Panelize

The Panelize plugin makes a panel. It copies an object in a grid of rows and columns, with a set spacing between the copies. Use it to make one board file that holds many PCBs for the production run. The source can be a Gerber, an Excellon or a Geometry object.

Where to find it

• Menu: Plugins > Panelize PCB.
• Keyboard: Alt+Z.
• Toolbar: Panel button in the Plugin toolbar.
• Command line: the panelize Tcl command. See Tcl Command Reference.
• The panel opens in a tab next to Project and Properties. The tab shows the plugin name.

Screenshot placeholder: images/Panelize-1.png - The Panelize panel in Advanced mode. Show the Source Object, the Reference radio set, the Panel Data fields (spacing, columns, rows) and the Panelize Object button.

Quick start

1. Load the object to copy. See Importing Files.
2. Open the plugin with Alt+Z or the Panel button.
3. Set Target to the type of the object. Select the object in the object list.
4. Keep Reference at Bounding Box. The pitch of the grid is then the size of the object.
5. Set Columns and Rows. For example, 3 columns and 2 rows make 6 copies.
6. Set Spacing cols and Spacing rows to the gap between the copies, in mm (or inch in an inch project).
7. Click Panelize Object. The new object is named after the source, with the suffix _panelized.

Parameters

Values are in mm (or inch in an inch project). A dash (—) means that the value has no stored default.

Beginner and Advanced mode: Use the Beginner / Advanced button next to the title. Beginner mode hides the Parameters frame (Panel Type, Path Optimization, Constrain panel within, Width (DX) and Height (DY)).

Source Object

Parameter	Description	Default
Target	The type of the object to panelize: Gerber, Excellon or Geometry. The choice sets the list of objects.	Gerber
Object (list)	The object to be panelized. It is copied in an array of rows and columns.	—

Screenshot placeholder: images/Panelize-2.png - The Source Object frame with the Target combo open, showing Gerber, Excellon and Geometry.

Reference

The reference sets the size of the grid cell. The spacings are added to this size.

Parameter	Description	Default
Object	The grid cell is the bounding box of another object, the Box Object. Use this when several objects must stay in sync, because they use the same reference.	—
Bounding Box	The grid cell is the bounding box of the object to be panelized.	Bounding Box
Box Type	The type of the box object: Gerber or Geometry. It is enabled only for Object.	Gerber
Box Object	The object that is used as the container. It is enabled only for Object. If the box object is not found, the plugin shows a warning and uses Bounding Box instead.	—

Panel Data

Parameter	Description	Default
Spacing cols	The space between 2 columns, in mm (or inch in an inch project).	0.0
Spacing rows	The space between 2 rows, in mm (or inch in an inch project).	0.0
Columns	The number of columns. The value must be 1 or more.	1
Rows	The number of rows. The value must be 1 or more.	1

The panel holds Columns x Rows copies. The copies are placed row by row, from left to right.

Screenshot placeholder: images/Panelize-3.png - The panel on the canvas with a 3 by 2 grid and the spacing between the copies.

Parameters (Advanced)

Parameter	Description	Default
Panel Type	The type of the panel object. Gerber: the panel is a Gerber object. Geo: the panel is a Geometry object. The type follows the type of the source for a Gerber or Geometry source.	Gerber
Path Optimization	Works only for the Geo panel type. When on, the plugin finds overlapping line elements in the panel and keeps only one of them. This removes the cuts that are made twice at the shared border of 2 copies.	On
Constrain panel within	Limits the panel to an area of Width (DX) x Height (DY). The plugin removes columns and rows until the panel fits. The final panel has as many columns and rows as fit completely in the area.	Off
Width (DX)	The width of the area. Shown with Constrain panel within.	200.0
Height (DY)	The height of the area. Shown with Constrain panel within.	290.0

Buttons

Button	Description
Panelize Object	Makes the panel. The new object is named _panelized.
Reset Tool	Sets the parameters of the plugin back to the defaults.

Advanced

How the grid is made

• The pitch is the width and height of the reference box. The spacing is added to the pitch. Copy (row, column) is moved by (column x (width + spacing cols), row x (height + spacing rows)).
• The copies are made in the order row by row, with the column index running fastest.
• For a Geo panel, the plugin also merges the lines of each tool. A cut on a border that 2 copies share is cut once.

Constrain

• The panel size is n x box + (n - 1) x spacing, for each axis.
• If the panel does not fit, the plugin lowers the number of columns first, then the number of rows, until the panel fits.
• A message shows the final number of columns and rows. This message is a warning.
• If not even 1 column or 1 row fits, the plugin reports: "The reference object does not fit the constrain area." No panel is made.

Panel type and the source

• The Panel Type follows the type of the source for a Gerber or a Geometry source.
• For an Excellon source, the Panel Type and Path Optimization are disabled. An Excellon panel uses drills and slots.

Limits

• Columns or Rows of 0 stop the plugin with a message. Set a value of 1 or more.
• The spacing and the reference must have finite values. Otherwise the plugin stops with a message.

See also

• Film - make the film of the panel.
• Gerber Object, Excellon Object and Geometry Object - the source objects.
• Object Operations - copy and transform the objects by hand.
• Cutout - cut the outline of the boards.
• Tcl Command Reference - the panelize command.
• Keyboard Shortcuts - all shortcut keys.