This guide assumes that you have finished designing your PCB within Eagle,
and that you have a stored file in the .brd format. We must extract Gerber files
from the .brd file using Eagle’s Cam Processor software. Steps for this
extraction are outlined below:
1. Open the control panel for Eagle
2. Select File -> Open -> Board, and navigate to the .brd file that you
would like to work with
3. A window showing the PCB layout should now appear, as shown below:
4. Select the camera icon from the top ribbon (highlighted below), or select File -> Cam Processor
5. A new window will appear for the Cam Processor. In this window, select Open -> Job, as shown:
6. Select gerb274x-mill-drill.cam. This job file is set up for a 2-layer
board, but the following examples show how to specify additional layers with the
job if you so require.
7. In the Output section of the Cam Processor window, select the File button,
and navigate to the location in which you would like to store the converted
Gerber files. Choose a file name for the layer, for example: the Component Side
tab could have t
file name “TopCopper.cmp”
8. If the board is greater than 2 layers, we must use the Add button in the
bottom-right corner of the window to duplicate one of the existing copper
layers, and modify its settings.
9. Re-name this layer in the Section field of the Job section, then choose
the copper layer that it represents from the scrolling list at the far right of
the window. For a regular inner copper layer, you should only need to select the
copper layer itself (Route2 in above picture), the Pads, and the Vias.
10. Now for the drill files; first choose the tab called “Drill PAD/VIA”, and
ensure that the “Pads” layer and the “Vias”layer are selected (these are not
selected by default). Also scroll down to ensure that the “Drills” layer is
selected, although this one should be selected by default.
11. Next, choose the tab called “Drill HOLEs”, and scroll down in the layers
list to ensure that both the “Drills” layer and the “Holes” layer are selected.
(Holes is selected by default, but not Drills)
12. Once you have specified File destinations for each of the tabs within the
Cam Processor window, select the Process Job button at the bottom of the
window.
13. Check the file path that you specified in step 7 to ensure that your
Gerber files have been generated successfully. If you have access to a Gerber
Viewer software, you can use it now to verify that the contents of your design
files were preserved through the conversion procedure.
Drill File Secondary Option
If you already have the Gerber files, and simply need to export your PCBs
drill files on their own, then worry not! The process for this is actually quite
straightforward; it incorporates only four (4) steps:
1. From the Board view of your .brd file, select File -> Run ULP
2. Choose the file called drillcfg.ulp
3. Select the measurement units for your drill file. These should match with
the measurement units you specified during the design phase for this board.
Select Ok.
4. Select Ok on this screen. Do not edit the text in this window unless you
are absolutely certain of what you are doing
5. Choose a file location for your drill files, and that’s it, you have
successfully exported your Gerber files!