Qui habet Christos, habet Vitam!
I should have rented the space under my name for advertising.
When I still could have...
Try the CAM file from Sparkfun: http://www.sparkfun.com/tutorial/Eag...e-gerb274x.cam
Or try making your own -- if you play with it for 20 minutes you'll have learned everything you need to know. It's not actually as difficult as you'd expect!
The most common error is probably reversed lasers: the defult CAM file mirrors the bottom layers but most board houses are upset about that.
Finally, you can test your gerbers for free and get great instant feedback at http://www.freedfm.com.
If you still have trouble, PM me and I'll walk you through it. EAGLE is great software, once you get past the initial learning curve.
Uh.... This looks like a dead thread..... But....
I'm currently trying to learn Eagle CAD to design a very simple single layer PCB. Would anyone out there be willing to take a look at what I'm doing and offer some tips? I'm trying to get as much of it as I can so I can have a somewhat intelligent conversation.
I'm a noob when it comes to PCB fabrication!
I just want to make sure I have all of my ducks in a row before I try to submit this to a fab house.
James.
Creator of LaserBoy!
LaserBoy is free and runs in Windows, MacOS and Linux (including Raspberry Pi!).
Download LaserBoy!
YouTube Tutorials
Ask me about my LaserBoy Correction Amp Kit for sale!
All software has a learning curve usually proportional to its capabilities and unique features. Pointing with a mouse is in no way easier than tapping a key.
Eagle sucks.
I use EasyPC. Works well and not a bad price for a basic auto router.
Then the boards go to OSHPark.com. The absolute best boards for a good price.
I dont know eagle at all - I learned my craft in the mid 80s on a 286 running DOS something (prob -1.5) and a CAD package called Vutrax. These days I use Labcentre Proteus, and have done since about 1999. Its very good and I favour it mainly as I know it so well these days I can get the basics of a board down in no time. it does have an auto router but wheres the fun in that!
As an exercise at the end of a job I sometimes delete all the traces and let the auto router do its stuff - just for fun. Quite often there are odd traces that it cant route - that makes me smile
*edit* I did use Easy PC in a Dos version in the early to mid 90s and got on well with it, but when Proteus came along there was no comparisson for me.
Rob
If you need to ask the question 'whats so good about a laser' - you won't understand the answer.
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Laserists do it by the nanometre.
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Steve, I really like diptrace I gave up on eagle too. http://www.diptrace.com/
chad
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.
Well, I did a "hand drawn" DXF file of what I want, to prove that it could be done in a single layer of copper.
So far, no matter how I set up the auto router, it can't figure it out.
So I guess I'm going to have to rout it myself in Eagle or something.
The project I'm working on isn't exactly top secret. Ultimately, I think I would be glad to share the design files as open source.
I want to print up a bunch of boards for the last revised version of the LaserBoy Correction Amp.
The schemos are already open source.
I would like to put it together as a kit to be able to sell the "Official" version.
I kinda' like the idea of using Eagle CAD because it has been pretty well accepted as the goto within the hobby electronics development community.
And there is a free version.
So if anyone would like to look at what I have so far and give me some tips, I would really appreciate it. Not only do I want to make the PCB, but I also want to learn how to do it!
James.
Last edited by james; 07-14-2013 at 11:32.
Creator of LaserBoy!
LaserBoy is free and runs in Windows, MacOS and Linux (including Raspberry Pi!).
Download LaserBoy!
YouTube Tutorials
Ask me about my LaserBoy Correction Amp Kit for sale!
All software has a learning curve usually proportional to its capabilities and unique features. Pointing with a mouse is in no way easier than tapping a key.
Altium here, expensive but worth it.
http://www.altium.com/
I tried Eagle a few times out of interest and it drove me mad.
As a hobbiest in the 70's I used a Dalo resist pen. In the 80's I progressed to the cutting edge tape method. Boy I am glad computers took over...
This space for rent.