ToolsCreateFab

Applied Parameters: None

Summary

This command is used to create a fabrication drawing for the current document, using the drill layer(s) that are available.

Access

This command can be accessed from the CAMtastic Editor by:

• Choosing the Analysis » Create Fab Drawing (from Drill) command from the main menus.
• Clicking the  button, on the Fabrication Tools drop-down () of the Utilities toolbar.

Use

After launching the command the cursor will change to a small square and you will be prompted to select the closed border of the PCB design. Simply select the entire border (each line segment at a time) and then right-click. The Create NC Drawing dialog will appear.

The dialog is divided over two tabs. The PCB Information tab contains the overall dimensions of the PCB - automatically calculated from the selected PCB border - and several fields in which you can enter company information. The PCB Drawing Size tab allows you to specify the size of the fabrication drawing you wish to generate (standard sizes A-E).

After defining drawing options as required and clicking OK, a new layer - fablayer - is created and added to the layers list on the CAMtastic panel. This layer becomes the current layer, with all other layers that were ON before, now turned OFF.

The layer consists of symbols marking each different tool size used, and a legend, containing additional information for each hole size such as quantity, and whether they are plated.

Tips

1. If no drill layer is found in the design, the fablayer will not be generated and a warning dialog will appear alerting you to the fact that the drill layer is missing.
2. Ensure that the drawing size selected is larger than the PCB image.
3. The Information on the fablayer will be drawn using the current Dcode. Make sure you have the current Dcode set to a reasonable shape/size, otherwise the textual information will become illegible.