Originators on Silkscreen - Eagle

[AJBotha]

Hi Guys

I am busy with my first project in Eagle (I like it a lot).

Most of my questions were answered on tutorials without breaking a sweat.

I cannot find an answer for my this however.
It looks like my text on my silkscreen has a built in originator and I am scared that it gets printed, because if I switch off Layer 23 (tOrigin) the originators for the parts go away but not these on my text. I have not exported to a Gerber yet to see if they will be there?

Thanks
Antonie

[stryker]

Hi Antonie,

Those + marks do not get exported whether they're text or on the footprint.

Cheers ! Geoff

[AJBotha]

Thanx I was hoping you say that! 

[DomesticHacks]

I think it's a good practice to generate the gerber files before getting the PCB manufactured, even if you don't need them.
Then you can verify what will be on your pcb by using a Gerber viewer (for example gerbv).
I also found this online 3D viewer very usefull to evaluate a design before production.

[Jon Chandler]

Here's an Eagle hint:

Make sure all text is set to VECTOR and not PROPORTIONAL.  If you don't do this, the text size on the circuit board will not be what you expected, throwing off alignment.

[AJBotha]

Here's an Eagle hint:

Make sure all text is set to VECTOR and not PROPORTIONAL.  If you don't do this, the text size on the circuit board will not be what you expected, throwing off alignment.

Thanx Jon!
Good tip!

[Tac Eht Xilef]

Additional tip: after that, use the 'normalise-text.ulp' script to tidy up text sizes etc.

For extra points, create your own script to smash, set the font to vector, and do anything else you want (e.g. change the alignment) on all text automagically.

(edit: By the way, I've been using Eagle on and off for 20+ years and still I can never remember if it exports the origin marks or not...)

[matseng]

Here's an Eagle hint:

Make sure all text is set to VECTOR and not PROPORTIONAL.  If you don't do this, the text size on the circuit board will not be what you expected, throwing off alignment.

I've seen this tip numerous times and I usually try to remember to keep all my text as vectors, but every now and then I forget this and I can't recall seeing any misaligned text in the 100+ board designs I've made.   Maybe this tip is just something that was valid ages ago and have just stuck as a part of the Eagle folklore?

[Jeroen3]

It's up to the export job to determine the fate of the origins layers. Most of the times, these are not exported as gerber file but as coordinate list. (for pick&place)
You'll certainly receive errors since the origins are width 0, and you cannot create copper or silk with width 0.

Always check your gerber files using Gerbv, GC-Prevue or some other tool. Never use the same program to check gerbers and draw boards, since rendering errors might exist in normal and gerber view.

[Stupid Beard]

Here's an Eagle hint:

Make sure all text is set to VECTOR and not PROPORTIONAL.  If you don't do this, the text size on the circuit board will not be what you expected, throwing off alignment.

I've seen this tip numerous times and I usually try to remember to keep all my text as vectors, but every now and then I forget this and I can't recall seeing any misaligned text in the 100+ board designs I've made.   Maybe this tip is just something that was valid ages ago and have just stuck as a part of the Eagle folklore?

It was still true around version 7.1. There's a global option to always set the font to the vector font if you go to Options -> User Interface menu in the library. It's also accessible in the board and schematic windows, which has additionally a Persist for this drawing option. If you have any of those set then Eagle will never use a proportional font.

I say it was still true around version 7.1, but that was just the last time that I generated a gerber that I had accidentally used the proportional font. After that I set the always use vector option and haven't had issues since.

[matseng]

I say it was still true around version 7.1, but that was just the last time that I generated a gerber that I had accidentally used the proportional font. After that I set the always use vector option and haven't had issues since.

So you actually got bad/misaligned text on your silk on the PCB?

[kizzap]

I say it was still true around version 7.1, but that was just the last time that I generated a gerber that I had accidentally used the proportional font. After that I set the always use vector option and haven't had issues since.

So you actually got bad/misaligned text on your silk on the PCB?

Where I saw it manifest, is where you have text in proportional on the copper layer, export the gerbers, and you find that the text, and the copper pull-back around the text dont match

[matseng]

Where I saw it manifest, is where you have text in proportional on the copper layer, export the gerbers, and you find that the text, and the copper pull-back around the text dont match

Allright,  good to know that we all don't do this for no real reason :-)   Thanks.