-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- pcb007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueThe Sustainability Issue
Sustainability is one of the most widely used terms in business today, especially for electronics and manufacturing but what does it mean to you? We explore the environmental, business, and economic impacts.
The Fabricator’s Guide to IPC APEX EXPO
This issue previews many of the important events taking place at this year's show and highlights some changes and opportunities. So, buckle up. We are counting down to IPC APEX EXPO 2024.
Getting to Know Your Designer
In this issue, we examine how fabs work with their design customers, educating them on the critical elements of fabrication needed to be successful, as well as the many tradeoffs involved. How well do you really know your customer? What makes for a closer, more synchronized working relationship?
- Articles
- Columns
Search Console
- Links
- Events
||| MENU - pcb007 Magazine
Ucamco Streamlines CAD-to-CAM Communications
June 26, 2019 | UcamcoEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
At Ucamco, we are dedicated to excellence in everything that we do. That includes our decades-long stewardship of Gerber, the de facto standard image format for PCB design: our ongoing work on Gerber ensures that this free, open format keeps abreast of, and indeed drives, beneficial developments in PCB design and engineering. As part of this, we are delighted to announce that our Gerber Job Editor is now available free of charge to the PCB design and manufacturing community. This standalone application allows designers to create and edit PCB job files complete with everything including non-image data, that is essential for quoting, planning, engineering, CAM and fabrication.
For decades, Gerber has been the de facto standard for describing 2D images—copper layers, solder mask, drills—in PCB fabrication data. Gerber X2 added intelligence to that image data by providing a standard for defining the layer structure and providing information such as via and SMD identification, pin numbers and reference descriptions.
So far so good, but PCB fabrication data must also include essential information about IPC class, finish, soldermask colour, thicknesses and materials and so on, that cannot be conveyed using images. This is typically transferred manually using annotated drawings, PDF files and texts, which takes time, is prone to potential errors, can be limited by language and terminology barriers, and is not designed for automatic workflows.
Ucamco’s Gerber Job File specification changes this by providing designers with a standardised format with which the non-image-based elements in their PCB designs can be transferred to the PCB manufacturer in an unequivocal, machine-readable manner. Compatible with Gerber X1, Gerber X2 and ODB++, this is a simple add for CAD suppliers and indeed many of the leading CAD systems support it and can output complete Gerber job files. Where this is not the case, Ucamco’s new standalone Gerber Job File Editor allows PCB designers to create job files that fully describe their PCBs’ non-image characteristics, no matter which CAD system they use. It’s simple to download and simple to use. The designer chooses which characteristics are important to each specific PCB and ignores the rest, and even if the fabricator cannot yet handle the Job File automatically, the fabrication data is clear and presented in an unambiguous, standard, human-readable manner.
Gerber Job File Editor can be downloaded free of charge from https://www.ucamco.com/files/downloads/Gerber_Job_Editor_Installer.zip.
About Ucamco
Ucamco (formerly Barco ETS) is a market leader in PCB CAM software, photoplotting and direct imaging systems, with a global network of sales and support centers. Headquartered in Ghent, Belgium, Ucamco has over 35 years of ongoing experience in developing and supporting leading-edge photoplotters and front-end tooling solutions for the global PCB industry. Key to this success is the company's uncompromising pursuit of engineering excellence in all its products. Ucamco also owns the IP rights on the Gerber File Format through its acquisition of Gerber Systems Corp. (1998).
Suggested Items
Indium Corporation to Present, Exhibit at EPP InnovationsFORUM
03/28/2024 | Indium CorporationIndium Corporation is set to present and exhibit at EPP InnovationsFORUM, one of Europe’s premier single-day electronics manufacturing forums, on April 17 in Leinfelden-Echterdingen, Germany. Topic areas for 2024 will include AI, automation, sustainability, and quality.
Reducing Nitrogen Consumption in Convection Soldering with Rehm Thermal Systems' Patented Mechatronic Curtain
03/28/2024 | Rehm Thermal SystemsCurrent developments indicate a need for larger throughput heights due to the trend towards e-mobility, which in turn increases nitrogen consumption for process inertization. Rehm Thermal Systems responds to this issue with an innovative solution: the mechatronic curtain.
Indium Corporation, Industry Partners to Showcase Products “Live@APEX”
03/26/2024 | Indium CorporationIndium Corporation®, in cooperation with its industry partners, will feature its proven solder solutions live on the show floor throughout IPC APEX Expo from Apr. 9‒11 in Anaheim, Calif., U.S.
ITW EAE Wins New Product Introduction Award for Electrovert® Wave Soldering Machine Deep Wave
03/26/2024 | ITW EAEITW EAE is proud to announce that it has earned a 2024 New Product Introduction (NPI) Award for Electrovert’s Deep Wave option for wave soldering machines. This new, innovative system provides the ability to pump up to a 20 mm wave height.
Mek's Next-Gen AOI Technology Takes Center Stage at IPC APEX EXPO 2024
03/19/2024 | MEKMek is excited to announce its presence at IPC APEX EXPO, North America's largest electronics manufacturing event, in Anaheim, California, from April 6-11, 2024. Attendees are invited to visit Mek at booth #1433 to explore the latest AOI technology offerings.