Flatcam 8.994 BETA doesn´t import gerber from Altium correctly

[Júlio Santos]

When i try to import an solderpaste gerber from Altium on flatcam 8.994 it imports misaligned geometry. The same file is imported correctly on flatcam 8.5.

I also tested importing the file on flatcam 8.5, saving the project and then opening it on 8.994. When I do that, the geometry works well.

[Marius Stanciu]

Hello,

Saying “Altium” is saying “from Africa”: it’s a big continent. There is CircuitMaker, CircuitStudio, CircuitMaker Pro, Designer, Nexus… And for Altium Designer there are versions and versions.
If you can, please post here some Gerber files that do show the problem.

[Júlio Santos]

Hi @Marius Stanciu ,

Thank you for your reply. I apologize for the missing information.

The gerber was generated on Altium Designer 20.0.1

On the folowing image, the left is the same gerber imported on flatcam 8.5 (it some pads are wrong too) and on the right is flatcam 8.994

I believe that it was cause due to a file format that my friend used to export the gerber, because yesterday, doing a few more tests I opened the gerber on “gerbv” and then exported it in RS-274X format. Only then, the both versions of flatcam opened the file correctly.

Gerber files

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[Marius Stanciu]

Hi Júlio ,

Thank you for the Gerber files, they helped in solving the bug. This was an edge case, when the coordinates have negative values and the trailing zeros are removed (T). Most of the Gerber files are saved with leading zeros removed (L) so that’s why I did not see the issue.

The problem is fixed and the bugfix will be made available in the next version, 8.995.

Best regards,
Marius

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[David Rathbone]

Hi

I had a problem with Flatcam and using Altuim Ver 20.0.10 PCB designer which made a “Standerd Gerber output files” (in mm - 4.2) bottom layer for my single sided simple PCB.

Normaly on sending to PCB fabrication the Altuim Gerbers have never been a problem, however this time I needed to CNC the PCB myself.

FlatCAM crashed 90% of the time and other programs complained of missing stuff in the gerber files, when loading the Altuim made Gerbers.

The issue is Not with FlatCAM but from Altuim being “to good” and making “smart” aperture macro’s which Flatcam, CooperCAM and others all fall over.

I also had to go back to FlatCam Version 8.5 (Juan Pablo Caram) to get around some GUI bugs that are not explained in the new FlatCAM Beta’s. No code should ever exit on crash , without telling the user, this must be a Python thing?, even just a blue screen of death would be better… (sorry for the Rant)

Here is my work around:

1. Download gerbv -- a Gerber (RS-274/X) viewer. (http://gerbv.geda-project.org/)
2. Add Altuim gerber layer into gerbv (My case Singlelayer.GBL) - edit anything in this veiwer I got rid of the GND copper poor as CNC would leave copper anyway.
3. Most important now “EXPORT” as RS-274X newSingleLayer.GBL. If you compair the files from Altuim (even befor any editing) this new file is bigger and gives values for X,Y and makes the aperture macro’s more readable in most of the GCode tool programs (FlatCam , CooperCad and older hobby git stuff)
4. Open Flatcam and load your updated Gerber files. - Note NCDrill file will need scale set to 10 to fix it up? (Use the file ending in TXT) This works stright from Altuim. Excellon drill format has not been changed much …(phew!)
5. Use the FlatCAM command line to mirror gerbers and NCdrill e.g. mirror newSingleLayer.GBL -axis Y (See Youtube link)
6. Use Offset to get it back on page e.g if PCB width was 85mm enter 85 offset= (85,00)
7. Finnaly export your Gcode for the board cutout, drill file and PCB tracks. import into Candle or tool for your CNC cutter.

I must add Marius Stanciu FlatCAM beta work is very good please add more to FlatCAM. Maybe take it all the way to 3018/3040 CNC (i.e. Low cost Amazon purchased) machines not requiring any more open source stuff to run the GCode.

However, this all took me three days to fix. The 3rd party YouTube Videos of FlatCAM 8.991,is missleading (Link below), as it does not reflect the latest Beta 8.994 which makes setting the drill sizes diffrent and seams to have added some new GUI functions? (Please show users Marius on how to use this)

I liked the simple screen shots of FlatCam 8.5 that simple showed a user using FlatCam showing all the mirror commands I used.

See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTuuqjh1V8c by Marco Mangraviti. This just works….

Missleading video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--Cb11heuHc as it’s Beta 8.991 needs updating….

Hope this helps future users…..

[Marius Stanciu]

Hi David, @DavidRathbone

I had a problem with Flatcam and using Altuim Ver 20.0.10 PCB designer which made a “Standerd Gerber output files” (in mm - 4.2) bottom layer for my single sided simple PCB.

I am using Altium software both at home (Circuit Studio aka Circuit Maker Pro) and at work (Altium Designer) so I find it puzzling when people say that Altium output manufacturing files that can’t be opened by FlatCAM in its beta version. True that from time to time some changes added to fix some issues ended up breaking support for other software but most of the times I solve them in due time.

Actually I take the output from Altium as a reference and see them as the best there is out there.

Could you please share one Gerber file that creates issues? Thanks!

No code should ever exit on crash , without telling the user, this must be a Python thing?, even just a blue screen of death would be better… (sorry for the Rant)

I agree and that’s why in the working version I’ve added support for logging all fatal errors (those that create a software crash) by saving them into a log.txt file placed in the same location where the preferences files are. If you care to run FlatCAM from sources and you dare face some bugs (and report them) you could use the sources from here:
https://bitbucket.org/marius_stanciu/flatcam_beta/get/Beta_8.995.zip which contain my latest work.

I must add Marius Stanciu FlatCAM beta work is very good please add more to FlatCAM.

Thanks, when the new version will be released will be loaded with a whole years work of goodies.

Maybe take it all the way to 3018/3040 CNC (i.e. Low cost Amazon purchased) machines not requiring any more open source stuff to run the GCode.

Usually separate tools do the work much better than a one-fits-all tool. But I do try to add as much as possible.

The 3rd party YouTube Videos of FlatCAM 8.991,is missleading (Link below), as it does not reflect the latest Beta 8.994

The videos from DIY TECH BROS is very good and also the one from Marco but they are both for older versions of the software. One of the reasons why I didn’t published any more videos on FlatCAM besides the first one is that I did add many features, reworked the GUI in many places such that any video made was rendered almost useless so in my view was wasted time that I could dedicate to development.
Fortunately, generous people went over the way and provided very useful videos even if they may have been aware that they will be made obsolete in a short time.
For example, in FlatCAM beta there are numerous ways to do mirroring so there is no need for the command line. Actually the command line is useful only when one wants to automate tasks, do scripting. Yet, the command line is the least of priority for me so it is the last place that I am working on, barring that I do not receive requests in that area when I rely on feedback from interested users (to fix the issues for the command line).

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