Software Required for This Tutorial: DesignSpark PCB V11.0.0

Example: chipKIT Max32.pcb

Tips: Before exporting Gerber files, ensure that your PCB design undergoes a comprehensive design check. This check includes confirming that trace widths, clearances, and other parameters meet the requirements to avoid potential manufacturing issues.

Export Gerber Files

Select Output -> Manufacturing Plots from the menu bar,

A new window will pop up after that, as the figure below shows:

Select Auto-Gen plots -> Gerbers, this will open the view below. Ensure that 'Layer/Plot Types' and 'Side' are both set to 'All', and include the NC Drill plot. Click 'OK' to proceed.

Check if all necessary plots are selected in the Plots checkboxes on the left panel of the main window. If not, please reselect them.

The diagram below provides further explanation of this window. The 'Plots' highlighted in red within the outlined area are the plots that will be generated. For the selected plots, such as 'Top Copper' (highlighted below), the tabs within the green box are the settings for that layer.

This is crucial. From the 'Layers' tab, only the required layers should be selected to be included in the plot. You do not need to change any of these preset settings.

After configuring each plot, click 'Run,' and the window shown below will pop up,

This is because we haven't added the Board Outline to the Plots. For instructions on how to add a Board Outline to the Plots, please refer to 'How to add a Board Outline to my Gerber Plots in DesignSpark PCB?' We will use Method 2 described in the above-mentioned article.

Click the 'Options' button, and then in the new window, click the desired Gerber or NC Drill button to modify Gerber and NC Drill settings.

Next, choose the location where the Plots files will be written. Here, we select 'This folder below the design file.'

After completing all the settings, simply click the 'Run' button. A report file will be generated. You can close the file after verifying that everything is correct.

At the same time, the Gerber files will be written to the 'Plots' folder, as shown in the following figure.