GerberPatch is an independent, zero-server CAM (Computer-Aided Manufacturing) engineering platform designed for hardware engineers, firmware developers, and PCB designers who demand absolute intellectual property confidentiality and mathematical precision.
The imperative for zero-server in-browser CAM processing
In contemporary electronics development, printed circuit boards represent the physical embodiment of proprietary intellectual property (IP). From classified military radar front-ends and high-frequency cryptographic accelerators to medical diagnostics and consumer prototypes, PCB Gerber archives encapsulate every schematic node, component footprint, trace topology, and fabrication parameter.
Historically, inspecting or applying minor emergency edits to Gerber archives required engineers to either rely on heavy, expensive desktop EDA workstations or surrender their unencrypted manufacturing archives to third-party cloud-based Gerber viewers. Cloud inspection platforms present profound security and confidentiality vulnerabilities: design archives are transmitted across public networks, decompressed into remote shared container environments, and cached on untrusted cloud disks where they may become subject to data breaches, corporate espionage, or inadvertent disclosure.
GerberPatch was created to challenge this paradigm. We believe that professional-grade CAM inspection, physical clearance verification, and pre-fabrication trace modification must be universally accessible without forcing engineers to compromise their data privacy. By utilizing the computational horsepower of modern web browsers through isolated WebAssembly kernels, hardware-accelerated HTML5 Canvas 2D pipelines, and sandboxed storage systems, GerberPatch guarantees that 100% of all parsing, rasterization, vector patching, and file export operations occur strictly on your local processor. Your trade secrets remain exactly where they belong: inside your physical machine.
Zero remote server ingestion ensures zero vulnerability to cloud leaks, network interception, or unauthorized design replication.
Fix missing solder mask openings, silkscreen polarity markings, or severed isolation traces in seconds without rerunning lengthy EDA layout passes.
Runs instantly on any modern browser. Fully operable inside air-gapped lab computers, offline cleanrooms, and corporate VPN perimeters.
The technical mechanics of the zero-server guarantee
When a user imports a 50MB Gerber ZIP archive or individual layer files into GerberPatch, not a single byte of telemetry, vector data, or CAD geometry is dispatched over the Internet. The architectural pipeline enforces strict boundary containment:
User drops .GTL, .GBL, .DRL or .ZIP files directly into the browser File API.
In-memory JSZip extraction and Tracespace RS-274X syntax tree tokenization.
Hardware-accelerated viewport rendering, pan-zoom matrix, and real-time calipers.
Workspace state, active layers, and patches stored in private browser IndexedDB.
To eliminate frustrating accidental data loss resulting from browser tab closures or system sleep cycles, GerberPatch implements an automated client-side workspace persistence engine powered by IndexedDB.
Every active layer, color assignment, measurement caliper, and user-injected patch is serialized into a sandboxed transactional database governed by your web browser's Same-Origin Policy (SOP). This database lives exclusively on your local solid-state drive. No external script, third-party iframe, or remote network actor can access this storage. Users retain absolute control: clicking "New Project (Clear Session)" inside the editor instantly executes a database purge, leaving zero residual footprint.
1nm integer coordinate engine, RS-274X subsequence preservation, and rendering math
In standard computer-aided design software, vector coordinates are typically handled using IEEE-754 double-precision 64-bit floating-point numbers. While double precision provides vast dynamic range, floating-point arithmetic introduces severe non-associative roundoff accumulation during repeated coordinate transformations (scaling, rotations, and unit conversions between millimeters and imperial mils).
For example, the fraction 0.1 cannot be precisely represented in binary floating-point, resulting in 0.10000000000000000555.... In PCB manufacturing, where modern High-Density Interconnect (HDI) designs operate at 50µm (2 mil) trace widths and 0.2mm BGA pitch clearances, floating-point drift can cause subtle aperture misalignments, design-rule check (DRC) violations, and photoplotter raster discrepancies.
GerberPatch overcomes floating-point drift by operating an exact 1-nanometer (1nm) fixed-point integer coordinate engine:
Traces and pads stored as raw floats. Repeated matrix operations cause cumulative LSB rounding errors, leading to coordinate drift when serializing back to ASCII RS-274X coordinate blocks.
All physical coordinates are converted into 64-bit scaled integer nanometers (coord_nm = round(coord_mm * 1,000,000)). Pure integer arithmetic eliminates floating-point drift entirely.
The Gerber format (standardized by Ucamco as RS-274X and Gerber X2/X3) is a sequential modal vector language. Commands such as linear interpolation (G01*), circular interpolation (G02*, G03*), exposure polarity (%LPD*%, %LPC*%), and active aperture selection (D10*, D11*) establish modal states that dictate the interpretation of all subsequent coordinate operations.
Naïve editors attempt to re-export Gerber files by flattening the entire design and re-generating new RS-274X commands from scratch. This destructive round-trip frequently wipes out custom vendor aperture macros (%AM*%), strips fabrication metadata, alters step-and-repeat blocks (%SR*%), and changes coordinate resolution settings.
GerberPatch employs a strictly non-destructive subsequence insertion architecture:
Inspecting dense 6-layer or 12-layer PCB stackups requires visual differentiation of trace overlaps, via barrels, thermal relief spokes, and solder clearances. GerberPatch features a calibrated rendering engine that supports:
Customizable opacity layers allow engineers to simultaneously inspect Top Copper, Inner Power Planes, and Bottom Solder Mask without occlusion.
Built-in color presets replicating standard industry workstations: KiCad Modern, Altium Pro, Classic CAM350, and High-Contrast Monokai.
Independent hardware engineering initiative and official contact channel
GerberPatch is maintained as an independent open-web hardware engineering project. We are dedicated to providing fast, reliable, privacy-first tooling for electrical engineers, students, research laboratories, and rapid-prototyping fabrication facilities worldwide.
Our software builds upon respected open-source foundations, including Mike Kuzmin's @tracespace/core parser engine, Lucide vector icons, and modern Web Standards.
Technical support, bug submissions, fabrication lab partnerships, and compliance inquiries
For any questions regarding our 1nm integer engine, enterprise offline deployments, AdSense compliance, or manufacturing verification questions, reach out directly to our engineering team: