Homebrew PCBs

This is a copy of an E-Mail I sent to CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO a while back.  I
thought It might be usefull to someone so I am reposting here.

Chris


Much like others are describing.  After a week or so of using Protel for
board layout, use the Protel CAM processor and export the gerbers then
convert them to eagle scripts to import into eagle then converting to
outlines and outputing G-codes and then post processing them.  Also I
was taking the drill files and seperately processing them.  And finally
taking a board outline and processing that.

And after all that I could not work with oval pads.

The whole process was very manual and a PAIN!  

Thanks to some help from this list I can now generate outlines in
Protel.  I also do all the CAD work for the board outline.  Then I run
the Protel CAM processor to get gerbers for top layer outline, bottom
layer outline, board outline (including tool dimensions) and NC drill
file for the holes.

I then have a post processor (Basically a scripting program and script)
that takes the files and converts them to G-Code along with tool changes
and clearance heights.

Finally I just load the G-Code files into my MaxNC and run them in
order, getting a completed board out at the end.

This new version uses far less programs works with oval pads and is a
lot more automated.  Plus I have more control in Protel as to what
happens.

Chris Coley.