Phi Dung Mo wrote: : The hypocrisy of that situation is that GC-Prevue's GWK file is really : just a collection of imported Gerber layers. It takes less than a minute to : import and set them up in a GWK, so what is the difference between a GWK : file and a collection of individual Gerbers? : I have to believe that these places (that don't want Gerbers or charge a : surcharge for Gerbers) are simply playing marketing games.
I do agree with you that refusing individual Gerbers seems silly. However, I wonder if the idea is that the .gwk file organizes the Gerbers into a defined stack-up order, and thereby minimizes the possibility of mistakenly mis-ordering the layers during manufacturing?
Yes, smart people name their Gerbers with names caling out the ordering sequence, and also provide a stack-up in the README & fab dwg. However, these PCB houses might be dealing with less-than-clueful students and hobbiests. Also, it is always possible for somebody in manufacturing to mess something up despite the most carefully crafted design package.
Stuart