Export Gerber RS274x file. Printing support. Can do the following things on a Protel ASCII PCB file: Adjust pad size. Open a hole on a pad. Adjust line width (x and y directions). Set minimum line width. The.pcb file extension is known as a printed circuit board file wherein Printed Circuit Board deals with electrical components and their connections. Printed Circuit Boards are usually used in manufacturing cell phones as well as other equipments and the.pcb files are used for them to function.
- Pcb File Types
- How To Open Pcb File
- What Is A Pcb File
- Open Pcb File Online Gratis
- Online Pcb File Viewer
- Pcb File Viewer
Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) are backbones of electronic devices and equipment. The increasing density of circuits and decreasing size trend of electronic products lead circuit boards to develop into higher complexity. Holes or vias, responsible for electrical connections between layers and corresponding functions a board will implement according to design requirement, won't effectively work unless they are suitably designed or manufactured. For unsuitable manufacturing, it can be easily solved by selecting a reliable PCB manufacturer. The solution to the other issue, that is, unsuitable design, depends largely on circuit board design engineers who have to create integrated and reliable design files based on which PCB fabricators carry out manufacturing.
- Open your.pcb file with a reader which can open the file. Print the file on the virtual PDF24 PDF printer. The PDF24 assistant opens, where you can save as a PDF, email, fax, or edit the new file.
- Advanced online tool to convert ace files. For mac & windows. No download required. Drop files here. 100 MB maximum file size or Sign Up. WinAce Compressed File.
It's believed that NC drill file generation has been plaguing most PCB design engineers for a long time. Therefore, it's necessary to summarize design guidelines based on leading PCB design software.
NC drill file, short for numeric control drill file, refers to a type of file regulating all the information concerning hole or via drilling requirement including tooling size, hole size and location. A sample NC drill file is shown below；
It's of significant necessity for PCB design engineers to create NC drill files since a lot of trouble can be avoided when PCB files are converted into NC drill files and Gerber files. Nevertheless, the factual situation is that a number of engineers tend to send PCB files directly to PCB manufacturer without converting them into NC drill files or Gerber files. They have been used to finishing PCB design files or exporting the design files from PCB cloning software and sending them to circuit board manufacturers.
The ordinary workflow is that after receiving PCB design files, board fabricators have to transform them into NC drill files and Gerber files before manufacturing. Because electronic engineers working in PCB fabrication house understand printed circuit boards from a completely different perspective from PCB engineers do. The generated Gerber files may not be what PCB designers expect. For example, some PCB design engineers would like to define component parameters in design files but they don't want the information to be shown on the final product. If this point fails to be indicated by PCB design engineers, those information will be left on end product with possible scrap generated. Furthermore, in the process of Gerber files generation, some issues or indefinite aspects may be caused due to software version differentiations.
Therefore, the Optimal Solution is that PCB design engineers should convert their design files into Gerber files with NC drill files created as well that will then be sent to PCB manufacturers, based on which unnecessary trouble can be avoided.
NC drill files can be generated by nearly all PCB design software with its ordinary format as Excellon that was originally a manufacturer of CNC (Computer Numerical Control) systems for drillers and routers. Owing to its long life and active role in PCB drilling and routing equipment, Excellon has been accepted and coined as a set of industry standards.
Excellon is widely applied for standard CNC drilling and routing as it is capable of specifying machine definite info such as drill feed and speed.
In the main interface of Altium Designer, click File>>Fabrication Outputs>>NC Drill Files sequently and come to NC Drill Setup dialogue in which options need to be specified including NC Drill Format, Leading/Trailing Zeroes, Coordinate Positions etc.
Units of data in NC Drill Files can be either inches or millimeters that should be compatible with that of Gerber Files.
When it comes to Format, 3 selections are available: 2:3, 2:4 and 2:5 among which 2:3 features the lowest resolution whereas 2:5 features the highest resolution. Prior to deciding which format, it's necessary to consult your contract PCB manufacturer to determine whether which format is compatible with their manufacturing level.
Zero suppression drives NC Drill Files to be fit and neat and relies on PCB designers' application habits and convenience. When Suppress leading zeroes is picked, starting zeroes will be removed while when Suppress trailing zeroes is picked, ending zeroes will be removed.
Coordinate Positions contain two alternatives: absolute origin and relative origin, either of which should be chosen according to PCB designer's specific requirement. Moreover, it should be the same as Coordinate Positions regulated in Gerber Files.
Other items can be picked if necessary for projects. With all items determined, press OK to generate NC Drill Files that will be saved in the default path of sub-folder under the folder containing Project File.
How to Generate NC Drill File by Cadence Allegro (OrCAD)?
Different from Altium Designer, the default format of NC Drill Files exported by Cadence Allegro is not Excellon's. Therefore, prior to real generation of NC Drill Files, it's necessary to set concerning parameters by clicking Manufacture>>NC>>NC Parameters to enter NC Parameters dialogue.
Unduh minitool partition wizard full version. In NC Parameters dialogue, items of Output file and Excellon format need to be determined. When it comes to Code in Output file, it's generally accepted that ASCII is picked since it is regarded as a newer type of code compared with EIA.
To generate an NC Drill File with a format of Excellon, it's necessary to click before Enhanced Excellon format.
For zero suppression, it's necessary to click before Leading or Trailing zero suppression based on PCB designer's project needs and demand or just in order to be in conformance with Gerber Files.
After items' determination, click Close button and NC Parameters dialogue will be escaped.
Then comes NC Drill dialogue by clicking Manufacture>>NC>>NC Drill.
After finish determining items in this dialogue, press Drill to end up Drill Files generation. The created NC Drill Files can be found in the default file folder.
To generate CAM output from PADS software, open PCB design file in PADS and click File>>CAM>>Define CAM Documents sequently.
When it comes to a drill layer, select it and click Edit whereas for layers with no demand of drilling, directly click Add.
In Edit Document dialogue window, press Drill and Device Setup button to specify format of NC Drill Files in NC Drill Setup window.
To specify format of NC Drill Files, first press Excellon button at the left top of this window.
In this window, you can see lots of items that are similar to those discussed in previous PCB design software. For Output Type, select ASCII. For Units, Zero Suppress and Coordinate, pick up the corresponding one. With these completed, press OK button.
Different PCB design engineers hold different preferences to their applied software so that they have to conform to different methods of generating NC drill files to fulfill requirement and demands of PCB fabricators. Although different PCB design software differ from each other in terms of NC Drill Files exporting, there's a cure-all rule that parameters applied in NC Drill Files must be compatible with those in Gerber Files so that reliability of end products will be greatly enhanced and strengthened.
Next articleHow to Generate Gerber Files based on Different PCB Design Software
≡Officially supported CAD File Formats
EAGLE
Nice, easy to use CAD/CAM software for PCB schematic and routing. We accept .BRD files for prototyping.
KICAD
Free, open source schematic capture and PCB routing. We accept .BRD files for prototyping.
TARGET 3001
PCB CAD/CAM software. You can download limited demo version. We accept .T3001 files for prototyping.
Free, open source design tools for PCB
gEDA
gEDA is a free, open-source schematic capture and layout package that runs on Linux.
Download swf player windows. Download SWF Movie Player for Mac. Newly-designed free flash movie player for Mac with plenty of extra features.
ZenitPCB
ZenitPCB is a freeware layout software.
PCB
Free unix PCB editor.
FREE-PCB
FreePCB is a free, open-source printed circuit board layout editor for Microsoft Windows!
TinyCAD
TinyCAD is a free open-source schematic editor written by Matt Pyne.
TCI3
Free PCB routing and schematic capture software.
CometCAD
CometCAD is free (but not open-source) schematic capture and layout editor program for Windows 2k, XP, Vista and 7. The program consists of symbol, circuit and layout -editors. Quick start guide and example files are also included.
SCORE
Free schematic capture software (Alfa version).
OSMOND PPC
FREE MAC PCB CAD/CAM software.
MINIMAL PCB EDITOR
Open source schematic capture and board layout editor for windows by OKADA Hitoshi
DESIGN SPARK PCB
Free PCB and schematic design package based on Easy-PC, with no design restriction, and it doesn't tie you to any PCB manufacture.
EasyEDA
Web based EDA tool with schematic capture, PCB layout and Circuit simulation. Free if you put your project public online, private projects require paid plans.
Commercial design tools for PCB
PROTEL
CAD/CAM software for schematic and routing. You can download 30 days free trial. Protel offers free old-DOS based software called EasyTrax.
CR5000 (CADSTAR)
CAD/CAM software for schematic and routing. Have free for download limited demo version
ORCAD
CAD/CAM software. No demo/evaluation version
CIRCUIT MAKER
CAD/CAM software for schematic and routing. You can download limited demo version.
P-CAD 2000
PCB CAD/CAM software. You can download FREE trial version.
PCB ELEGANCE
Nice looking CAD/CAM software for schematic and routing. You can download limited demo version
EDWIN
CAD/CAM software for schematic and routing. You can download limited demo version
VISUALPC
You can download limited demo version.
BPECS32
Very limited PCB CAD software. You can download limited demo version
AUTOENGINEER
PCB CAD/CAM software. You can download limited demo version. We never used to run it as some messages in German language appear.
EXPERT PCB
PCB CAD/CAM software. You can download limited demo version.
CIRCAD
PCB CAD/CAM software. You can download limited demo version.
LAYOUT
PCB CAD/CAM software. You can download free version.
CIRCUIT LAYOUT
PCB CAD/CAM software. You can download limited demo version
MCCAD
PCB CAD/CAM software. You can download limited demo version.
DREAM CAD
Japanese PCB CAD/CAM software. You can download limited demo version.
E-CAD
Supermax CAD/CAM software, runs on NT. You can download limited demo version. Cc2540 driver github.
POWERPCB
CAD/CAM software. No demo/evaluation version.
PCB ASSISTANT
Low cost PCB CAD software. You can download limited demo version
PCB DESIGNER
Low cost PCB CAD software. You can download limited demo version.
QCAD
PCB CAD/CAM software. You can download limited demo version.
QUICK ROUTE
PCB CAD/CAM software. You can download limited demo version.
WIN CIRCUIT 98
PCB CAD/CAM software. You can download limited demo version
BOARD EDITOR
Low cost PCB CAD software. You can download free demo version.
VUTRAX
PCB CAD/CAM software. You can download limited demo version.
CIRCUIT CREATOR
Pcb File Types
PCB CAD/CAM software. You can download free demo version.
PADSPCB
How To Open Pcb File
PADS PCB CAD/CAM software. You can download free limited demo version on this ftp server.
DESIGN WORKS
PCB schematic capture and simulation software. You can download free evaluation version
Unduh minitool partition wizard full version. In NC Parameters dialogue, items of Output file and Excellon format need to be determined. When it comes to Code in Output file, it's generally accepted that ASCII is picked since it is regarded as a newer type of code compared with EIA.
To generate an NC Drill File with a format of Excellon, it's necessary to click before Enhanced Excellon format.
For zero suppression, it's necessary to click before Leading or Trailing zero suppression based on PCB designer's project needs and demand or just in order to be in conformance with Gerber Files.
After items' determination, click Close button and NC Parameters dialogue will be escaped.
Then comes NC Drill dialogue by clicking Manufacture>>NC>>NC Drill.
After finish determining items in this dialogue, press Drill to end up Drill Files generation. The created NC Drill Files can be found in the default file folder.
To generate CAM output from PADS software, open PCB design file in PADS and click File>>CAM>>Define CAM Documents sequently.
When it comes to a drill layer, select it and click Edit whereas for layers with no demand of drilling, directly click Add.
In Edit Document dialogue window, press Drill and Device Setup button to specify format of NC Drill Files in NC Drill Setup window.
To specify format of NC Drill Files, first press Excellon button at the left top of this window.
In this window, you can see lots of items that are similar to those discussed in previous PCB design software. For Output Type, select ASCII. For Units, Zero Suppress and Coordinate, pick up the corresponding one. With these completed, press OK button.
Different PCB design engineers hold different preferences to their applied software so that they have to conform to different methods of generating NC drill files to fulfill requirement and demands of PCB fabricators. Although different PCB design software differ from each other in terms of NC Drill Files exporting, there's a cure-all rule that parameters applied in NC Drill Files must be compatible with those in Gerber Files so that reliability of end products will be greatly enhanced and strengthened.
Next articleHow to Generate Gerber Files based on Different PCB Design Software
≡Officially supported CAD File Formats
EAGLE
Nice, easy to use CAD/CAM software for PCB schematic and routing. We accept .BRD files for prototyping.
KICAD
Free, open source schematic capture and PCB routing. We accept .BRD files for prototyping.
TARGET 3001
PCB CAD/CAM software. You can download limited demo version. We accept .T3001 files for prototyping.
Free, open source design tools for PCB
gEDA
gEDA is a free, open-source schematic capture and layout package that runs on Linux.
Download swf player windows. Download SWF Movie Player for Mac. Newly-designed free flash movie player for Mac with plenty of extra features.
ZenitPCB
ZenitPCB is a freeware layout software.
PCB
Free unix PCB editor.
FREE-PCB
FreePCB is a free, open-source printed circuit board layout editor for Microsoft Windows!
TinyCAD
TinyCAD is a free open-source schematic editor written by Matt Pyne.
TCI3
Free PCB routing and schematic capture software.
CometCAD
CometCAD is free (but not open-source) schematic capture and layout editor program for Windows 2k, XP, Vista and 7. The program consists of symbol, circuit and layout -editors. Quick start guide and example files are also included.
SCORE
Free schematic capture software (Alfa version).
OSMOND PPC
FREE MAC PCB CAD/CAM software.
MINIMAL PCB EDITOR
Open source schematic capture and board layout editor for windows by OKADA Hitoshi
DESIGN SPARK PCB
Free PCB and schematic design package based on Easy-PC, with no design restriction, and it doesn't tie you to any PCB manufacture.
EasyEDA
Web based EDA tool with schematic capture, PCB layout and Circuit simulation. Free if you put your project public online, private projects require paid plans.
Commercial design tools for PCB
PROTEL
CAD/CAM software for schematic and routing. You can download 30 days free trial. Protel offers free old-DOS based software called EasyTrax.
CR5000 (CADSTAR)
CAD/CAM software for schematic and routing. Have free for download limited demo version
ORCAD
CAD/CAM software. No demo/evaluation version
CIRCUIT MAKER
CAD/CAM software for schematic and routing. You can download limited demo version.
P-CAD 2000
PCB CAD/CAM software. You can download FREE trial version.
PCB ELEGANCE
Nice looking CAD/CAM software for schematic and routing. You can download limited demo version
EDWIN
CAD/CAM software for schematic and routing. You can download limited demo version
VISUALPC
You can download limited demo version.
BPECS32
Very limited PCB CAD software. You can download limited demo version
AUTOENGINEER
PCB CAD/CAM software. You can download limited demo version. We never used to run it as some messages in German language appear.
EXPERT PCB
PCB CAD/CAM software. You can download limited demo version.
CIRCAD
PCB CAD/CAM software. You can download limited demo version.
LAYOUT
PCB CAD/CAM software. You can download free version.
CIRCUIT LAYOUT
PCB CAD/CAM software. You can download limited demo version
MCCAD
PCB CAD/CAM software. You can download limited demo version.
DREAM CAD
Japanese PCB CAD/CAM software. You can download limited demo version.
E-CAD
Supermax CAD/CAM software, runs on NT. You can download limited demo version. Cc2540 driver github.
POWERPCB
CAD/CAM software. No demo/evaluation version.
PCB ASSISTANT
Low cost PCB CAD software. You can download limited demo version
PCB DESIGNER
Low cost PCB CAD software. You can download limited demo version.
QCAD
PCB CAD/CAM software. You can download limited demo version.
QUICK ROUTE
PCB CAD/CAM software. You can download limited demo version.
WIN CIRCUIT 98
PCB CAD/CAM software. You can download limited demo version
BOARD EDITOR
Low cost PCB CAD software. You can download free demo version.
VUTRAX
PCB CAD/CAM software. You can download limited demo version.
CIRCUIT CREATOR
Pcb File Types
PCB CAD/CAM software. You can download free demo version.
PADSPCB
How To Open Pcb File
PADS PCB CAD/CAM software. You can download free limited demo version on this ftp server.
DESIGN WORKS
PCB schematic capture and simulation software. You can download free evaluation version
LAY01
PCB CAD/CAM software with limited demo version (200 pins) for free download.
GElectronic
Low cost PCB routing and schematic capture software.
PRO-Board, PRO-Net
Schematic capture and routing for AMIGA computers.
CSIEDA
Schematic capture and routing for PC.
VISUALPCB
Low cost schematic capture, spice and routing for PC
WINBOARD
CAD/CAM software for schematic and routing. You can download limited demo version.
ULTIBOARD
CAD/CAM software for schematic and routing. You can download limited demo version
EASY PC
PCB CAD/CAM software
RANGER
PCB CAD/CAM software. You can download limited demo version
PROTEUS
Low cost CAD/CAM software. You can download limited demo version.
EPD - Electronics Packaging Designer
RF/hybrid/flex design tools based on AutoCAD.No demo available for direct download.
AutoTrax Eda
Schematic design and PCB routing software. You can download free copy from the web site
SprintLayout
Windows only low cost tool to create layouts for single-sided, double-sided and four layer PCBs. You can download limited demo version from the web site.
CADINT
Schematic capture and PCB routing. Have 30 days trial version for download.
Merlin PCB Designer
Shareware for Corel Draw which allow PCBs to be routed.
WINQCAD
What Is A Pcb File
Schematic capture, PCB routing, autorute. Have free 200 pin version for download
Pulsonix
Open Pcb File Online Gratis
PCB schematic capture and routing software. 100 pin restricted demo available.
DIPTRACE
PCB schematic capture and routing software. 30 days evaluation version. Not-for-profit version available allows 4 layers and 1000 pins for $125
RIMU PCB
Low cost PCB schematic capture and routing software. Demo version is available for download
TopoR
Schematic capture and PCB layout with some unique features as round edges auto-routing, made in Russia. Demo version is available for download
TINA
Schematic capture and PCB layout with analysis and spice. Demo version is available for download for EUR 1.00
Gerber CAM/viewers
Online Pcb File Viewer
Gerbv
Gerbv is an open-source gerber viewer which runs on Linux and Windows. It is a component of the gEDA Suite of PCB tools
Gerber viewer ONLINE
Online Gerber viewer tool, no need to register or download software, just upload your ZIP and visualize all gerber files inside. Great online tool!
GC Prevue
Free gerber viewer.
ViewMate
Free gerber viewer
GerbTool
Cool Gerber CAM software. You can download limited demo version.
CAM 350
Gerber CAM software. You can download limited demo version.
CAMTASTIC
Gerber CAM software. You can download 45 days trial demo version
CAMCAD
PCB CAD/CAM viewer / translator. You can download limited demo versions.
CAM Expert
CAD/CAM program. You can download limited demo version.
Evgraver
Progarm for control of CNC engraving machine. May be used for Gerber/HPGL viewer/convertor. You can download limited demo version
Pcb File Viewer
ViewPlot
Gerber viewer and editor.
Circuit People
Online Gerber viewer.
GerberLogix
Gerber viewer can be download and used free for non-commercial use
PCB Investigator
Gerber viewer can be download and used 30 days free of charge.
