Tools for PCB Designing

Gerber Panelizer

GerberPanelizer is an aide in creating a PCB design. It allows you to edit the layout and then export it as a final merged gerber file. Once exported, the gerber file is locked and cannot be edited or changed. The export will also contain image renderings.

However, it is not a perfect solution. While it is a great tool for panelizing boards, the tool is not very flexible. You need to add fiducials along the board edge and add M4 holes along one side. Nevertheless, the program is extremely easy to use and is an excellent tool for PCB design. It is currently being improved and will be updated in the next version.

Gerber Panelizer is a powerful tool for PCB design. It is very useful for people who build their own PCBs or who are interested in Open Hardware. One major drawback is that it is offered without support and is prone to breaking features. The GUI is window-based and mono.

The main screen of Gerber Panelizer has a list of all the CAM steps. Click on a step to view the contents. You may also click on the step name.

Gerber

When you generate a Gerber file in Altium Designer, you will be able to create multiple board layouts in a single file. Gerber files are files that describe your requirements for PCB fabrication and assembly. They include templates for solder mask, silkscreen pictures, and drill holes. This type of file can be exported to a PCB manufacturer.

You can also insert objects into the panel with the Add Insert command in the right-click menu. To insert an object in the board, you can place it in the parent step or campanel by right-clicking on the board. Make sure to remove the venting pattern that you previously applied. Otherwise, the data will appear without a border.

You can also create a single-sided design and export it as a Gerber. For this, you need to set the top layer of your CAM document to be “top” and then panelize PCB. Then, you can add the Gerbers to the boxes that will be created in the project.

Altium Designer supports the Gerber panelization feature and allows you to create board layouts with multiple designs. With the Gerber panelizer, you can design PCBs with odd shapes and multiple designs on the same panel.

KiKit

Creating panelized printed circuit boards can be a time-consuming process, and the best way to speed it up is by using the KiKit toolkit. It allows you to easily group boards into panels so that they can be reflow soldered together in a quick process. Normally, this requires manually grouping and assembling the boards, but KiKit makes it easy by creating a script that can gang up six boards in a single pass. It uses mousebites to hold them together, so that they can easily be separated after soldering is complete.

KiKit uses a Python-based script to organize the boards into a grid. The script is flexible enough to handle mousebites and v-cuts, and even allows for board separation after production. Since the PCB component distribution is so large, grouping them into panels makes the assembly process much faster. They can then be placed in a reflow oven or pick-and-place machine as one unit.

A panelized PCB needs adequate support to prevent accidental breakout. You can move panels around on the board and adjust edge clearances. Then, you’re ready to build your finished board. Just remember to create a margin of at least one inch on the board. You’ll need to do this for multiple layers.

The panelization process is critical to creating a custom PCB, and Altium Designer provides a host of tools for this task. This includes CAD and CAM features, and the ability to define panelized PCB. Additionally, it integrates design files with panelized PCBs so that it’s easy to make changes without re-making panels.