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I am in need of a program that lets me edit gerber zip file. I have several PCB to be sent to JLCPCB but individually ordering them will cost me quite an extra (30$). Although that may not be much to some, but I don't like spending money where it can be avoided.

All that I am looking for is for me to be able to edit the board edge of my individual projects so that I can panel them in a one big square/rectangle panel.

enter image description here

I have tried doing it in the program I am using to create these files (PROTEUS 8.9) but it would seem there is no feature yet to combine project files. Long story short. Something will always break if I try to combine project files.

EDIT: I have tried the solutions from another question

How to panelize gerber files?

Both of the answers did not work for me. On the marked as correct answer, no gui opens upon executing the program, if it is ment to be that way it would be really hard for me to use it. On the second answer it does come with a GUI and a guide on how to use it. Unfortunately the gerber from proteus upon creating an instance would not show up, but the gerber viewer it came along with can open it no problem

Jake quin
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  • I've not actually found inexpensive Gerber editing software – DKNguyen Jan 31 '20 at 18:57
  • @ScottSeidman let me check it out, if it does work ill accept the similar tag – Jake quin Jan 31 '20 at 19:09
  • Give it a go. Gerbmerge worked pretty well for me, with multiples of the same board. Haven't used it for different boards. I seem to remember needing to run it in Linux, but that's a small matter of setting up a virtual machine. – Scott Seidman Jan 31 '20 at 19:21
  • @ScottSeidman im having trouble with gerbmerge the github thread say to run gerbmerge1.8.exe but i do not see this file. Do you think you can help me? I will try the second answer in the meantime – Jake quin Jan 31 '20 at 19:44
  • Try a google search for it. I have no doubt that newer versions could have appeared. – Scott Seidman Jan 31 '20 at 19:45
  • try github.com/unwireddevices/gerbmerge – Scott Seidman Jan 31 '20 at 19:46
  • They will still charge more. be careful with your assumptions https://support.jlcpcb.com/article/49-pcb-panelization – Tony Stewart EE75 Jan 31 '20 at 19:53
  • @TonyStewartSunnyskyguyEE75 I have tested some files with jlcpb, one singe board is the cheapest. one file but multiple board(not tabs, meaning they are not connected) is still cheaper than separatly ordering them. as for one single board with tabs i do not know yet. – Jake quin Jan 31 '20 at 20:09
  • @ScottSeidman does gerbmerge have a gui? i think i installed it but it would seem that no gui opens up. – Jake quin Jan 31 '20 at 20:10
  • They charge extra for milled slots – Tony Stewart EE75 Jan 31 '20 at 20:13
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    @TonyStewartSunnyskyguyEE75 That link is a bit ambiguous. Are they saying identical boards in a panel will not incur an extra fee? Or are they saying different boards with identical dimensions in a panel will not incur an extra free? – DKNguyen Jan 31 '20 at 20:19
  • @TonyStewartSunnyskyguyEE75 i will report back which is the cheapest option. But first i have to try this method. – Jake quin Jan 31 '20 at 20:19
  • It is clear to me if identical boards , no charge. Reason , easy handling when partial defects. – Tony Stewart EE75 Jan 31 '20 at 20:34
  • Command line, IIRC – Scott Seidman Jan 31 '20 at 22:58

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I find this surprising. I've been using Pentalogix Viewmate for almost 20 years, and I've had no trouble panelizing test vehicles for fabrication. I'm playing with KiCAD now, and I'd be surprised if I couldn't panelized designs on that platform also.

Here are some little circuits I panelized on Viewmate. enter image description here

Start with the outline gerber for the panel and then orient the individual board gerbers, excluding the outline, to fit its place, then paste it in its place. Move the gerber files around, not the circuit diagrams.

I always include bit maps in my zipped gerber packages so the fabricator knows what I want to do. If you speak to your fabricator, they may panelize multiple boards for you.

Karen
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  • Thats a really old looking program – Jake quin Jan 31 '20 at 20:18
  • Yes, it's old. It was developed for fabricators rather than designers. I am mostly interested in the geometry of my designs, which are usually test patterns rather than functional circuits, so Viewmate is good for me. I would suggest you try KiCAD if you are looking for inexpensive circuit design/gerber generation software. – Karen Jan 31 '20 at 20:28
  • I have not tried using kicad, can kicad import gerber files and maybe edit some layers? – Jake quin Jan 31 '20 at 20:35
  • I've imported gerber into KiCAD. I think it can edit layers, though I haven't tried it. KiCAD is open source software, so it is free and pretty safe. If you like it, make a donation. – Karen Jan 31 '20 at 20:47