1.35 1.50
Automatic Placement
Command-line options can be used to modify the search algorithm. See the
Automatic Placement page for more information.
Input File Requirements
GerbMerge requires the following input CAM files:
T01 0.025in
T02 0.032in
T03 0.045in
Verifying the Output
gerbv merged.*.ger merged.*.xln
Limitations
Program Options
Copyright & License
To Do
Credits