To solve the issues that have plagued the interface between CAD and CAM, GenCAM has been developed. GenCAM is a major step forward for the industry. It integrates functional descriptions for printed circuit boards and printed circuit assemblies into a single file format. In the past the customer would have to rely on a rag tag collection of file formats, e.g. Gerber files, Excellon drill files, or IPC 356 net list files. Some information, such as Bill of Materials data, was shipped in dozens of formats, each with a slightly different layout. And some information, such as administrative data, was simply not available in any format.

This paper/presentation will provide a discussion of implementation of GenCAM standard. Discussion items will include, but not be limited to; standard contents, supported systems, compatibility issues, configuration control and translator coverage.

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