Extract text from Gerber bottom overlay files (GBO)
To convert GBO Bottom overlays to another format, you need Altium Designer or other Cad software.
To convert other file formats to the "PCB Manufacturing File" file type, you need software like Altium Designer or a similar tool.
A .gbo file is a standard ASCII-based 2D vector image that stores the Gerber Bottom Overlay (or bottom silkscreen) data for Printed Circuit Board (PCB) manufacturing. Maintained by Ucamco and exported by professional PCB design software like Altium Designer, KiCad, and Eagle, it contains the visual text, reference designators, and component outlines that are painted onto the bottom layer of a physical circuit board. Learn more about the Gerber format.
The primary disadvantage of the .gbo format is its highly specialized nature. It is essentially an RS-274X formatted text file containing machine coordinates, making it completely unreadable by standard image viewers, web browsers, or standard document software. Sending a raw .gbo file to a client, project manager, or mechanical engineer often causes confusion because they lack the expensive, dedicated CAM software required to open it.
To share silkscreen proofs or integrate the layout into documentation, you must convert it. For web sharing and client review, convert the file to PDF or SVG. For importing silkscreen outlines into mechanical design tools, convert to DXF. Drop your file here to view and convert it securely right in your browser - free, online, and without installing heavy CAD tools.
Convert.Guru analyzes your GBO file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted GKO, GBR, DRL, GBL, ZIP, PRJPCB, SCHDOC and PCBDOC files.
If you want to convert GBO file to DWG, DXF, DGN, RVT, RFA, SKP, 3DM, STEP, IGES, SAT, X_T or X_B, you can use Altium Designer or similar software from the "PCB Bottom Silkscreen Data" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert SLDASM, DGN, PRT, IAM, X_B, CATPRODUCT, SLDPRT, RVT, ASM, DWG, CATPART or DXF files to GBO, try Altium Designer or another comparable tool in the "PCB Bottom Silkscreen Data" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our GBO converter.