I need to export gerber files for https://www.pcbwave.com/
It requires drill files in TXT format.
How to export drill from KiCad in TXT format?
Creation of drill files is a separate step in KiCad. If pcbwave really insists in the “.txt” extension, then renaming them from [project].drl to [project].txt probably works.
Does that website really expect to see the old protel extensions on the files?
They also mention:
- Gerber “RS-274-X” is the sole format for fabrication, and you can output Gerber from other formats, they are “BRD”, “PCBdoc”, and “LAY6”.
RS-274-X is a pretty old and obsolete standard. The X2 version is much more common now, and it embeds the function of each layer into the file names, so file extension does not matter anymore. X3 has also been released for a while, but I do not know how much support there is (yet) for it’s specific features.
Does it mean that I don’t have to send them drillmap, only drl file?
Indeed. The drill map file is not used for production at all. It is just a visual thing (it also has options for SVG and PDF output). Apparently it has some use, but I do not know what for. I guess it’s only for humans, but I would very much prefer to have my software do hole size verification for me.
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I generate drill map in gerber format so then when in gerber viewer I open all gerber files I have marks in places where holes are. I have never tried if in gerber viewer I can open Excellon drill files.
Yes, you can open the drill files directly in the gerber viewer. They show as round circles. (I am not sure if oval holes can be part of the drill file. I guess that is more for routing / Edge.Cuts).
Maybe drill map is easier to distinguish between holes with nearly the same size, but when you open the drill file directly, the holes have Dcodes, and you can highlight all objects with the same Dcode.