Running ASM600 on UNIX

This page describes the basic procedure for running asm600 on UNIX to convert from GDSII to Gerber RS274X.
Specifically, we will show the polygon fill procedure which produces smaller and more accurate Gerber files.
As a test file, we will use the file package.gds, located in the asm600/examples directory.
The file includes polygons, traces, and circular polygons for the pads. We will use asm600 to map these polygons to Gerber round flashes, and later even create an Excellon drill file.

STEP 1

Assuming we are in the asm600/examples directory, the first step is to start the GUI by typing ../bin/asm600. The asm600 is located in the bin directory of the software.
After the menu comes up, select the GDSII file you want to translate (package.gds is our example).

STEP 2

Click on the first option in the menu Configure Translator. You will be asked to pick an aperture file. You can either pick an existing one if exist, or select a new aperture file name.
Once the Configuration menu comes up, you will need to enter some of the Gerber parameters.
We recommend using the options as shown in the picture below. If your GDSII file is in English units, you may want to switch the Gerber units to Inch. Hit F8 to save your settings and go back to the main menu.

STEP 3

From the main menu click on the Select Layers and Structures.
This menu will allow you to pick the layers you want to translate, and the cell/structure to translate.
By default, the program will translate all the layers and the top cell.
Hit F8 to save your settings and go back to the main menu.

STEP 4

From the main menu click on the Edit Aperture Table.
This menu will allow you to edit/create the aperture file.
If it is a new and empty file, click on Shift F5 first - asm600 will add a few default apertures.
Next, define two POEX apertures as shown in the example below - those will be used to polygon fill all your closed polygons.
Last thing is optional and may be used if you want to map circular polygons in the GDSII file to Gerber Flashes. You should do so in case you need to create an Excellon drill file.
To do so, you will need to create new Round apertures and specify the diameter of the different pad sizes.
Go to an empty spot in the aperture menu, hit the letter F (for Flash), and then Enter. Type in the diameter size, then Enter, then pick Round and again the diameter size. Do the same for any other diameter size you may have in the file. Hit F8 to save your settings and go back to the main menu.

STEP 5

From the main menu click on the Start Translation, and once done, click on the View Gerber.
You should be able to view the Gerber data, and use the viewer to turn layers on/off, zoom to critical areas, measure, plot etc.

Creating Drill Files

If you need to create a drill file, you may do so by clicking on the Aperture button in the gerber viewer.
Go to the apertures that were defined as flashes and associate a Drill tool number and Drill tool size as shown below.

From the Gerber viewer, click on Tools > Drills > Excellon, and the drill files along with a report will get created in the same directory as the gerber files.
The report displayed will show you how many drills exist in each layer.