Most frequent ASCII ECAD-file formats
Proprietary data formats
| System | Format extension | Comments |
| Zuken CR000 | DSGF & FTF and for panels MDGF | Rich data content, including pin names, net attributes but no pin directions (add NDF netlist for full pin directions if required) |
| Zuken CR5000 | PCF & FTF and for panels PNF | Rich data content, including pin names, net attributes but no pin directions (add NDF netlist for full pin directions if required) |
| Zuken Cadstar | CPA | Very rich data content, including pin names, directions & net attributes |
| Zuken Cadstar | CADIF or PAF | Average data format including net attributes |
| Mentor Expedition | HKP | This is a set of files (layout.hkp, netprops.hkp,padstack.hkp, pdb.hkp,...) containing good information about pin names & pin directions. Much richer that the CamCad or ODB++ output formats if all files are present |
| Altium / Protel | PCBDOC or PCB or ASC |
Exists in 2 completely different formats [and the same extension seems to be common even for the binary project files] ! Common to all formats is that they are quite poor in content (apart from the pure netlist mostly mechanical info) and to have a better pool of data a additional "Wirelist" netlist should be used which contains internal pin names if these files are to be used for coverage analysis or test program generation Altium allows much creativity in naming of devices, pins, nets (allowing special characters, differtiating uppercase/lowercase, ...) so problems when treating Altium data with other toolchains are not uncommon |
| Theda / Zuken | UNI | Unidat file format originally by Theda later aquired by ZUKEN. ASCII format containing a medium rich set of data including panel data, however lacks pin directions or net properties |
Generic data formats (generated by many tools even if the formats are not all open standards)
Name Format extension Comments Can be very rich in data content, including pin names, directions & net attributes, however depends on the generating program. Data format originally developped by GenRad, later became a IPC standard This format exists in 2 different ways GenCAM 1.x (or IPC2511A) which is a indention structured format or GenCAM 2.x (or IPC2511B) which is a XML file, contained data is mostly mechanical and a netlist
| System | Format extension | Comments |
| IPC2510 or GenCad | CAD or GCD | Can be very rich in data content, including pin names, directions & net attributes, however depends on the generating program. Data format originally developped by GenRad, later became a IPC standard |
| ODB++ | ZIP or TGZ |
ODB++ is a container format (archive) containing many files and can be decompressed using standard archive tools to access the files. The format is configurable and might only contain Gerber-like "images" or full layout data. CONs: apart from the netlist, electrical data is poor (no internal pin names, no pin directions, no power or ground attributes) |
| IPC2581 | XML | The format is configurable and might only contain Gerber-like "images" or full layout data. It is a attempt to deliver a 'official' standard for similar purposes like the ODB++ above, advantage is that it is a single file instead of hundreds ... . Currently data content is compareable with ODB++, can also contain BOM information |
| IPC2511 or GenCAM | GCM | This format exists in 2 different ways GenCAM 1.x (or IPC2511A) which is a indention structured format or GenCAM 2.x (or IPC2511B) which is a XML file, contained data is mostly mechanical and a netlist |
| Fabmaster | FAB or FAZ or FATF | FABmaster war a company founded in the 90s with their identically named CIM software. Later it moved via Tecnomatix (and changed name to Test Expert) to Siemens. The FAZ format is a compressed archive containing several files including a FAB file describing the layout. Data can be rich (in function of the input data as this is typically generated by 3rd party tools) |
| CamCad | CC or CCZ | The CCZ files are basically a compressed version of the CC files. Information in the files is basically limited to netlist & mechanical data |
| Gerber | X2 or GER | The original gerber format (also references as RS274) is a purely graphical format (image) without any electrical references. These files are suitable to produce PCBs but further usage is limited. The Gerber X2 standard overcomes these limitations and attaches 'labels' (four new commands : TF, TA, TO and TD) to the graphical objects (similar to the original Gerber format) so these files contain a electrical netlist but no further pin or net attributes |
The comments above are based from our own experience, feel free to contact us to share your opinion or ask for correction if data is not precise. Names mentioned above might be protected trademarks of their respective owner.
For further details, refer to the Wikipedia article about EDA software and their Export files