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Merging designs in to a panel

e14 Contributor

Is there any way to merge several designs created in Eagle in to one single 17"x11" panel?

 

The reason I ask is that I'm looking to move away from my old PCB package but the Eagle pricing structure is putting me off unless there is a way around this. I tend to do a lot of different board designs on low quantity runs and have found it cheaper to put multiple designs on one panel.

 

It would appear from the Eagle pricing structure that although the 'Lite' version would be fine in terms of capabilities (All my designs are one or two layer) but I would need to buy the Pro license to get enough board area for a panel. The boards themselves are all small - well within the size limits of the Lite version but I need the 17" x 11" area to arrange the panel. Is there any way around this with the Lite version or should I look elsewhere for a PCB package as I can't justify the expense of the Pro version....

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  • If this is the official support forum and the developers can't be bothered to answer a simple question like this then I think I'm better off looking for another package anyway, one where I can get help when I need it...

  • in reply to e14 Contributor

    On 1/24/2012 3:39 AM, Stephen Hughes wrote:

    If this is the official support forum and the developers can't be bothered to answer a simple question like this then I think I'm better off looking for another package anyway, one where I can get help when I need it...

     

     

    Hi Stephen,

     

    If you need help in a rush, contact Cadsoft Support. User forums make no

    guarantees as to how quickly or if you will even get a response. Direct

    Cadsoft Support is free so there's no reason not to take advantage of it.

     

    You could try gerbmerge, which is an open source tool for panelizing

    boards, I don't have much personal experience with it but many users

    have reported success with it.

     

    The other option would be to see if the board house will do the

    panelization for you.

     

    Outside of that you're SOL.

     

    Best Regards,

    Jorge Garcia

     

Reply
  • in reply to e14 Contributor

    On 1/24/2012 3:39 AM, Stephen Hughes wrote:

    If this is the official support forum and the developers can't be bothered to answer a simple question like this then I think I'm better off looking for another package anyway, one where I can get help when I need it...

     

     

    Hi Stephen,

     

    If you need help in a rush, contact Cadsoft Support. User forums make no

    guarantees as to how quickly or if you will even get a response. Direct

    Cadsoft Support is free so there's no reason not to take advantage of it.

     

    You could try gerbmerge, which is an open source tool for panelizing

    boards, I don't have much personal experience with it but many users

    have reported success with it.

     

    The other option would be to see if the board house will do the

    panelization for you.

     

    Outside of that you're SOL.

     

    Best Regards,

    Jorge Garcia

     

Children
  • in reply to e14 Contributor

    Jorge Garcia wrote on Tue, 24 January 2012 18:29

    On 1/24/2012 4:59 PM, James Morrison wrote:

     

    And for those of us who are using EAGLE in a professional

    environment,

    Stephen is right:  Help that you have to wait for is no help at

    all.

     

    Hi James,

     

    He doesn't have to wait at all, that's why there's free phone support.

     

    Is the phone obsolete already? I guess I need to get with the times.

     

     

    No, obviously not.  The issue is, from a new user's point of view, the

    different avenues for support are all given the same weight.  I've never

    seen it say anywhere that telephone support is a higher priority than forum

    support.  So I'm not sure I'd expect a new user to know that.  In some

    ways, the forum is better because user's can give you a different

    perspective.  With no indication of priority from CadSoft's support team I

    can see why some would prefer to use the forums over a phone (language

    difficulties being on of them).

     

    This isn't an issue about whether support is good or not good.  The support

    is excellent if you know how to use it.  The issue is in communicating the

    details to new customers so they don't get frustrated and simply stop using

    EAGLE.

     

    Cheers,

     

    James.

    --

    James Morrison  ~~~  Stratford Digital

     

    Specializing in CadSoft EAGLE

    • Online Sales to North America

    • Electronic Design Services

    • EAGLE Enterprise Toolkit

    --

    Web access to CadSoft support forums at www.eaglecentral.ca.  Where the CadSoft EAGLE community meets.

     

  • in reply to e14 Contributor

    On 1/24/2012 4:59 PM, James Morrison wrote:

     

    And for those of us who are using EAGLE in a professional environment,

    Stephen is right:  Help that you have to wait for is no help at all.

     

    Hi James,

     

    He doesn't have to wait at all, that's why there's free phone support.

    Is the phone obsolete already? I guess I need to get with the times.

     

    Best Regards,

    Jorge

     

     

  • in reply to e14 Contributor

    Jorge Garcia wrote on Tue, 24 January 2012 14:14

    On 1/24/2012 3:39 AM, Stephen Hughes wrote:

    If this is the official support forum and the developers can't be

    bothered to answer a simple question like this then I think I'm better

    off looking for another package anyway, one where I can get help when I

    need it...

     

     

    Hi Stephen,

     

    If you need help in a rush, contact Cadsoft Support. User forums make

    no

    guarantees as to how quickly or if you will even get a response. Direct

     

    Cadsoft Support is free so there's no reason not to take advantage of

    it.

     

     

    Jorge,

     

    I think this is actually an issue.  These forums are put forth as the

    official tech support forums.

     

    From http://www.cadsoftusa.com/forums/technical-support/?language=en

     

    "Get technical support from the CadSoft staff and other EAGLE users. You

    will be connected to our forum within the element14 engineering community

    site."

     

    So this is portrayed and seen as an official support mechanism.

    Experienced users may know what you have said above, but that's not really

    what is made public.  So perhaps CadSoft should make information about

    their support channels a bit more clear.

     

    And for those of us who are using EAGLE in a professional environment,

    Stephen is right:  Help that you have to wait for is no help at all.

     

    Cheers,

     

    James.

    --

    James Morrison  ~~~  Stratford Digital

     

    Specializing in CadSoft EAGLE

    • Online Sales to North America

    • Electronic Design Services

    • EAGLE Enterprise Toolkit

    --

    Web access to CadSoft support forums at www.eaglecentral.ca.  Where the CadSoft EAGLE community meets.