OpenBoardView - Need more file formats supported! Do you have any specs?

[Inflex]

Hi everyone,

  Regularly I receive boardview files that can't be decoded by OpenBoardView, and as the developer, I want to add them, but there's a problem; unless it's a plain-text format, OR I have a file format specification, it's pretty much a near impossible task to realistically decode these closed formats.

  Right now I'm trying to add;
    *  Allegro Cadence BRD format ( binary database like format )
  and;
    *  PADS PCB ( early ODB++ binary format I think produced by the original creators before it was taken on by Mentor)

I've tried contacting the respective companies and as fully anticipated have received the "Sorry, but no" responses.

At least with the plain-text XML based ODB++ there's a specification available.

[Inflex]

Bump.

As a side note, I've released today's development version of OBV.  https://github.com/inflex/OpenBoardView/releases

[Fire Doger]

The first thing I would search on Google is "Kicad import xxxx"
As an open source EDA you can easily find the source files for the importers that already use (or 3rd party converters on GitHub etc...) and use the decoding part on your program.

I hope it helps, OpenBoardView is awesome! 

[Inflex]

Sadly the KiCAD ".pcb" import was the ASCII only version, no binary / Mendo PADS version.

Similar story of woe with the Cadence Allegro too.

I'm at the point I'd be willing to throw real $ at someone who can decode the Mendo PADS binary pcb format (okay, for me, "real money" means up to $500~$1000 AUD)

[kripton2035]

do you know what forced the 10.12 minimal system version on mac os x openboardview ?
thanks.

[Inflex]

do you know what forced the 10.12 minimal system version on mac os x openboardview ?
thanks.

The ImGUI display engine is what sets that limit to my knowledge.

[mbless]

Send me a PM with a link to download the board files. I wrote some scripts a while ago that attempt to figure out the binary format. I can see what it spits out.

[PCB.Wiz]

  Right now I'm trying to add;
    *  Allegro Cadence BRD format ( binary database like format )
  and;
    *  PADS PCB ( early ODB++ binary format I think produced by the original creators before it was taken on by Mentor)

I thought Mentor ODB++ was relatively recent, and is a PCB export format for manufacture. Last time I looked, that was ASCII but spread over a complex multi-directory ?

Mentor PADS does have a ASCII format and ASCII spec - or do you already read that, and wanted to add ODB++ ?

Sadly the KiCAD ".pcb" import was the ASCII only version, no binary / Mendo PADS version.

I'm at the point I'd be willing to throw real $ at someone who can decode the Mendo PADS binary pcb format (okay, for me, "real money" means up to $500~$1000 AUD)

Does Mendo here mean Mentor ?
If you can import the PADS ASCII version, why do you need the Binary version ?
Note some of the new, lowest end mentor variants have killed the ASCII option, in order to 'turf protect', but almost no one seems to be using such closed CAD pgms ?

[ludzinc]

Had a look on your site - can't tell what it is you can open.

Is there a list I'm missing?

Also - do you have a fund-me page or similar?  Would like to kick some coin in to help.

[Inflex]

Just thought I'd provide an update.  An anonymous person has converted the PADS files of interest into ++ODB for me, which I was able to then filter & convert in to a format that I can now work with.  With that said, I think I'm going to leave the PADS option alone because having now gone through the data it's simply a mess with the boardviews in question.  Most of the files are out of date, a couple have completely wrong connectors and entire sections.

To combat the situation of always being last to get our hands on the useful data, I'm going to start a sister project to OpenBoardView, funded out of my pocket an from sales of FlexBV which will generate software that'll allow us to crowd-build new boardviews, typically from high quality PCB scans + schematics  (or if we're lucky, just the schematics if they still frequently include the board outline/overlay.