KiCad 5 #31 Exporting Gerbers And Ordering From PCBWay

[@esteban19h08m]

Thank you, my college demands me to build this, and i just got kicad for this, and time is really running until christmas, thank so much!

[@teeterfarmtech5955]

John, I want to thank you for your work on this tutorial. Thanks to you, I was able to go from absolutely zero PCB design experience, to generating my own gbr files, I just got my first run back from the manufacturer and turned out exactly as I planned. Thanks so much!!

[@JohnsBasement]

Cool!! This is precisely why I made this series. What did you make? Where did you order from?

[@teeterfarmtech5955]

@@JohnsBasement I made a P channel switching circuit that allows me to control a larger load off of a low power microprocessor. The board had to fit precisely inside an existing housing, and I had to create my own footprint for a unique connector. I had JLCBCP make it.

[@JohnsBasement]

@@teeterfarmtech5955 This is great! Once the semester ends I hope to get back to the other side of my shop and to making stuff! I'd like to try JLPCB and see for myself how the experience compares to PCBWay.

[@teeterfarmtech5955]

@@JohnsBasement Out of all the items I have being shipped from China, JLCPCB was the quickest, and you can check on its status in manufacturing. They let you know when it clears review and enters the production process and all that, I was impressed, I may try their sister company that sells components.

[@andymouse]

Hi John, just a quick point, the forth button from the right on the icon bar allows you to view the drill files as well, its graphic is a fiducial much like your postscript one. All I use the Gerber viewer for is I pick a hole and add each layer on and just check for alignment and of course just a general once over to check it's all there and not completely out of whack.

[@thebrokenengineer]

Hi John, Something not directly related to this video but something you may want to cover off is importing footprints and models from ECAD files. There are 'tools' out there to do this however they are not always reliable. These files are provided by a lot of suppliers including (but not limited to) digikey, mouser, element14 and lcsc.com so they seem like a fairly common thing to be able to use instead of having to create your own symbol and foot print when the item is not in kicad yet the ECAD files exist. Great work by the way, love your videos, am moving across from Eagle to an open source solution and this helps a lot!

[@jimtekkit]

Thanks for the KiCad series, ordering PCBs using pre-made gerbers is easy but learning to make a custom design ready for manufacture is a challenge. The superseded KiCad settings info on manufacturer websites is confusing so I was cross-checking against the Z80 Retro gerbers. Already put in a JLCPCB order for my own 2-layer Z80 design plus a batch of Z80 Retro and programmer boards. Can't wait to get them built! Inevitably I'll be making more in the coming years because these design projects are quite enjoyable.

[@JohnsBasement]

I've been having fun with this stuff for a long time. It's good to know that sharing what I learned is useful! Thank you!

[@kasparneuenschwander9291]

It is worth checking various manufacturers, as the prices differ a lot. But as you say, carefully check the options!

[@user9005]

the new pcbway plugin kicks ass

[@aduedc]

Thanks for the video series. There is an Icon on top of the main KiCAD window that will zip your files, and you do not have to get out of KiCAD If you could figure out how to install PCBway plugin for KiCAD let us know too. I could not figure out how to install the PCBway plugin.

[@JarppaGuru]

16:04 yes literally 1 chinese guy with rowboat 100k boards. profit. nah propably big container and they fill it up. profit

[@JohnsBasement]

😂

[@marceloandrade225]

Great!

[@JohnsBasement]

Thanks!

[@Berghiker]

Why do you use post script format and not gerber files for the drill files?

[@JohnsBasement]

For the map file? Use what your board house says. Note also that PCBWay's web site showed 'postscript' as well. It turns out that they don't care because they don't use the map file. Some shops do and they will tell you what sort of file they want.

[@Berghiker]

@@JohnsBasement Ok. I am using this for FLATCAM. I used Excellon .drl files.

[@syikamika3682]

Then we no need to have fabrication notes at layout?

[@JohnsBasement]

That depends on your PCB fab service. If you need to add notes, then you can use and send additional layers as neefed.

[@TheMohsell]

Hi John, I m working on a small breackout board. when i try to generate gerbers i get w eird artifact on the final gerber, visible on many online viewers (jlcpcb, pcbway ...). Here is a sample pic drive.google.com/file/d/1R4vy2lOADW6S-ih_c1vBFwPnvusUXg9a/view?usp=sharing drive.google.com/file/d/1SUa0Mksd63tb_KeUxD3K_l4RwIg2ms-k/view?usp=sharing

[@JohnsBasement]

Hmmm... That is definitely not something you want to send to manufacture! I've never seen that before. You might want to post in the kicad.info forums. Maybe you have a bad gerber export setting hiding somewhere.