PCB Specification Options for Manufacturing

For much of the recent history of PCB design and manufacturing, Gerber files have been the most used PCB specification format for circuit board designs. This popularity has endured as Gerber files have evolved and continues today. In spite of this, there continues to be a rise in the number of alternatives to Gerbers with advantageous attributes, such as a single file structure instead of the many files required for Gerber file usage. These alternatives and Gerbers can be classified as one of the types below.

PCB Specification Types

Today, there are many PCB design file formats available. Some of these were developed for convenience and others to improve upon the transfer process from designer to CM. All of these can be included in one of the PCB specification types below.

Generic

This type includes formats that are intended to be generic and open to utilization by any PCB designer or CM. These include Gerber files by Ucamco, ODB++ by Mentor Graphics, and IPC-2581.

Design transfer format

This is probably the largest group of alternatives as most PCB design software programs have a preferred design transfer format; although, it may also possible to export your design in one or more of the generic types. These *.brd files by Cadence Allegro, *.brd by Autodesk Eagle and *.brd by KiCad.

The formats listed above are not exhaustive; however, they are representative of the most used PCB specification options.

If you want more information on PCB specification or the options available for your design, contact us.