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Subject: Re: [geda-user] Refactoring in PCB
From: Peter Clifton <pcjc2 AT cam DOT ac DOT uk>
To: geda-user AT delorie DOT com
Date: Tue, 06 Jan 2015 23:19:50 +0000
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On Tue, 2015-01-06 at 19:00 +0100, Peter Stuge wrote:
> Peter Clifton wrote:
> > I'm doing some re-factoring of HID drawing APIs etc..,
> 
> This sounds fantastic. Thanks a lot!
> 
> 
> > If there are a some exporters people want to maintain (or get merged at
> > some point?), also let me know,
> 
> I only have a wishlist HPGL exporter for milling. :)

Have you tried the gcode exporter? (I have not, so cannot attest to its
output).

Internally it is based on PNG export, then curve tracing, (not how I'd
have implemented it perhaps), but at least this way avoids the pitfalls
of PCB's polygon code (which doesn't currently support arcs or any other
curves).

Are you be interested in isolation milling, or actually clearing the
spaces between tracks?

Direct CAM output ventures away from where I see PCB's core purpose, but
it would be nice to see a more general CAM utility (perhaps based on a
hybrid between PCB and libgerbv).

Importing gerber files into PCB is a "wouldn't that be nice" feature
I've had occasion to want several times now. You'd never recover the
footprint data properly to really edit the board, but in some cases,
just having tracking information (or an outline) to start from an
existing board would be a real help.


Peter


-- 
Peter Clifton <peter DOT clifton AT clifton-electronics DOT co DOT uk>

Clifton Electronics