Electrical Design > ECAD > Exporting Data to ECAD > Exporting Board and Components to EDA Format
Exporting Board and Components to EDA Format
The details of the export of board outlines and ECAD assembly components to the EDA format are as follows.
Board Outlines that Include Extruded Sections and Cutouts
Cutouts and extrudes of board outlines are retained as board geometry in the *.eda files. Round cutouts are exported as drilled holes. For boards with more than a single coordinate system, if the ecad_board_csys_def_name configuration option is not set to the name of one of the coordinate systems, Creo Parametric uses the first coordinate system it finds. The z-axes of the component and board coordinate systems must be parallel and aligned with each other. The geometry of the board and the components are placed with reference to the coordinate system of the board. For boards with multiple surfaces, the geometry is placed with reference to the top surface of the first extrude feature on the board.
The BOARD value of the ECAD_PART_TYPE model parameter is retained in the *.eda files. The value of the OWNER parameter in the IDF source files are also retained. The depth of the extrude feature defines the thickness of the board in the *.eda files.
Component Placement
The components are exported with the coordinate system name that is assigned as the default value of the ecad_comp_csys_def_name configuration option. This coordinate system identifies the part origin and must be aligned with the coordinate system of the board. Creo Parametric uses the coordinate systems of the component and the board to determine the placement and the offset. When the ecad_comp_csys_def_name configuration option is not set to a coordinate system name or no default coordinate system is defined, the components are exported with the coordinate system of the first component. The z-axes of the coordinate systems of this component and the assembly must be parallel and aligned with each other.
The export includes the following items:
Reference designators
Component names
The ECAD_NAME and ECAD_ALT_NAME component parameters
Top or bottom placement information
Placement status
Rotation about the z-axis
The x-, y-, and z-offset values
Component Outlines
The component outlines are exported with the default xy-placement coordinates of their default coordinate system. Use the ecad_comp_csys_def_name configuration option to assign a name for the coordinate system to be used for the export. You can also assign a cross-section name as the value of the ecad_comp_xsec_def_name configuration option. The component names, types (the ECAD_PART_TYPE parameter), geometry profiles, and properties are exported to the *.eda files.