Autodesk Eagle – How to create a Gerber file

We will show you how to create a Gerber file for your PCB in Autodesk Eagle.

Tag: Project 200c Autodesk Eagle How to create a Gerber file. Acoptex.lt

Project resources

• Sketch: None;
• Libraries: None;
• Other attachments: None.

What is a Gerber file?

”The Gerber format is an open ASCII vector format for printed circuit board (PCB) designs. It is the de facto standard used by PCB industry software to describe the printed circuit board images: copper layers, solder mask, legend, drill data, etc.

The official website contains the specification, test files, notes and the Reference Gerber Viewer to support users and especially developers of Gerber software.

Gerber is used in PCB fabrication data. PCBs are designed on a specialized electronic design automation (EDA) or a computer-aided design (CAD) system. The CAD systems output PCB fabrication data to allow fabrication of the board. This data typically contains a Gerber file for each image layer (copper layers, solder mask, legend or silk). Gerber is also the standard image input format for all bare board fabrication equipment needing image data, such as photoplotters, legend printers, direct imagers or automated optical inspection (AOI) machines and for viewing reference images in different departments. For assembly the fabrication data contains the solder paste layers and the central locations of components to create the stencil and place and bond the components.

Extended Gerber, or RS-274X is the current Gerber format. In 2014, the graphics format was extended with the option to add meta-information to the graphics objects. Files with attributes are called X2 files; those without attributes are X1 files.
The standard file extension is .GBR or .gbr though other extensions like .GB, .geb or .gerber are also used.” from Wikipedia

How to create a Gerber file in Autodesk EAGLE?

1.Open Autodesk EAGLE. The Control Panel window will pop up.

2.Go to Projects->examples->arduino and right-click on Arduino_MEGA2560_ref.brd board file. Select Open to open board file. The schematic file will open automatically.

2. Go to Board view. Click the CAM Processor button or go to the menu File->CAM Processor. This will open the CAM Processor tool that is used to generate the files.

3. Sparkfun comes with sfe-gerb274x.cam to simplify creating Gerber files. The CAM file folder in Windows located in Users\your_user_name\Documents\EAGLE\cam. Go to Load Job File->Open CAM file… and select this file in CAM processor window. The CAM processor window should have a series of tabs: Top Copper, Bottom Copper, Top Silkscreen and so on. Each of these tabs define how to create one of the Gerber files. The CAM Processor has a built-in Gerber viewer which is pretty convenient, you can click on the layer items on the left and the Layer windows and the preview will be updated on the fly. Check around, zoom in and out, this allows you to do a brief inspection on the Gerber file which will be exported.  In some cases, you may need to adjust the settings, please refer to Special Explanations section for details. 

You can also download PCBWay CAM files to export Gerber files directly in Eagle software and avoid any problem : PCBWay_2 layer.cam ; PCBWay_4 layer.cam ; PCBWay_6 layer.cam .

JLCPCB uses the Gerber format of RS-274X. You can also download JLCPCB CAM files:

Eagle Version	CAM Files
8.6.0 to 9.6.2 [From 8.6.0, Eagle starts to use JSON format for CAM job files, the old CAM files are marked as “legacy”.]	jlcpcb_2_layer_v9.cam jlcpcb_4_layer_v9.cam jlcpcb_6_layer_v9.cam
7.2 to 8.5.2 [Start from Eagle 7.2 the old EXCELLON device output 2.5 format instead of 2.4 for drills, this caused the “Drill holes scale up 10x” issue in some Gerber viewers.]	jlcpcb_2_layer_v72.cam jlcpcb_4_layer_v72.cam jlcpcb_6_layer_v72.cam
5, 6, 7.1 and Lower	jlcpcb_2_layer_v6.cam jlcpcb_4_layer_v6.cam jlcpcb_6_layer_v6.cam

Check the soldermask layers, the Negative image must be unchecked. To ensure the correctness and accuracy of the board outline in the profile layer, please check and add BOTH the 20 Dimension and 49 Milling into the Profile layer.

Choose the Gerber RS-247X from Gerber layer.

For multi-layer (more than 4 layers) PCB, if there are buried/blind vias in your boards, then you need to generate all the drill files by right-click on Drill layer and choose Generate Excellon outputs based on PCB stackup.

4.Click on Process Job button and select the output folder.

5.The Gerber generation process should be pretty quick. Once it’s run its course, have a look in your project directory, which should have loads of new files in it. In addition to the board (BRD) and schematic (SCH) files, there should now be a .dri, .GBL, .GBO, .GBS, .GML, .gpi, .GTO, .GTP, .GTS, and a .TXT.

Gerber File	Extension
Bottom Copper	GBL
Bottom Silkscreen	GBO
Bottom Soldermask	GBS
Top Copper	GTL
Top Silkscreen	GTO
Top Soldermask	GTS
Drill File	TXT
Drill Station Info File	dri
Photoplotter Info File	gpi
Mill Layer	GML
Top Paste	GTP

6. You need to inspect files in a Gerber Viewer. But before you upload the Gerber files to PCBWay online system of PCBWay manufacturing fab, it’s highly recommended to cross-check the generated files with a 3rd-party Gerber Viewer.

When you are checking the file, please pay attention to the following items.

1. Does the board outline exist?
2. Is the board outline watertight(continuous/no gaps)?
3. Do all inner cutouts and unplated slots show in the GKO layer correctly?
4. Do all drilling holes shown and are aligned with other layers correctly?
5. Are vias covered or exposed as per your design?
6. And the Silkscreen, do they look good?

If you find any issues, fix them and export the Gerber/Drill Files and check them in the Gerber viewer again.

Several Gerber viewers available for you:

• Gerbv
• tracespace view
• Reference gerber viewer
• Gerber viewer
• PCBWayOnline GerberViewer

7.Compress all the files in a single .zip file. The final step is to Compress all the files in a single .zip file, then you can fill out the form about your PCB parameters ( size, quantity , layers , thickness , etc ) on PCB Instant quote page and upload your .zip ( Gerber ) file to PCBWay online system, PCBWay will check it again and feedback to you if any problems happen before it can be fabricated.

The following files that you should now have in your Gerber file :

• *.cmp (Copper, component side)
• *.drd (Drill file)
• *.dri (Drill Station Info File) – Usually not needed
• *.gpi (Photoplotter Info File) – Usually not needed
• *.plc (Silk screen, component side)
• *.pls (Silk screen, solder side)
• *.sol (Copper, solder side)
• *.stc (Solder stop mask, component side)
• *.sts (Solder stop mask, solder side)

Wrapping up

We have learnt how to create a Gerber file for your PCB in Autodesk Eagle.

We have learnt Check for more DIY projects here.

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