I have been trying to get DS to work correctly with zofzPCB Gerber viewer, and have stumbled into a problem where the tracks don't show up, on messaging the creator he mailed back this:
When I remove the unplated excellon drill file, the traces are visible.
As I have seen (unfortunately only in a text editor) there are only routing shapes in the drill file. I guess it is the board outline, since there are 2 closed loops of routing. Zofzpcb is not capable of reading the board outline from the drill file. Board outline is expected on a separate gerber layer or 'meta' drawing on e.g. copper layers. If it is not found, bounding rectangle is used as a substitute for the outline. That means zofzpcb executes the routing as routing, not a drawing. The result of closed loop of routing is simply a big hole, covering the whole board. That also explains why you see no difference if you add core/prepreg or not - it is not there anyway. However, it is acting as spacer and gives the thickness to the board.
So, if you have option to generate the board outline in some other way then in the drill file, please try.
note:
1. Board outline drawing uses centers of lines as the edge. (unlike routing)
2. Board outline drawing allows for nested line-loops - it means external outline and cut-out(s). (unlike routing)
I would still like to know what are the naming rules for:
1. internal copper layers for multi-layer stackup
2. drill files for buried vias, that is from-to copper number marking, the other option then [Through Hole].
3. ipc356 - test points file, also called netlist, used to generate component shapes by zofzpcb
How can I adjust the output so the tracks are generated on a different level?
Also so zofzPCB is more usable in the future I'd like to check what the default naming scheme for Gerber plots are on DS, just to check I haven't renamed them.
Thanks!
Mike