Hi all,

Got a question regarding electrical test net list Vs Gerber data. Our existing software package ( Tibor Darvis ) will generate a net list file from supplied gerber data. They call this snap grip and it is used as a base line for comparing net list ends to edited gerbers. The purpose is to have a customer supplied base line end point configuration to compare against after you have panelized and optimized customer supplied one up gerber data.  

My question is this. Does anyone know if there is a software medium that compares the end item gerber data to the design schematic?  Basically my customer is asking me if I have a way to detect any designs problems in his supplied gerber files  as it relates to the original design intent. Based on my conversations with my customer, apparently he has had problems in the past where a person or company that originated some plots inadvertently built in a short which our net list test didn't detect. He indicated that he could provide the IPC-D-356 net list file and feels that if we check the gerbers against this file we should detect any difference. However, It is my understanding that the D-356 net list file is generated from gerber data and should not be different. 

Any thought or help would be appreciated.

Ed Cosper