Rotation of all layers

Upverter Support Feature Requests
#1

As I dabble with unusual PCB layouts, I often find that after I have placed and connected everything I have a PCB with large throw-away areas. In order to reduce waste/cost, it makes sense to rotate the entire board by some degree to reduce waste, but at the moment I have to rely on a fabricator to rotate/modify my boards for me, which is something I am not completely comfortable with, especially when working with a contract manufacturer for population.

What I am proposing is for a method to rotate all components/layers at one time, with an option to rotate relative to the center of the mechanical layer, as well as the center of the workspace. In addition, if there was an option to grid-snap to an edge of the mechanical layer, that would be very helpful as well.

#2

Make sense!

Would it be better / easier to have a panelization viewer / editor? Or some other way to inform the manufacturer without necessarily modifying the design? exporting rotated gerbers just seems like a hack.

#3

That would be helpful as well, especially if provided fabricator templates that included any tooling holes and fiducials normally used. The templates should be fairly easy to collect and import from fabricators, as I’m sure they will recognize the reduced effort on their end, as well as the possibility for increased sales. In addition, displaying pricing information for the PCBs would be a useful feature as well. Of course, custom templates should also be able to be generated in the editor.

I would not limit this to a single board design though. I would suggest making the panelization editor separate, allowing the user to place personal and community projects onto the panel, as well as multiple copies of designs. Alignment tools might also come in handy, as well as an auto-optimizing technique if you all get bored :wink: