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Electrical & Electronics Engineering vocabulary · PCB Design and Manufacturing

Gerber files

Meaning in electrical & electronics engineering, with examples

nounCommon term

In electrical & electronics engineering, Gerber files means: The standard set of files sent to a PCB manufacturer, with one file for each copper layer, the solder mask, the silkscreen and the board outline, usually together with a drill file.

In Turkish: Gerber dosyaları, üretim dosyaları

How it is used

Used whenever a board goes to fabrication. Engineers generate the Gerber files in the design tool, check them in a Gerber viewer and send them to the manufacturer as a zip file. Newer formats such as ODB++ and IPC-2581 exist, but Gerber is still the most common.

Example sentences

  1. Send the Gerber files and the drill file to the factory today so we get the boards next week.

  2. Always check the Gerber files in a viewer before you place the order.

Common collocations

  • export the Gerber files
  • Gerber viewer
  • drill file
  • send the Gerbers
  • PCBShort for printed circuit board: a flat board of insulating material with copper tracks that hold electronic components and connect them to each other.
  • BOMShort for bill of materials: the full list of parts needed to build a product, with part numbers, quantities, reference designators and approved suppliers.
  • traceA copper line on a PCB that carries current or a signal between pads, working like a flat wire. British engineers often call it a track.
  • viaA small plated hole in a PCB that connects a trace or copper area on one layer to another layer.

More terms: PCB Design and Manufacturing

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