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Gerber to CNC Conversion Software — Parallax Forums

Gerber to CNC Conversion Software

pjvpjv Posts: 1,903
edited 2010-05-21 22:28 in General Discussion
Hi All;

I'm building a general purpose XYZ tabletop machine·for the purposes of light duty CNC machining. The first application is PCB drilling, PCB 'carving' and·board routing. I also plan to make attachments for·pick 'n place assembly, glue and solder paste·dispensing·as well as·3D plastics·"printing".

I'm at the point where I wish to try my hand at the first job, and need a Gerber to CAM conversion program to trace out the tool path for·the cutter to isolate the PC board traces. Searching the web, there seem to be a myriad of choices from mulitudes of sites..... somewhat overwhelming.

My question is, can anyone reccommend a particular low cost (free trial) package to do this conversion, as I do not relish the process of downloading dozens to ferret out an appropriate one if this has already been researched by this forum's members.

Many thanks,

Peter (pjv)

·

Comments

  • T ChapT Chap Posts: 4,223
    edited 2010-05-21 15:14
    Do you have Eagle, it has a ULP that exports Gcode. You can get a free trial of Eagle, and test it out on a small size board. Then, just load the Gcode into the machine app and run it. But if you have already made the boards in another program, I will have to look back at my computer to see what I have experimented with before using gerbers.
  • pjvpjv Posts: 1,903
    edited 2010-05-21 16:06
    Hi Todd;

    No, I dont use Eagle.... Protel is the layout package we use. And in any case as a standard, I'd like to import anyone's standard Gerber files.

    Also, I forgot to mention, I'd also like to import standard Windows bitmap files for conversion to CNC G-codes.

    Cheers,

    Peter (pjv)
  • LeonLeon Posts: 7,620
    edited 2010-05-21 16:14
    Try the Yahoo Homebrew PCB group. Several people there have done what you are trying to do.

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    Leon Heller
    Amateur radio callsign: G1HSM
  • mctriviamctrivia Posts: 3,772
    edited 2010-05-21 16:51
    I have seen scripts on thingoverse.com to convert bitmaps to gcode. I am curious about a gerber to gcode converter also as I plan to make a cutter for my cnc eventually

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    Lots of propeller based products in stock at affordable prices.
  • W9GFOW9GFO Posts: 4,010
    edited 2010-05-21 18:32
    DipTrace will import Gerbers and output DXFs for milling. My CNC software can use the DXFs directly. DipTrace will also output G code drill files.

    Rich H

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    The Simple Servo Tester, a kit from Gadget Gangster.
  • pjvpjv Posts: 1,903
    edited 2010-05-21 22:28
    Hi Rich;

    Thanks for that tip. I downloaded the tutorial, and it looks quite impressive for a low cost product. Its hard to say how it compares to Protel, but it feels like the learning curve is smaller.

    Anyhow my application is not for the layout package, but for its G code generation capability. From the tutorial I could not determine if I could import Protel Gerbers into it, for "fiddel free" generation of G codes. I did note that the G code generator is a seperate packge (ACE I think) from them. I should load that up.... perhaps there are more details.

    Cheers,

    Peter (pjv)
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