Hello all,
I am working with KiCad v9.0.0 on Win64.
I have generated Gerber files that can be read on sites like Altium and PCBWay without issue.
However, it cannot be read by Siplace Pro Desk ver. 18.0.5.97 (R20-2) from ASMPT SMT Solutions.
The error is as follows:
The Gerber file may be invalid – Unknown macro primitive ‘9’ on line 127.
I cannot upload the file as I am a new user.
ACV
I think you should ask the makers of Siplace Pro Desk about that.
You have options when generating gerbers from Kicad. I suspect if you choose not to use X2 format and not to embed netlist attributes your gerbers will have wider compatibility with more downstream legacy gerber tools.
And update to V9.0.2, your 9.0.0 was the original release and had many nasty bugs
Thanks to all for replying. I really appreciate the quick response. I agree with retiredfeline, this isn’t strictly a KiCad issue. I can successfully load these gerbers on internationally recognized PCB manufacturing websites. However, we have done boards in the past with KiCad, so something happened between v8 and v9. Their opinion is to go back to v8. If the two-Daves ideas don’t fix it, I’m going to redo the board in v8. It’s a simple board, but this is still going to be a pain.
Ucamco writes and maintains the Gerber standard, and their reference viewer (accessible via the 'web) is (or should be?) the standard.
I’m hoping that some day KiCad implements some form of future capability, and an older version can import from a newer version. This would also be a big incentive to try out newer versions, and thus get more bug reports quicker. But KiCad is not there yet.
Also, with the tutorial below you can create a KiCad project (or at least the PCB) from a set of Gerber files. It’s not perfect (there simply is no footprint info in Gerber data), but it’s better then a redesign from scratch.
You can also attempt to copy a section to the clipboard, and then paste it the older V8. Maybe it works, maybe it works partly, maybe this does not work at all. But you can try it out in a few minutes, so worth trying.
KiCad also just puts text on the clipboard. You can copy a section (for example a resistor) to the clipboard, and paste it in a text editor. If you do that with both V8 and V9, you may be able to figure out the differences, and fix those in a text editor. But there are no guarantees here.
One of my last steps before issuing a pcb design is to use Ucamco’s reference viewer. Until a couple of weeks ago I could select ‘Check Syntax’ for each loaded file and see warnings where my Gerbers had illegal or deprecated attributes or functions.
I had no response from Ucamco when I asked if they intended to remove it (seeing as it is still mentioned in their ‘Quick Start’ video) but I worry that it may have disappeared behind a paywall…?
Is this what you were hinting at, @paulvdh, when you said this ‘should be’ the standard reference viewer?
I used “should” because I have not used the Ucamco viewer in about 2 years, and even back then I only did some short tests. (Unfortunately) I make less PCB’s then my presence on this forum may suggest.
Again I want to express gratitude to all those who have replied. All good advice and have given me a way forward.
I tested my KiCad 9 design on the Ucamco reference viewer. It worked fine. Unfortunately, I’m not in a position to get the SMT staff here to update Siplace Pro Desk.
There were several things I didn’t like about my original design. While a pain, I plan to re-enter the design from scratch.
Again, thanks to the KiCad community for the excellent support!
ACV