AVR-Chat

--- In AVR-Chat@yahoogroups.com, jay marante <jaythesis@y...> wrote:
> 
> sorry for the OT. i just don't know where to ask these questions.
> 
> i know a little about the eagle lay-out editor. i do manual tracing 
of PCB. but i know there is this "auto-routing" thing where the PC 
routes the tracks for you, like the protel design systems'. 
> i don't know if i understand what i've read correctly, but, am i 
right that you can write a program (text) in eagle for all the 
connections or the components to be connected like in VHDL instead of 
dragging components and connect them yourself? if ever, how do i do 
that?
> also, how do i auto-route?
> and, how can i make a "gerber" (right spelling???) file for me to 
download it into a milling machine?
> or maybe, can someone lead me to a tutorial site?
> 
> thanks for the help...
> 
> -jay

Hi Jay,

If you are totally new and are doing this hobby style, WinQCAD is 
easier to learn than Eagle, and WinQCAD has CNC output as well as 
Gerber output.  

G-Code is the file type you will eventually wind up with for your 
machine and Gerber is a stop on the way.  You will often need another 
conversion from Gerber to G-Code.


WinQCad does not the same depth of resourses as Eagle, but for a 
hobbiest it works well and will teach the basics.

The almost universal complaint about Eagle is that the user interface 
appears to be old and not intuitive.

Dave