The Vulture Tool is designed to process vector graphics files into device footprints for EAGLE or KiCAD.
Most vector graphics files are not compatible with Vulture "out-of-the-box" but they can be pre-processed quickly and easily. We recommend using the free, open-source software Inkscape although any vector graphics editor should work fine. Below, we've outlined a basic protocol for pre-processing vector image files in Inkscape 1.0+
You will also need an extension for Inkscape called "Apply Transforms" which can be found at this githup repo
First you'll need to either clone the software repo or download it as a zip file. Inside the repo are two files called "applytransform.inx" and "applytransform.py" which you simply copy and paste into your Inkscape user extensions folder.
To find your extensions folder, open Inkscape and access the Preferences menu (Shift+Ctrl+P)
And then, in the System submenu, you should find the file path to your extensions folder. There's even a handy button to open the folder in explorer.
Simply copy the previously mentioned files into this folder and restart Inkscape.
Open the Inkscape software and then open your vector image
Vulture can only "see" paths, so we need to make sure that every shape in the document is defined as a path.
Select All objects (press Ctrl + A) and then run Path>Object to Path (press Shift+Ctrl+C)
You may need to repeat this a few times to catch all objects in the document. There's no harm in doing it 3 or 4 times just in case.
Any paths that don't have a defined fill and/or stroke color will be ignored by the Vulture tool. In most cases, you'll want all paths
to be visible to Vulture. Start by selecting all paths again (Ctrl + A) and run Object>Fill and Stroke (Shift + Ctrl + F)
The Vulture tool is designed to import vector images at 1:1 scale. In order to do that, we require images to have absolute units such as cm/mm/inch. Millimeters are the native unit for Vulture but inches and centimeters are converted. Open the Document Properties dialog (Shift + Ctrl + D)
Find the Display Units and Units fields and set them to your preferred units
Vulture gives the best results when the incoming vector file has flattened transforms, which is to say that all transforms are applied directly to the paths
instead of being specified by transform tags in the file. Luckily for us, an extension exists to apply these transforms and it's called —
appropriately — Apply Transforms.
To run the extension, simply find it in the Extensions>Modify Path menu and click on it. It may take a moment to process.
Save your pre-processed image file as "Plain SVG" format to ensure that all of the expected attribute tags are present.
Your file should now be ready to convert using Vulture.
usage: vulture.py [-h] [-s SCALEFACTOR] [-l EAGLELAYERNUMBER] [-v]
[-o {b,ls,lib,ki,ki5}] [-n SIGNALNAME] [-u SUBSAMPLING]
[-t TRACEWIDTH] [-a {tl,cl,bl,tc,cc,bc,tr,cr,br}] [-w {w,a}]
[-d DESTINATION] [-stdout]
imageFile
SparkFun Buzzard Label Generator
positional arguments:
imageFile Path to target image file (.svg)
optional arguments:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
-s SCALEFACTOR Factor by which to scale the size of the imported
image (default: 1)
-l EAGLELAYERNUMBER Layer in EAGLE to create label into (default is tPlace
layer 21)
-v Verbose mode (helpful for debugging)
-o {b,ls,lib,ki,ki5} Output Mode ('b'=board script, 'ls'=library script,
'lib'=library file, 'ki'=KiCad v6 footprint,
'ki5'=KiCad v5 footprint)
-n SIGNALNAME Signal name for polygon. Required if layer is not 21
(default is 'GND')
-u SUBSAMPLING Subsampling Rate, if the imported image is "jagged"
try a larger number here (larger values provide
smoother curves with more points. default: 5)
-t TRACEWIDTH Trace width in mm
-a {tl,cl,bl,tc,cc,bc,tr,cr,br}
Footprint anchor position (default:cl)
-w {w,a} Output writing mode (default:w)
-d DESTINATION Output destination filename (extension depends on -o
flag)
-stdout If Specified output is written to stdout
This argument controls the output size of the image. This is a float by which the dimensions of the image are multiplied
This argument controls which EAGLE layer the tag is written to. Default value is 21 (tPlace)
If something gets borked, try running again with -v to see what's happening under the hood
This argument controls which format the tag output is generated for
By default, buzzard.py will generate a file called output.scr which can be run in the EAGLE board editor.
Library script mode will generate a file called output.scr which can be run in the EAGLE library footprint editor.
Library package mode will generate a file called output.lbr which is an EAGLE library file containing the specified image/images
KiCad footprint mode will generate a file called 'output.kicad_mod' which is a KiCad footprint file containing the specified image
This argument defines the EAGLE signal name of the output, which is only required for metal layers. It is GND by default.
This argument essentially defines the resolution of the output. A larger number will produce smoother curves but larger files. Note: If your output image looks "jagged" or "low-res" then try a larger number here
Tracewidth of output in mm
In library package output mode, the position of the anchor point can be specified using the -a argument. The default value is cl
The following values are permissible:
tl - top left
cl - center left
bl - bottom left
tc - top center
cc - center center
bc - bottom center
tr - top right
cr - center right
br - bottom right
By default, buzzard.py with overwrite the output file. Running with the -w a option, however, will run buzzard.py in "append mode,"
adding the specified tag to the existing output file.
Using the -d flag will allow you to specify the name of the output file. The file extension will automatically be selected based on
the output format.
If this argument is specified, the output will be written to stdout instead of a file. This is handy for piping to clipboard, etc.