Fiducials

Fiducials adds fiducial marks to a Gerber object. A pick-and-place machine uses the marks to find the board position. The tool also adds a soldermask opening for each fiducial.

Where to find it

• Menu: Plugins > Fiducials.
• Keyboard: Alt+F.
• The panel opens in a tab next to Project and Properties. The tab shows the plugin name.

Screenshot placeholder: images/Fiducials-1.png — the Fiducials panel with the Coordinates table, Parameters and Selection frames visible.

Quick start

1. Select the Gerber object in Source Object.
2. Set Size to the fiducial diameter (mm or inch).
3. Set Margin.
4. Keep Second fiducial as Up and Mode as Auto.
5. Click Add Fiducial. The marks are placed in the corners of the bounding box.
6. Click Add Soldermask Opening to add the matching mask openings.

Screenshot placeholder: images/Fiducials-2.png — the canvas with the three fiducials placed in the corners of the board.

Parameters

Source Object

Parameter	Description	Default
Source Object	The Gerber object for adding fiducials and soldermask openings.	—

Coordinates

A read-only table. It shows the fiducial points in the format (x, y). Row 1 is Bottom Left. Row 2 is Top Right. Row 3 is Second Point. Row 3 is disabled when Second fiducial is None.

Parameter	Description	Default
Table rows	The points that the tool uses. In Auto mode the table fills in. In Manual mode you click the points on the canvas.	—

Parameters

Parameter	Description	Default
Size	The fiducial diameter for Circular. For Cross and Chess it is the size of the fiducial. The soldermask opening is double this value.	1.0 mm
Margin	Bounding box margin. Range: -10000 to 10000 (mm or inch).	1.0 mm
Second fiducial	The position of the second fiducial. Choices below.	Up
Second fiducial = Up	The order is bottom-left, top-left, top-right.	—
Second fiducial = Down	The order is bottom-left, bottom-right, top-right.	—
Second fiducial = None	No second fiducial. The order is bottom-left, top-right.	—
Fiducial Type	The shape of the fiducial. Shown in Advanced mode only. Choices below.	Circular
Fiducial Type = Circular	The regular round fiducial.	—
Fiducial Type = Cross	Two crossing lines.	—
Fiducial Type = Chess	A chess pattern made of two squares.	—
Line thickness	Thickness of the line that makes the fiducial. Used only by Cross. Shown in Advanced mode only. Range: above 0 (mm or inch).	0.25 mm

Selection

Parameter	Description	Default
Mode	How the fiducial points are set. Choices below.	Auto
Mode = Auto	The tool places the fiducials in the corners of the bounding box. The position of the second fiducial follows Second fiducial.	—
Mode = Manual	You place the fiducials by clicking on the canvas. The tool needs 2 points (second fiducial None) or 3 points.	—
Big cursor	Uses a big cursor on the canvas.	Checked

Buttons

Button	Description
Add Fiducial	Adds a polygon on the copper layer for each fiducial.
Add Soldermask Opening	Adds a polygon on the soldermask layer for each fiducial. The diameter is double the copper fiducial.
Reset Tool	Resets the tool parameters to their default values.

Screenshot placeholder: images/Fiducials-3.png — the Fiducial Type combo open in Advanced mode, with the Line thickness field enabled for Cross.

Advanced

• The level button in the title switches between Beginner and Advanced mode. Fiducial Type, Line thickness and the separator are hidden in Beginner mode.
• Line thickness is enabled only for Cross. It is disabled for Circular and Chess.
• In Auto mode the points come from the bounds of the Gerber, grown by Margin.
• For Chess, the two squares have a side of half the Size value.
• There is no Tcl command for this tool.

See also

• Copper Thieving
• Markers
• Punch Gerber
• Gerber Object
• Keyboard Shortcuts
• Preferences Plugins