Making your own Gerbers

James B

Long talk

Time

June 21, 2025 11:30 AM - 12:20 PM

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Location

Talk Track Two

Outline:

• Python and computational geometry using shapely
• The Gerber format
• Design rules for PCBs
• River routing
• Board #1: Dazzler
• Neat thing: signal permutation
• Returning to basics: breadboard replacement
• Generating a whole board just from a list of parts
• No autorouter, just a very simple topology
• Example: chicken coop computer
• Example: a giant clock made with a for loop
• A rethink, PCBs give us too much geometric freedom
• What if we used a cell-based layout, cough, Factorio
• Dual layer hex grids?
• The hex grid gauge can be well-matched to the design rules
• Each component's pads are routed to the hex grid, examples
• From then on it's cell-based routing through the grids, pretty simple
• Example: TermDriver 2
• The future? More grid-based layout, a sketch of a future flow