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The files we accept, and how to export them

Which board and case files the check reads, what it reads from each, and the export settings in KiCad and in a CAD tool.

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H.2
Answers
Will it work with my files

What we accept

Board
A KiCad board (kicad_pcb), or a Gerber board outline (gbr, gko or gm1) with an Excellon drill file (drl or xln)
Case
An STL mesh (stl) or a STEP model (step or stp)
Every extension we read
kicad_pcb, gbr, gko, gm1, drl, xln, stl, step, stp
Largest file
50 MB a file

A file with any other extension is kept on the project but not read. An empty file is refused.

What the check reads from each file

kicad_pcb
The board outline on the Edge.Cuts layer, the board thickness, every footprint and pad, and every drilled hole.
Gerber outline
The board outline only. The holes come from the drill file uploaded with it.
Excellon drill
The position and size of every hole, plated or not, in the units the file states.
STL
The outer box of the mesh and its volume, read as millimeters. The inside of a mesh cannot be measured.
STEP
The box around every point in the model. The cavity is estimated from it, assuming a 2.0 mm wall.

Export from KiCad: the board file, or Gerbers and a drill file

The simplest path is the board file itself. It carries the outline, the holes and every footprint in one file.

  1. Draw the board outline on the Edge.Cuts layer as one closed shape. The check reads the outline from that layer only.
  2. Save the board in the PCB editor.
  3. Upload the kicad_pcb file from the project folder.

To send Gerbers instead:

  1. In the PCB editor, open File, then Fabrication Outputs, then Gerbers.
  2. Plot the Edge.Cuts layer. Copper, mask and silkscreen layers are not read, so they are not needed here.
  3. Open Generate Drill Files from the same dialog. Choose the Excellon format, millimeters, and PTH and NPTH in a single file, so unplated mounting holes are included.
  4. Upload the outline layer and the drill file to the same project.

Export the case from a CAD tool as STEP or STL

  1. Hide everything but the case: no board, no screws, no other parts. The check measures the box around everything in the file.
  2. Set the export units to millimeters. An STL carries no units, so it is always read as millimeters.
  3. Export as STEP when you can. A STEP gives an estimated cavity; an STL gives only the outer box.
  4. Upload it to the same project as the board.

What an uploaded case cannot show

The check never claims more than a file supports. An uploaded case does not say where its standoffs or its wall openings are, so those lines come back NOT VERIFIED and name what to confirm by hand. To get all four checks, draw the board and the case in the studio.

Which file the check uses

An uploaded board or case always wins over the studio design, because the upload is what will be made. A Gerber outline with no holes of its own takes its holes from a drill file in the same project.

When a file does not read

A file that cannot be read stays on the project with the reason on its row, for example an STL with no triangles, or a KiCad file with no board section in it. Fix the export and upload it again. Files above 50 MB are not accepted yet.