About the IDF Translator

The IDF Translator enables the transfer of PCA data between PCB layout and mechanical design within Inventor Professional.

You can open an Intermediate Data Format (IDF) board file (IDF version 2.0 or 3.0) in Inventor Professional. An IDF file can be opened as a new assembly or part document, or placed as a component in an existing assembly.

An IDF format consists of:

Board/Panel file	The input IDF file (.brd, .emn, .bdf, or .idb file) contains the board or panel definition.
Library file	Contains board property information. The library file has a .lib, .emp, .ldf, or .idl extension and must always be in the same location and have the same name as the board file.

These files have the name of the input IDF file name with different extensions.

About options in the Import IDF Options dialog box

The board components are summarized so you can determine which items to import.

• Each component is assigned a color to provide a visually correct representation of the PCB assembly. You can change the color of the entire board, other outlines, all components, or individual components as needed.
• Access the Filter Settings dialog box where you can filter the following components:
  • Nonplated Holes A type of PCB hole which is defined in the IDF file.
  • Plated Holes A type of PCB hole which is defined in the IDF file.
  • Components The components which are placed on PCB such as resistor and chips.
  • Outlines
    • Board cutouts Defines the areas which are cut from the board.
    • Keep-out areas Specifies the regions of the board where a type of item is not allowed.
Important: About opening IDF parts from Content Center:
• If you already published the IDF components to the Content Center library when you import the IDF, by default Inventor will open these parts from Content Center instead of creating new parts.
• If the parts in the IDF file you have selected to open have not been published to the Content Center library, open the part and use the Manage Author IDF Component command to publish the part to to the IDF Component Content Center Library.
• You can run Check to identify any components that are not already in the Content Center library.

Ensure the original ECAD/PCB design creating the part names does not include the characters below so that after importing the file into Inventor, the IDF parts can easily be published to the Inventor IDF Content Center library. An IDF component name containing one of the symbols below cannot be published to the IDF Content Center library.

• (\, /, :, *, ?, ", <, >, |)
Note: If one or more of these characters exists in a component name in the IDF original dataset, replace the offending character with "_" (underscore character) in the Family Name field when you publish the component to the IDF Content Center library. If you replace the illegal character with the "_", in the Family Name field, the IDF component will be reused when you open the IDF dataset with this component name.

About the IDF Component Content Center Library

With the Manage Author IDF Component Authoring command you can publish IDF parts to the IDF Component Content Center Library and build your own IDF component library.

Any component published to the Content Center library will automatically be used in the imported model. New parts will be created for components not in the Content Center library.

About IDF data and Inventor

When imported as an assembly document, the board components are translated into multiple parts that are contained in the new assembly. Each part file contains the data for one or more component instance. The Autodesk Inventor browser and the BOM are updated with the IDF information.

The Autodesk Inventor IDF Translator supports many standard IDF board items:

Outlines	Board and panel, Other, Routing, and Placement outlines are supported. Each outline has a different purpose, such as communicating board shape and cutouts, or regions for component placement, and are represented in the browser as either a part or sketch. When multiple outlines exist, a sketch is created for each one. Expand the part to view additional sketches.
Keepouts	Routing, Via, and Placement keepouts are supported. Each keepout specifies a region of the board where a type of item is not allowed. If multiple keepouts exist, a sketch is created for each one. Expand the keepout part to view the sketches.
Group Areas	Specifies an area where related components are placed. If a group area exists on both sides of the board, a sketch is created for each side.
Drilled Holes	Distinguished from circular cutouts in the board outline, drilled holes are always drilled and are placed onto the same sketch as the board outline.
Components	Board components, such as connectors, switches, and displays are listed with their package name and part number. Each component contains placement information. The package name and part number fields for each component are used to reference the component's definition in the IDF Library file. The reference designator followed by an underscore and a unique identifier is the display name for each occurrence of the component.

All part files are named automatically based on existing board information. Notes defined in the IDF file are created and stored, but not displayed.

About nonlicensed IDF Translator sites and IDF board data

The only difference between a system that has Autodesk Inventor IDF Translator installed, and one that does not is that a nonlicensed site cannot import new IDF components. For example, both licensed and nonlicensed sites can do the following:

• Open and edit a regular assembly that contains an IDF subassembly.
• Determine interferences with board components.
• View the outline of IDF data within the context of an open assembly file.
• Turn visibility off to completely hide the IDF assembly component in the graphics window.
• Create detailed drawings of IDF data within any file.