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Sort of related question:

Is there a neat way of turning a scan/1-bit bitmap of a PCB design (from e.g. an old magazine or book) into a set of Gerber files that you can have manufactured cheaply?

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If the images of the PCBs are accompanied by schematics, you could rebuild the circuit using these and use the image of the existing circuit as reference for how to lay out the components on the PCB while routing all traces yourself (e.g. if the scans are not good enough to work with them directly).

You might be able to end up with nicer or more compact PCBs just because you can use smaller vias and traces or even inner layers today.

There are some interesting discussions on the topic: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/eda/image-to-gerber-converter/

You can also bring an image into Kicad and redraw a circuit. All this of course assumes no inner layers on the board.

Thanks! Looks like this very specific area needs some open source love though. I'll look into if I think I can contribute here.

Actually kicad has a bitmap importer. You could pull a bitmap in to the copper layer. It’s often used for silkscreen logos but it’s not limited to that.

It's fittingly called the "Bitmap to Component Converter":

https://forum.kicad.info/t/reproducing-a-pcb-from-scanned-im...

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