Importing Gerber and Drill Data - LAB

Use File/New to begin a new CAM350 session.

Select File/Import/Auto Import and set a path to the PCB2CAM350/

Gerber directory.

Set the button for Metric, then select Finish. 

Cam350 will automatically select and load the Gerber and NC drill files.

During the loading process a message will pop up warning of “Unassigned Tools. 

This concerns drill sizes which have not yet been set and is normalbehavior.

Note: Because this demonstration board has Blind and Buried vias the

             message pops up 3 times. Once for each drill set.

Experiments:

• What happens when you load the files with set the button set to English?

• What happens when you select Next instead of Finish?

Make sure the Gerber and Drill files are loaded correctly before proceeding.

Use the Settings/Units pull down menu and select Metric.

Use the File/Save As command at this point to open a new CAM350 database for this design. Set the path to your practice area and assign the file a unique name (i.e. don’t use the same name as the Demo files).

Use the CAM_Demo_Offset.CAM file as a reference if you have any questions.

Note: the dot “CAM” file extension denotes a native CAM350 formatted file.

            CAM350 files are Opened using File/Open.

CAM350 LAB for PCB Designers

All the materials you need to perform the same operations as in the companion tutorial are provided to allow you try out the features that have been demonstrated (provided you  have CAM350). 


They consist of: 

• PowerPCB files: A PCB file of the demo board (not used but are provided for reference). 

• An ASCII file (can be used to create an IPC-D-356 netlist). 

• An IPC-D-356 netlistGerber and NC Drill files 

• CAM350 files: Some of these files will be used to try out certain features of CAM350. Others, as a reference for comparing your results. 

It is suggested that you create a new directory on your local drive where these materials can be copied from the CD.