Eagle CAD questions

[Admin]

Im still noobing (its a verb cause I said so) with Eagle.

If I do autoroute and it creates all these traces for me, is there like an 'auto delete all routes' button? I dont like have to delete each routing individually . . .

Ill have lots of other questions coming later . . . still trying to figure it out on my own first . . .

[dunk]

heh, Eagle is a great program but the user interface is very counter intuitive in places.
so to delete multiple traces, select "group" (the dashed square from the menu on the left) then click and drag it over the area you want to get rid of the traces.
next click the "ripup" button from the menu on the left and right click on the area you selected with the "group".

job done.


dunk.

[Admin]

Ok next question . . . in my schematic I got crazy nets all over the place linking my headers to AVR pins . . . is there a way to label a header to a pin so that I dont need a net? Its just really messy . . .

[dunk]

i haven't seen anything that does that. doesn't mean it's not possible though.

while i hate reading instructions, i found these usefull when i first used Eagle:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Draw-Electronic-Schematics-with-CadSoft-EAGLE/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Turn-your-EAGLE-schematic-into-a-PCB/

dunk.

[octagonx]

Ok next question . . . in my schematic I got crazy nets all over the place linking my headers to AVR pins . . . is there a way to label a header to a pin so that I dont need a net? Its just really messy . . .

you can't label headers, but you can label nets (or bus). you don't need to connect the nets from the headers all the way to the AVR pins.  You just have to put a little trace net, click on the name button and change its name (it should appear like N$1 or something when you click on the net, you just have to change it.) On the other side of the connection, do the same thing and label its net with the same name.  done. hope it helps.

[Admin]

Dunk, those are exactly the tutorials I was using. They arent perfect, but have definitely helped.

Thanks octagonx, that worked.

[Admin]

Two new questions . . .

Somehow my board border disappeared . . . know how to make it come back? I want to make sure that the board fits the electronics nice and snug.

Also, when Im done, whats the best way to export it? I want to check the file here http://www.freedfm.com/

I figure I push the 'CAM Processor' button, but got confused what to do next . . . gerber files or something like that?

[hgordon]

Right - you have to run the gerber.cam to generate the gerber files and excellon.cam for the drill files.  When you are done, besides file.brd and file.sch, you should end up with
file.cmp
file.drd
file.dri
file.erc
file.gpi
file.plc
file.pro
file.sol
file.stc
file.sts
file.whl

I believe only .cmp .sol. .plc .stc .sts .whl and .drd have to be sent to the board processor, but we send all the files, and it doesn't cause any problems

By the way, we use www.pcborder.com for fabrication.  Prices and turnaround are good and the boards are very good quality.  We typically get the "Dozen Deal" for prototyping - 12 boards in 5 day turn for $120 plus freight.  Once the prototype checks out, we reorder for production quantities.  The only difference I've noticed between prototype and production is that they don't drill slots in prototype boards.  There might be better deals, but we've been using these guys for 2+ years without problems.

[octagonx]

there are couple of reasons i could think of why the borders are gone.
1.  First, you accidentally uncheck the "Dimensions" entry in the "Display/hide layers.." in the View menu or side panel.  If you do, check if it is indeed highlighted. If it is not, then highlight it.
2.  You deleted the border.  You can make a new border by using the line command in the side panel or edit menu.  Change the "line appearance" (i dont know how to call it) to "Dimensions".  You can find it at the toolbar (the default is 16 Bottom).  Then, change the line width to '0'.  There you go.

[TrickyNekro]

For the border... Not quite sure but you are using the tool to place traces and in the upper left of the screen (where do you change traces possition (upper layer, bottom layer....)) and select "20 dimension"

Then you make the line thinner and drow it to the board!!!

Simple...

Regards, TrickyNekro!!!

[Admin]

Ok I think that fixed the border problem.

Two more questions . . .

I want to put mounting holes at the corners of my PCB. Is it right to go to Draw- > Hole or is there a better way? How do I define the hole diameter?

Im also trying to add text by going to Draw -> Text. The question is, what layer should I do this with? 104 Name?

Im really getting the hang of Eagle CAD now . . . its not as hard as I thought, although it could seriously use help boxes and a proper tutorial . . .

[Admin]

Never mind on the text question, the answer is 21 tPlace.

[octagonx]

It has to be Draw>Hole.  The diameter can be changed at the toolbar. It says "Drill". 

[Admin]

Right - you have to run the gerber.cam to generate the gerber files and excellon.cam for the drill files.  When you are done, besides file.brd and file.sch, you should end up with
file.cmp
file.drd
file.dri
file.erc
file.gpi
file.plc
file.pro
file.sol
file.stc
file.sts
file.whl

I believe only .cmp .sol. .plc .stc .sts .whl and .drd have to be sent to the board processor, but we send all the files, and it doesn't cause any problems

For others, I found this very helpful:
http://www.mil.ufl.edu/imdl/handouts/Summer07/HOWTO-eagle-ttech.htm

[paulstreats]

sparkfun.com have an easy to follow tutorial for eagle that i found useful, they also have a download for more component parts to install.

[Admin]

A little late for me now, but . . .
http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/present.php?p=BEE-8-EagleSchematic
http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/present.php?p=BEE-9-EaglePCB
http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/present.php?p=BEE-10-EagleLibrary

[paulstreats]

sorry, i could have posted earlier but i didnt think

there is also a link on the sparkfun web site to the the pcb fabricating house they use. its very cheap ($10 once per design and $2.50 for every square inch) it takes about 15 - 20 days apparently, but theres no minimum order so you can order just 1 if you want, its eagle compatable and includes silkscreens etc which other cheap fab houses dont.

[Admin]

Ive spent the last 3 weeks working with Eagle . . . and decided to write a tutorial . . .

How to convert 2D Eagle files to 3D

[creedcradle]

@Admin

that is so amazing... i am using eagle and i thought i cant make a 3d output...so i went to target 3001 and proteus but now, i gues i have to go back to eagle

you got the solutions..

Thank you so much!! 

BTW, Admin.. will the 3d software compatible to eagle version 4.14?

[Admin]

BTW, Admin.. will the 3d software compatible to eagle version 4.14?

hmmm I did it with Eagle 4.16r2 . . .

the documentation says:
3d40.ulp  ULP for Eagle <=4.09r2
3d41.ulp  ULP for Eagle >=4.1
(for .pov generation)

So, yes.

[creedcradle]

@Admin

Let me show you my H-bridge using the eagle3d -POV-Ray( no AA) ..



and it was no sweat to make this out from your tutorial, it took me less than 5 minutes to finish this. 
Iam still trying to check the programming structure of the POV-Ray though.

Thanks again for the very easy to follow tutorial you created. 

[Admin]

Anyone know how I can create a centroid file with Eagle?

The company assembling my boards is asking for the centroids of each component. Considering I'm doing fine pitch SMD, I can't just eye ball this . . . Also, anyone know how the centroid of a non-symmetric component is defined (soldering pads do not line up with the centroid of my usb connector)?

I am going through a horrific customer service experience with PCB Fab Express
I'm convinced they have no idea what they are doing . . . and definitely do NOT recommend them for assembly applications.

(rant rant rant, hope I save others time and frustration . . .)

[paulstreats]

in their faq, pcbfabexpress go on about being partnered with ISO-9002 certified pcb manufacturers and assemblers in the US which probably means that they dont actually do the work themselves - more like just act as go between agents charging a commission and bringing the cost of making the boardshigher. Also they talk about relationships with board houses and assemblers in asia probably meaning that they are probably using cheaper eastern board houses.

[Admin]

They had strong Indian accents. They gave me the impression that the assembly was being done in-house, and that they had a pick-and-place machine. They didn't say this directly, but I asked about it and they said yes. But I kept getting the feeling they were only telling me what they think I wanted to hear . . . They are waaaay behind the completion schedule that they promised me

[Admin]

I figured out how to get the centroid data.

In the Board window, click:

File -> Export... -> Partlist

Then just save the file and open it up in a text editor.

[pomprocker]

I just found this link if anyone is interested:

http://www.freerouting.net/

[Admin]

Now that you brought up this dead thread , I guess I'll mention that about a year later I wrote a tutorial on it:

http://www.societyofrobots.com/electronics_Eagle_export_tutorial.shtml

[uscjeremy]

Sorry to resurrect a dead thread yet again, but I discovered a better way to export a centroid file -- Eagle comes with a user language program that does the export.  Open your board, click the ULP icon and run "mountsmd.ulp".  It'll prompt you for an output filename twice, once for the top and once for the bottom.  It emits a text file with lines that look like this:

C1 26.16  8.38  90 0.22uF A/3216-18R

(Reference designator, X, Y, rotation, value, and package)

mountsmd.ulp only emits data for surface mount parts.  There's also one called "mount.ulp" for through-hole parts.

--Jeremy

[Kirk]

The Best Eagle CAD tutorials are here.
Logical - step by step - explains how, and why


http://tangentsoft.net/elec/movies/


Kirk