Gerber Panelizer Data Merger

A Python utility to merge Bill of Materials (BOM) and Pick & Place (CPL/Position) files (as exported by Fabrication Toolkit from KiCAD) for PCB panels created with ThisIsNotRocketScience/GerberTools.

While the Gerber Panelizer tool is excellent for merging Gerber files, it does not natively support merging assembly data. This script reads the .gerberset file to calculate the precise rotation and offsets of every board in the panel, automatically generating a unified BOM and Pick & Place file ready for assembly (e.g., JLCPCB).

Features

• Geometry Calculation: Parses the XML .gerberset file to apply accurate X/Y offsets and rotations to component coordinates.
• Designator Management: Renames components to avoid duplicates (e.g., C1 on Board 1 becomes B1_C1, C1 on Board 2 becomes B2_C1).
• BOM Aggregation: Merges identical parts across the entire panel into single line items, summing quantities and concatenating designators.
• Unique File Handling: Intelligently asks for source files only once per unique design, even if the design is repeated multiple times on the panel.
• Standard Library Only: Written using only Python standard libraries (no pip install required).

Prerequisites

• Python 3.x installed on your system.
• Source Files:
  • The .gerberset file saved from Gerber Panelizer.
  • The BOM .csv file for each distinct board design.
  • The Pick & Place .csv file for each distinct board design.

Input File Requirements

The script expects CSV files formatted similarly to KiCad/JLCPCB exports:

BOM File (.csv)

Must contain headers:

• Designator
• Quantity
• Footprint
• Value
• LCSC Part # (Optional, used for grouping if present)

Pick & Place File (.csv)

Must contain headers:

• Designator
• Mid X
• Mid Y
• Rotation
• Layer

Usage

1. Download merge_panel_data.py to your computer.
2. Open a terminal or command prompt.
3. Run the script:

   python merge_panel_data.py

4. Select the Layout: A file dialog will appear. Select your .gerberset file.
5. Select Source Data: The script will detect the unique boards in your panel. For each board, it will ask you to select:
   • The BOM CSV file.
   • The Pick & Place CSV file.
6. Done: The script will generate two files in the script's directory:
   • merged_bom.csv
   • merged_positions.csv

How it Works

1. Parsing: The script reads the XML structure of the .gerberset file to find the center coordinates (X, Y) and Angle for every instance of a board.
2. Transformation:
   • It rotates the original component coordinates around the board's (0,0) origin based on the panel rotation.
   • It translates (shifts) the coordinates based on the instance's location in the panel.
   • It adds the panel rotation to the component's individual rotation.
3. Merging: It combines the data into a single list, generating unique designators (Prefix B[InstanceNumber]_) and aggregating BOM quantities.