My project needs 4 boards that interconnect with wire to board FFC cables. It’s far from ready to submit, but I need to know if having all this in one Gerber will be acceptable. Please let me know.
Hi 
you need to submit your designs in separate files. One File per board, for more information, have a look at this article: Guide to a Beautiful Boardoutline.
Btw, you can directly upload your KiCad file to our page, no need to create a Gerber file. This also offers the advantage that we can electronically test your board, which is not possible when uploading a Gerber file.
I find your answer confusing, partly because other companies do apparently accept multiple designs in a single file. I did say I would send a single Gerber file, but I could easily send using your KiCad plugin.
What I don’t understand is why you didn’t refer me to your Custom Bridges and Frames page, which seems to imply you would be able to accept my multi-design submission.
I was expecting you advise me on how to layout the 4 designs and probably refer me to the aforementioned page, which I was unaware of at the time.
Please can you clarify? If I follow the Custom Bridges and Frames instructions, will I be able to proceed?
Perhaps I should have pointed out that the orientation and positions shown in the photo are only to help me during the design process. They can be laid out to “best fit” for submission - unless that is something you would prefer to do - which I think was the purpose of contacting you in the first place.
PS: I don’t want you to assemble it. I only want the bare PCBs.
We accept multi design panels which have one board outline, designs with multiple board outlines in the board file cannot be accepted. So a design like this like this is accepted:
You still need to respect all design rules and use a milling size larger than 2.4mm.
because other companies do apparently accept multiple designs in a single file
If another company offers a service, it does not necessarily mean that we are offering something comparable, multiple designs in one file requires manual adjustment on our side, which is incompatible with our software tooling.
What I don’t understand is why you didn’t refer me to your Custom Bridges and Frames page, which seems to imply you would be able to accept my multi-design submission.
The custom bridges and frames feature only works with a single board in the design, not multiple. We implemented this feature, so customers can determine where we place the bridges to avoid connectors and alike, it is not suitable to create panels. As it is not of help in your situation, I did not mention it.
PS: I don’t want you to assemble it. I only want the bare PCBs.
I still recommend uploading it via our plugin or as KiCad file, which includes the net information which we will use for electrical testing, e.g., to see if there’s a short on your PCB after manufacturing. This is not possible with just Gerbers.