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<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd">
<html>
<head>
<title> pcb-rnd user manual </title>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=us-ascii">
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../default.css">
</head>
<body>
<h1> pcb-rnd - user manual </h1>
<h2> 1. Introduction </h2>
<p>
pcb-rnd is a highly modular, interactive <i>Printed Circuit Board</i> editor
with a <a href="history.html"> very long history </a>.
<h3> 1.1. Place in the workflow </h3>
<p>
The main purpose of pcb-rnd is to edit the geometry of the board. This
includes board shape, copper shape, layer stackup, holes drilled, slots
routed.
<p>
The <b>input</b> of the layout process is usually a netlist derived from
schematics, and occasionally layouts drawn from scratch or created from
schematic without importable netlist. Pcb-rnd can read different netlist
formats and it can help the user to realize the given netlist in copper or to
change the netlist and back annotate the changes. Pcb-rnd, however, does not
display or edit schematics directly.
<p>
The <b>output</b> of pcb-rnd is most often a vector format (e.g. gerber
RS274D), that is sent to a pcb fab house for manufacturing or is utilized for
auto-fabrication. Pcb-rnd supports a variety of vector and raster output
formats making it easy to print boards, publish them on web pages, and include
them in documentation.
<p>
The typical workflows are:
<p>
<img src="flow.svg" alt="[workflow diagram showing pcb-rnd interacting with schematics editor, fabrication, and others]">
<p>
Black flows are the most commonly used; grey flows are possible, fully
supported but less often used in practice.
<h3> 1.2. What pcb-rnd is and is not </h3>
<p>
Pcb-rnd is a versatile tool for PCB layout design. It is geared to be
a tool for users with the UNIX mind set:
<ul>
<li> it is small, easy to compile and run, has low resource footprint
<li> it is modular - most features are in plugins, the user can chose which plugins to use
<li> it is portable - also runs on systems that are not hyped today
<li> it works well from both CLI (automation, e.g. called from a Makefile or even using with an interactive action command <i>shell</i>) and GUI
<li> it is designed to communicate with other software:
<ul>
<li> it is easy to remote control
<li> it speaks many file formats
</ul>
<li> it doesn't outsmart the user, it doesn't block the user from doing unusual things; it has support for checking the result and generate warnings
</ul>
<p>
There are a few things that are out of scope for pcb-rnd:
<ul>
<li> 3d editing: pcb-rnd is 2.5d, that means it's basically 2d and understands the 3rd dimension partially; it does load, handle and export 3d data (e.g. subcircuit part models for an openscad export) but it does not edit 3d data
<li> embedded <whatever-non-pcb-editing>: as a UNIX tool, pcb-rnd focuses on one thing, pcb edition, and relies on (and maintains close cooperation with) other tools for:
<ul>
<li> circuit schematics edition
<li> 3d rendering
<li> simulation
</ul>
<li> autorouting - there's a basic built-in autorouter, but it's recommended to use external autorouters (various file formats are supported)
</ul>
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