Trying to get PCB ready for printing - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: neonhomer
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 26, 2016, 07:34:39 pm
content: I am trying to get a open source PCB ready to print. The board was originally done in KiCad, but it seems like it is missing layers, and I am unsure about specifics of the board to request quotes.http://remoteqth.com/open-interface.phpis the site. V3.1 is what I am interested in.Can anyone help? I want to get one of these made..

author: stryker
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 26, 2016, 09:51:08 pm
content: HiV3.1 works okay in KiCad for me? This project is from a previous version, but on opening KiCad appears to have rescued all the components it needed to make it a complete design. ERC on the schematic shows 34 warnings, but nothing critical. DRC on the board shows no unconnected tracks.I'm running the current release 4.0.2-stable.Cheers!Geoff

author: neonhomer
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2016, 01:29:09 pm
content: Well, I'm a total n00b when it comes to KiCad...I guess I need to figure out which files I need to send to whatever company to get them printed. I want to make at least two of them.

author: stryker
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2016, 01:58:00 pm
content: Quote from: neonhomer on May 27, 2016, 01:29:09 pmThe gerbers you'll send to a manufacturer still need to be exported from KiCad. There were no gerbers in the download, just the KiCad project files.Cheers ! Geoff

author: bson
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 27, 2016, 04:50:27 pm
content: There are lots and lots of youtube videos explaining how to use KiCAD, including gerber generation. Just google it.

author: neonhomer
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2016, 05:57:01 pm
content: Quote from: stryker on May 27, 2016, 01:58:00 pmI think that is what I needed right there....

author: bson
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 01, 2016, 08:17:27 pm
content: Just google "youtube kicad generate gerber files".

author: Wilksey
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2016, 11:57:32 pm
content: I have generated Gerbers, drill file (PTH and NPTH merged) and the .pos file for a P+P machine, all attached in the ZIP file.I haven't checked them mind.

author: technotronix
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 19, 2016, 06:20:08 am
content: I don't have much experience in kiCAD, i think you may find solution from the kiCAd tutorial or also can take help from the PCB manufacturer.

author: salbayeng
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 20, 2016, 04:58:29 am
content: There's a really neat gerber viewer fromwww.gerberlogix.comOk looks to me like its all there.This statement is a bit concerning: "drill file (PTH and NPTH merged)" , plated holes & slots and non plated holes shouldn't be in the same file. Although I can only see one slot that might be meant to be non plated in bottom left area. But this slot would be OK if it were plated (and probably better as you can't gaurantee clearance to adjacent tracks with non-plated slots, as they are done as the last operation).Some manufacturers may want the plated slots on a different layer to holes (like mech2).The final routing is where the PCB is cut to shape according to your outline file "edge.cuts.gm1" in your case , so if you have non plated slots (i.e. routed slots) then they should be done on as seperate mech layer before the board is routed out. (It will all be done on the same machine, but the operator can get the sequence correct)I'd do a good search on the web first to see if someone else doesn't already have some spare PCB's. And some of the harder to get parts.

author: suicidaleggroll
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 29, 2016, 11:44:35 pm
content: Quote from: salbayeng on November 20, 2016, 04:58:29 amIt depends on the manufacturer. Some (eg: OSHPark) require the plated and non-plated holes to be in a common drill file.http://docs.oshpark.com/submitting-orders/drill-specs/Quote

author: richardlawson1489
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 30, 2016, 06:46:39 am
content: Thanks for sharing video tutorials. This are really helpful. Also, the gerber file shared by Wilksey may hepful.