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How can we convert these multiple formats to correct manufacturing data?Do you know the procedure in details or are there any links to learn? Thanks.

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This seems to be two different questions in one. Or the title doesn't really match the body of the question. Nancy, can you try to split these into two separate questions? – Rocketmagnet Apr 21 '12 at 13:06
@Rocketmagnet Are you sure it's just 2? I count 4, and only one of them is a reasonable fit for this site. – W5VO♦ Apr 21 '12 at 14:30
@W5VO - There are two pairs of related questions. It's reasonable to ask a set of questions if they are highly related and it would make sense to answer them together. E.G. What software do you use? And is it any good? – Rocketmagnet Apr 21 '12 at 14:43
Nancy Zhang works at a Shenzhen PCB manufacturer. So her question is about converting from design software to manufacturing artwork and drill files. – markrages♦ Apr 22 '12 at 4:19
Markrages got my question, That is just I want to Know. How to convert the design intent to manufacturing file( Gerber file ) As I know less about the PCB Design software, so your comments from designers will be helpful to me.Thanks – NancyZhang Apr 23 '12 at 3:35
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1 Answer

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The standard format, for better or worse, is the venerable Gerber RS-274X format, one per layer, and a human-readable README file. As an engineer I want to generate Gerbers myself. I disapprove of the idea of shipping the source format and having the vendor generate artwork from that.

Even with plain gerbers, I've been bitten several times by vendors adjusting things to suit their needs without telling me. (And probably been saved more times than that, without telling me.) It is the lack of communication that bothers me. If I have a file with errors in it and the board house silently fixes them, then I'm left with a liability: at any future board revision in the future, new boards might suddenly start failing when the vendor forgets to run one of their fix-up scripts.

If the vendor is generating their own gerbers from my Altium files, there are a nearly-infinite number of tweaks they can be doing behind my back. Why else would they need the original files?

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I have had boards come back with no solder resist at all because of an error in those layers which they didn't bother to mention. – Rocketmagnet Apr 21 '12 at 9:02
Why do you disapprove of sending the source data? Can it really be less reliable than Gerbers? Or is it that the source might contain IP you don't want to leak? – Rocketmagnet Apr 21 '12 at 13:08
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@W5VO - The problem is when two different software packages disagree about what I ordered. The Gerber files were checked in a Gerber viewer, but for some reason, their software interpreted something differently. This is what really annoys me about Gerber. It's actually a terrible format designed for computers of the 1970s when 2k of RAM was expensive. – Rocketmagnet Apr 21 '12 at 14:46
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Your fab drawing or readme file should specify exactly what changes the shop is allowed and not allowed to make. The main ones I've seen are adding teardrops at vias, adding thieving to balance copper weight, and removing silkscreen from vias and pads. And if they do any of these without you specifically allowing it in your design documents, or by a later agreement, you should pick a different shop for your next job. – The Photon Apr 21 '12 at 22:51
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@Rocketmagnet Gerber is a stupid-simple ASCII format, but that is its big advantage. if you have two programs that disagree, it is simple (if tedious) to open in a text editor and find the line(s) in question. If your program doesn't display gerbers properly, stop using that program. – markrages♦ Apr 22 '12 at 7:15
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