PC boards and software

From: Paul Koning <pkoning_at_equallogic.com>
Date: Wed Apr 14 15:31:09 2004

>>>>> "der" == der Mouse <mouse_at_rodents.montreal.qc.ca> writes:

>> Meanwhile, for PCB shops I have been very happy with Olimex
>> (www.olimex.com) in Bulgaria. If you're not in a flaming hurry
>> (airmail takes about 10-12 days but is only $8) they will make a
>> Eurocard-sized two layer, silkscreen, solder masked board for $26,
>> directly from your emailed Eagle .SCH and .BRD files. Turnaround
>> time is 3-5 days not counting the airmail.

 der> That sounds attractive - but what are these .SCH and .BRD files?
 der> Is there any documentation on the format? I don't mind doing
 der> board layout and such myself, but I have to know what I need to
 der> generate. (No, running the software in question is not an
 der> option, if for no other reason than its being, I gather,
 der> closed-source.)

I doubt the Eagle file formats are documented. But I assume Gerber
files are, and those are the industry-standard format for board
designs.

The nice thing about BRD files from Eagle is that a lot of details you
have to do explicitly in Gerber files, like gaps between power/ground
planes and non-power/ground vias, or spacing for soldermask and the
like, are handled automatically in BRD file format when you use
Eagle. So if you have that program, a BRD file is a simpler way to
feed the design to a PCB shop. But a Gerber file should always work.

Are you thinking about creating an open source PCB CAD tool?

    paul
Received on Wed Apr 14 2004 - 15:31:09 BST