[geda-user] Chip shooter to be open design and work with Eagle files -- Why not PCB?

[John Griessen]

I just heard that the smoothieboard developer is going to figure how to
connect a smoothieboard to drive a pick and place circuit assembly bot.

He's going to use Eagle because it is easy compared to working with gerber data.

So, what are the arguments for working with PCB again?

Postscript output,

NC drill file,

centroids? I've been so busy on non electronics work for two years, I forgot...

[Bernd Walter]

Post by John Griessen
I just heard that the smoothieboard developer is going to figure how to
connect a smoothieboard to drive a pick and place circuit assembly bot.
He's going to use Eagle because it is easy compared to working with gerber data.
So, what are the arguments for working with PCB again?

Free open source software!
Don't know about Eagles file format, but the ASCII format of PCB is
something I really like.
I can place it into subversion and use all my talent with vi and
scripts onto it.

By the way - PCB's placement output (bom export) is also easy to parse:
[267]devel> less pcb.xy
# PcbXY Version 1.0
# Date: Fri Jul 25 01:16:12 2014 UTC
# Author: Bernd Walter
# Title: PCB - PCB X-Y
# RefDes, Description, Value, X, Y, rotation, top/bottom
# X,Y in mil. rotation in degrees.
# --------------------------------------------
R50,"220R","4x0603",926.50,985.00,0,top
D3,"EL19-237","4-Pin SMD LED",815.00,959.50,270,top
D7,"SSL13L","Sub-SMA",725.00,2865.00,90,top
D8,"SSL13L","Sub-SMA",725.00,2615.00,90,top
C10,"470pF","0402",532.62,1565.44,0,top
IC18,"34063","SMD 8",586.73,1387.61,270,top
...

Post by John Griessen
Postscript output,
NC drill file,
centroids? I've been so busy on non electronics work for two years, I forgot...