How'd Sparkfun do that? (multiple designs, one board)

Community PCB Design
1

I was looking at one of the Sparkfun tutorials on PCB layout using the reflow skillet method and they show how they put multiple copies of the same board onto one PCB.

How do you do this in Eagle?

For example… if I have a schematic that takes up a 1x1 space on the board, how can I print 10 copies of these up on one PCB?

2

Greetings (No Name Supplied),

midnitrcr:
How do you do this in Eagle?

For example… if I have a schematic that takes up a 1x1 space on the board, how can I print 10 copies of these up on one PCB?

The process is called ‘step and repeat’ and it is done to

maximize the use of standard panels used in PCB fabrication.

EAGLE can’t do this for you (there are some clever work

arounds, but these are not for EAGLE beginners).

If you require this process you should look for a

Gerber manipulation tool to assemble copies of

the design files that are output from EAGLE in your

tool chain. Gerbview is popular.

Also, if you submit a single design to BatchPCB that

contains multiple projects (or copies of a single

project) you will have to cut them apart yourself.

This step is called ‘singlation’. The PCBs from

BatchPCB are cut with a router and have nice clean

and straight edges. There should be a gap between

each of your PCB images to allow for the router bit

or saw kerf.

Comments Welcome!

3

Doing that in Eagle is not easy. Check out a program called GerbMerge instead. I’ve never used it, but the name comes up a lot for questions like this.

4

bigglez:
… Also, if you submit a single design to BatchPCB that

contains multiple projects (or copies of a single

project) you will have to cut them apart yourself. …

Actually, the BatchPCB FAQ says that if you provide an outline (on the top silkscreen) for separate boards, and leave at least ~100mil spacing between the two, they will usually separate them for you. This is however, not guaranteed (although they try their hardest), and the only way to absolutely guarantee they are separated is to place two orders.

Just an FYI, and good luck with your project!

5

Thanks for the help guys!

I am doing my own board fabrication, so I was trying to cut down on how much toner transfer paper I was going to waste.

The project I’m working on is designed to be as small as possible, but lots of them…

6

midnitrcr:
Thanks for the help guys!

I am doing my own board fabrication, so I was trying to cut down on how much toner transfer paper I was going to waste.

The project I’m working on is designed to be as small as possible, but lots of them…

You could always just print to a PDF/postscript file and modify the file to have many copies of the one board.