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1 Import Data: Load ODB++, or Gerber and NC Drill files, into a new CAMtastic document. If you have an IPC netlist, you should import this as well when importing Gerber and NC Drill data.
2 Layer Type Assignments: Individual Gerber and Drill files are all assigned to individual layers. In addition, CAMtastic looks at their names upon import, and tries to assign each one a layer type. It does this according to the information in the Layers Detection Template. This is a fully-customizable dialog that contains fragments of file names (extensions, keywords or both) that identify individual files as layer types, such as signal, negative plane, border, drill, and temporary layers (mechanical).
3 Board Stackup and Drill Sets: Layers that have been assigned as signal types (top, bottom or internal) or planes will now appear in the Layers Order table. In most cases, CAMtastic will be able to determine the stackup from the provided CAM data, but in some cases all that will be provided is the logical order (the order in which the layers were imported).
4 Netlist Extract: This step relies on the accuracy of the steps preceding it. You can’t do it at all unless you’ve got a layer type assignment for every layer in your board (you should set mechanical layers to Temporary).
5 Borders and Planes: When CAMtastic exports a PCB to Protel, a board outline will automatically be generated. To do this intelligently, it requires a closed polyline to be present upon a Border-type layer. If no closed polylines can be found on this layer, or if multiple layers have been designated as borders in the Layers Table, you will probably not get the Board Shape you desire.
6 Small Polygons: Upon export, CAMtastic will use a single grid size and a single track width to fill all of the polygons in your file.
7 Export to PCB: After a netlist has been extracted from your CAM data, the Export to PCB option becomes enabled for CAMtastic users with a Protel DXP license. Executing this command after all necessary steps have been taken will create a Protel board that appears very much like the original.
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