When I create a project archive in KiCad I’ve found that the Gerber file for the Edge_Cuts layer is duplicated in the archive. Is anyone else experiencing this?
Create a KiCad project.
Create a PCB Layout with an Edge Cuts layer
Save the Project
Create a Gerbers folder in the project directory
Plot the Gerbers (plot dialog screenshot attached)
Archive the project.
In the Zip archive the edge cuts layer in the Gerber directory is duplicated.
It is a bit confusing. They are in the archive within the archive.
See the Gerbers folder in this zip attachment. It shows the duplicate edge cuts layer. DUPLICATE_EDGE_CUT_GERBER.zip (11.0 KB)
Ok, that archive has a duplicated .gm1. And it’s the same file, not a different one. Sorry no idea how that happened. Never happened to me. Also I’m on Linux.
How are you creating the archive? Is it a built-in function, a plugin, or an external program that you used?
The filename “DUPLICATE_EDGE_CUT_GERBER-Edge_Cuts.gm1” does indeed appear twice in the zip file, and the names are exactly the same. When I extract the zip file, there is only one Edge_Cuts file. My operating system Linux Mint) does not accept two files with the same name in the same directory.
I also viewed the gerber job file in a text editor, and the Edge_Cuts layer is only mentioned once.
You mention Project Manager / Archive Icon. That does archive the project, but does not create a zip file with only gerbers. So the question of how the archive with the duplicated gerber name was created is still open. As far as I know, KiCad does not put (only) gerber files in a zip file.
Testing on 7.0.9 on Windows 10, I use a subfolder called plots for Gerbers.
The archive icon creates a zip file with the projects files and the subfolder with the Gerbers.
No sign of duplication.
I’ve experimented with a couple of other different, existing, layouts.
Found that if the “Use Protel filename extension” checkbox is selected in the Plot dialog when the Gerbers are generated then using the Archive function will create the duplicate Edge.Cuts layer in the archive.
If the “Use Protel filename extension” is NOT selected then there are no duplicated layers in the resulting Archive.
Comparing the resulting Gerber files for the Edge.Cuts layer (.gm1 and .gbr) the contents appear the same except for the time and date stamps.
Maybe the .gm1 extension is related to this somehow?
That sounds like a bug you should report. Most people don’t come across this because most fabricatiors don’t require Protel extensions anymore (even if they don’t support X2) and even if the files are duplicated in the archive, usually no harm is done.
