Prototype Zentroid Data Format- This is an example of the minimal data you should supply along with any PCB once the board is created for larger scale AOI testing. Due to the instability of OCR, text comparison and etc. most all packages will be tested only for form, location and solder joints.
- Fiducial marks are included from the original design stage. Each component has a position, description, x co-ordinate, y co-ordinate, angle and a comment. Here you can see the difference between Zentroid Package Names and common, not so descriptive names. The last component listed gives you an idea how long IPC names can be.
Problem Letters and Symbols in CAD Data
- Often companies or individuals have problems setting rules as to how to name components and packages. Zentroid sets some usable standards. I have had the pleasure and sometimes the pain of having to process a wide variety of data sources and formats. As a hobby programmer I have also seen the difficulties from the software creation side as well. The following table lists those problematic characters and symbols you should avoid usage of.
- Most often encountered is the space in CAD files. Replacing them with an underscore or minus symbol are the most common solutions. Using "Find and Replace" with an wildcard character on each side of a space character will help in this case.
- Another common character in Germany often creating problems is the µ symbol. Yes, it is technically correct but many systems have problems with it. Just simply replace it with a normal u and everyone will understand the meaning when a capital F or H follow it.
- Two other characters that are commonly found on most keyboards and are relatively easy to use are ' and !. Zentroid uses the ' to separate package and value textual strings, rc2012x05'1001.
| Not to Use | Reason |
|---|---|
| µ | Not supported by some file formats and software |
| ; | Used to separate Excels *.csv files |
| : | Microsoft (mount point), Mac - pathname separator |
| . | Microsoft extension separator in last position of name |
| / | Path name separator in verious operating systems |
| \ | Path name separator in windows, OS/2 |
| < | Redirect character in unix-like systems |
| > | Redirect character in unix-like systems |
| ? % * | All 3 can be used somewhere as a wildcard character |
| | | Indicates software pipelining |
| " | Used to delimit filenames with space characters within |
| + | Can be a control character |
| [ ] { } ( ) | Can be a control character or limiter |
| # & | May cause a software programmer a challenge |
| space | Often used as a delimiter of CAD files |