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.
However, playing a key part in the manufacturing process is only one role for the humble Gerber. Should you find yourself devoid of the source PCB design for a board, and possess only those Gerber files that were originally generated from it, you can use those Gerber files to essentially reverse engineer the design – to work backwards if you will, from the Gerber information of shapes and designators on layers, to a fresh incarnation of the PCB design – design resurrection!
Altium Designer's PCB Editor can convert each Gerber file back into a set of layer-specific design primitives. You can therefore load Gerbers to view and verify prior to releasing to fabrication, or proceed to work with the primitives to establish the original source PCB design. Supporting this ability, install this plugin to import all Gerber files in a selected folder into an open and active PCB document.
Import is performed using the
File»Import command.
For more streamlined and efficient viewing, verification and reverse engineering capabilities, load the entire Gerber set into Altium Designer's CAM Editor, from where you can follow established steps, including layer assignment, board stackup and drill sets, and netlist extraction, prior to exporting to Altium Designer's PCB Editor.
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.
