-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- pcb007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueVoices of the Industry
We take the pulse of the PCB industry by sharing insights from leading fabricators and suppliers in this month's issue. We've gathered their thoughts on the new U.S. administration, spending, the war in Ukraine, and their most pressing needs. It’s an eye-opening and enlightening look behind the curtain.
The Essential Guide to Surface Finishes
We go back to basics this month with a recount of a little history, and look forward to addressing the many challenges that high density, high frequency, adhesion, SI, and corrosion concerns for harsh environments bring to the fore. We compare and contrast surface finishes by type and application, take a hard look at the many iterations of gold plating, and address palladium as a surface finish.
It's Show Time!
In this month’s issue of PCB007 Magazine we reimagine the possibilities featuring stories all about IPC APEX EXPO 2025—covering what to look forward to, and what you don’t want to miss.
- Articles
- Columns
Search Console
- Links
- Media kit
||| MENU - pcb007 Magazine
DipTrace 3.0 Implements Ucamco's Gerber X2
May 19, 2016 | UcamcoEstimated reading time: 2 minutes

Together with leading software development company Novarm, Ucamco is delighted to announce the stable release of DipTrace 3.0, the latest generation of Novarm's intuitive, powerful and affordable PCB layout solution for the world's electronic engineers. DipTrace 3.0 is the result of Novarm's understanding of how EDA software is used in the field, its active involvement in the electronic designers' community, and the fact that it listens carefully to its customers. Novarm has responded to its marketplace with a raft of new developments that significantly improve its software's overall performance, ease of use and reliability. This includes fully implementing Gerber X2 for more robust design data transfer, as Novarm's CEO and Senior Software Developer Stanislav Ruev comments: “Gerber X2 manufacturing outputs improve the reliability of CAD-CAM data transfer, ensuring maximum understanding between the designer and the PCB manufacturer”.
Gerber X2 builds on Extended Gerber, the PCB industry's de facto standard image format, to bring unprecedented clarity to the CAD-to-CAM data transmission process. It does this by fully supporting the well-known Extended Gerber image format with a new format for the additional design information, that is clear, unequivocal and automatically machine-readable. This includes details on stackup, the functions of layers and individual features such as pads, and other parameters.
“We are delighted that DipTrace 3.0 is now supporting Gerber X2”, says Karel Tavernier, Managing Director of the Gerber format's custodian and developer, Ucamco. “With this development, Novarm joins the growing number of PCB design software houses that support Gerber X2 because they recognise the importance of absolute data and communications clarity when transferring PCB design data from one company to another. By providing designers with a robust, unequivocal and known language with which to communicate easily and clearly with their manufacturing partners, we and Novarm deliver unprecedented capabilities to the industry-wide CAD-to-CAM data transfer process in particular, and to the future of the PCB industry in general”.
Ucamco confirms that the Gerber X2 output of DipTrace 3.0 has been fully verified and conforms to the X2 specification.
About Ucamco
Ucamco (formerly Barco ETS) is a market leader in PCB CAM software, photoplotting and direct imaging systems, with a global network of sales and support centers. Headquartered in Ghent, Belgium, Ucamco has over 25 years of ongoing experience in developing and supporting leading-edge photoplotters and front-end tooling solutions for the global PCB industry. Key to this success is the company's uncompromising pursuit of engineering excellence in all its products. Ucamco also owns the IP rights on the Gerber File Format through its acquisition of Gerber Systems Corp. (1998).
Suggested Items
The Shaughnessy Report: Solving the Data Package Puzzle
05/12/2025 | Andy Shaughnessy -- Column: The Shaughnessy ReportIf you ask fabricators about their biggest challenges, they’ll often point at PCB designers—the readers of this magazine. Yes, you! Why is it so difficult to create the ideal data package? It’s a fairly straightforward task. But this part of the design process keeps tripping up designers, even those who started in the industry before Pink Floyd split up.
I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
05/09/2025 | Andy Shaughnessy, Design007 MagazineTrade show season is wrapping up as we head into summer. Where has the time gone? I hope you all get the chance to take a vacation this year, because I know you’ve earned one. Speaking of which, when was my last vacay? If I can’t remember, it’s probably time for one. It’s been a busy week in electronics, with fallout from the back-and-forth on tariffs taking up most of the oxygen in the room. We have quite an assortment of articles and columns for you in this installment of Must-Reads. See you next time.
Imec Coordinates EU Chips Design Platform
05/09/2025 | ImecA consortium of 12 European partners, coordinated by imec, has been selected in the framework of the European Chips Act to develop the EU Chips Design Platform.
New Issue of Design007 Magazine: Are Your Data Packages Less Than Ideal?
05/09/2025 | I-Connect007 Editorial TeamWhy is it so difficult to create the ideal data package? Many of these simple errors can be alleviated by paying attention to detail—and knowing what issues to look out for. So, this month, our experts weigh in on the best practices for creating the ideal data package for your design.
RF PCB Design Tips and Tricks
05/08/2025 | Cherie Litson, EPTAC MIT CID/CID+There are many great books, videos, and information online about designing PCBs for RF circuits. A few of my favorite RF sources are Hans Rosenberg, Stephen Chavez, and Rick Hartley, but there are many more. These PCB design engineers have a very good perspective on what it takes to take an RF design from schematic concept to PCB layout.