General Remarks
AISLER understands many Gerber file dialects, e.g., Gerber X2 and naming patterns, and detects them automatically. However, check the instructions below if something does not work or look like you expect.
Generally, we recommend uploading the ODB++ manufacturing output as it is supported by almost every design tools and avoids many problems. For more details, see our explanation Advantages of uploading PCB board or ODB++ files and see the detailed instructions for your tool in our PCB Design Tool Support Matrix.
Important: No assembly is possible with traditional Gerber files, please consider using the native file format of your preferred CAD application. This includes also the case if you provide us a BOM and a PnP in addition.
File naming
To ensure correct layer detection, please name your files according to the following pattern
| Layer | Name in extension in Gerber |
|---|---|
| Top Layer | project_name.toplayer.ger |
| Bottom Layer | project_name.bottomlayer.ger |
| Top Soldermask | project_name.topsoldermask.ger |
| Bottom Soldermask | project_name.bottomsoldermask.ger |
| Top Silkscreen | project_name.topsilkscreen.ger |
| Bottom Silkscreen | project_name.bottomsilkscreen.ger |
| Top Paste (Stencil) | project_name.toppaste.ger |
| Bottom Paste (Stencil) | project_name.bottompaste.ger |
| Board Outline | project_name.boardoutline.ger |
| Additional Milling/Routing | project_name.milling.ger |
| PTH Drills (plated holes drills) | project_name.drills_pth.xln |
| NPTH Holes (non-plated holes drills) | project_name.holes_npth.xln |
| Internal plane 1 | project_name.internalplane1.ger |
| Internal plane 2 | project_name.internalplane2.ger |
| Internal plane 3 | project_name.internalplane3.ger |
| Internal plane 4 | project_name.internalplane4.ger |
For boards with more layers, the counting of internal layers continues accordingly.
In case your EDA-Tool exports multiple files of the same layer, you can also provide them in your zip. Please make sure, that the files have the identical name extension (e.g., *.drills_pth.xln) and we will merge them for you. The project name may differ between files.
Additional Requirements
- Make sure your drill files are exported in 2:4 precision and are set to the unit inches.
- Avoid special characters in file names.
- Ensure that the board outline layer only contains the board outline and no additional documentation!
- If you want no solder mask, keep in mind that solder mask is an inverted mask. So you need to fill where you want to remove the mask.