Gerber files provide the link between the PCB on the design side and the set of phototools required to physically build that PCB on the manufacturing side. With one Gerber file per layer required in the fabrication process, the manufacturer simply takes the Gerber files and loads them into a photoplotting machine, from which the phototools are created.
Altium Designer's PCB Editor can convert a Gerber file back into a set of layer-specific design primitives. You can therefore load a Gerber file to view and verify it prior to release to fabrication. Supporting this ability, install this plugin to import a single nominated Gerber file into an open and active PCB document.
Import is performed using the
File»Import command.
For more streamlined and efficient viewing and verification capabilities, load your Gerber files into Altium Designer's CAM Editor. The CAM Editor renders the Gerber data in a much truer form and is specifically engineered to work with manufacturing files such as Gerber, ODB++ and NC Drill.
See Also:
Important!
This plugin is only available for Altium Designer 13.0 or older versions.
Altium Designer 14.0+ Users: You can install this plugin in the Extensions & Updates section in Altium Designer.