The Autodesk Inventor IDF Translator supports IDF versions 2.0 and 3.0, and PCB design files with the extensions .brd, .emn, .bdf and .idb.
The following are the types of IDF entities supported by the Autodesk Inventor IDF Translator and their descriptions.
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Board entity type |
Description |
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Outlines:
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Each of the four outline types provides a different function, such as communicating board shape and cutouts, or regions for routing and placing components. When imported as an assembly, outlines are represented in the browser as parts with single or multiple sketches. If multiple sketches exist, you can expand the part to view them. When imported as a part, outlines are represented as sketches. |
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Keepouts:
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Each keepout specifies a region of the board where a type of item is not allowed. If multiple placement keepouts exist, a sketch is created for each one. All routing keepouts on the same side of the board (Top, Bottom, or Inner) are stored together in a single sketch. Only one sketch is created for via keepouts, since only through vias are supported. When imported as an assembly, all sketches for each type of keepout are stored in a part. Expand the part to view the sketches. |
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Group Areas |
Specifies an area where you plan to place a group of related components. If a group area exists on both sides of the board, a sketch is created for each side. When imported as an assembly, all sketches are stored in a part. Expand the part to view the sketches. |
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Drilled Holes |
Drilled holes are distinguished from circular cutouts and are placed onto the same sketch as the board outline. |
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Components (Component Placement) |
Board components such as connectors, switches, and displays are listed with their package name and part number. Each component contains placement information that specifies its location on the board. The display name for component occurrences is the placement reference designator. When imported as a part, each instance of a component is represented as a sketch. When imported as an assembly, each component is represented as a part, and there are multiple occurrences of that part instance for each component. |
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Annotations |
Notes added in the IDF data are created and stored with the file, but are not displayed. |
The entities created by the IDF Translator are not only graphical representations of design entities. They are normal Autodesk Inventor parts with additional attributes that are applied to the created sketch. Attributes for reference designators defined in the IDF file are stored with the component representation.
All part files and sketches are named automatically, based on the board name and other existing board information.
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| Help topic |