How to Export Gerber Files from EAGLE and Fusion Electronics
By INDiPCB ·
Autodesk folded EAGLE into Fusion, so depending on which you use the menus differ while the underlying process does not. Both drive a CAM processor that turns your layout into one Gerber file per layer plus drill data.
In Fusion Electronics
From the PCB workspace, go to MANUFACTURING → MANUFACTURING. You have a few routes from there:
- CAM Preview — shows what will be produced before you commit. Useful the first time.
- CAM Processor — the full interface, where you control each output layer individually.
- Export Gerber, NC Drill, Assembly and Drawing Outputs — a consolidated list that skips the CAM interface entirely. This is the quickest route for a standard board.
For an ordinary two-layer board the consolidated export is the right choice. Reach for the CAM Processor when you have a reason — an unusual stackup, or a fabricator asking for something specific.
In classic EAGLE
Open the board and run the CAM Processor. Load a job file rather than configuring layers by hand — EAGLE ships with job files, and most fabricators publish one for their process.
A job file is simply a saved definition of which layers go into which output file. Using one removes the most error-prone part of the whole exercise, which is deciding by hand which of EAGLE’s many layers belong in the copper output.
What you should end up with
Whichever route you take, a standard two-layer board produces:
- Top and bottom copper.
- Top and bottom soldermask.
- Top and bottom silkscreen.
- A board outline.
- An Excellon drill file.
- Paste layers, only if you need a stencil.
Fusion can also export ODB++. It is a good format, but send Gerber unless your fabricator has specifically asked otherwise — Gerber plus Excellon is what every process accepts without discussion.
The outline is the one to check
The board outline defines the physical shape. Without it a fabricator cannot know where to route the profile, and any automated quote falls back to the extent of your copper — which is always smaller than the real board.
If a quote comes back with dimensions smaller than you drew, the outline is almost always the reason. Draw it as a single closed loop on the dimension layer, not as a set of unjoined segments.
Package and check
Zip the output folder whole. Do not rename the files — the names carry the layer meaning — and do not send a subset, because a partial set renders as a plausible wrong board rather than failing.
View the set in a Gerber viewer before sending, or upload the ZIP on our order page, which renders and measures the board from the files themselves and returns dimensions, a design check and a price in a few seconds.