PCB Walk-through 9: Manufacturing Export

April 20, 2023

This tutorial demonstrates how to generate manufacturing export files in OrCAD PCB Designer 17.4 (2021). After you complete this tutorial, you will be able to:

  • Generate IPC-2581 output
  • Generate Gerber Artwork files
  • Generate NC Drill file

If you would like to follow along with this tutorial, you can visit our walk-through page to view video tutorials and download design files.

To follow along, continue working with the design completed in PCB Walkthrough 8 or open the provided board file in the folder directory, PCB Walkthrough 9_Manufacturing Export.   

  1. In the Design Workflow, select Manufacturing Deliverables > IPC-2581.

Note: All layers have been generated during the setup of Gerber films.

  1. Select Layer Mapping Edit.

  1. Select ASSEMBLY, FAB, and SILKSCREENTOP as Documentation Layers.
  2. Select SOLDERMASKBOTTOM and SOLDERMASKTOP as SolderMask Layers.
  3. Select PASTEMASKTOP as a Solderpaste Layer.
  4. Click OK.

  1. Select Compress output file (.zip) and Export.
  2. In the Design Workflow, select Manufacturing Deliverables > Artwork (Gerber).

  1. Select the General Parameters tab and select Gerber RS274X.

  1. Select the Film Control tab. Select All and Create Artwork.
  2. Click OK.
  3. In the Design Workflow, select Manufacturing Deliverables > NCDrill.

  1. Select Parameters. Use the defaults and click OK.
  2. Select Drill.
  3. Close the window.
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PCB Walk-through 8: Manufacturing Preparation
PCB Walk-through 8: Manufacturing Preparation