ODB++ Translator

ODB++ is an ASCII open format developed by Mentor Graphics to capture CAD/EDA, assembly and PCB fabrication information. It has become the proprietary industry standard for formatting and transferring PC board data.

Ansys’s ODB++ translator, AnsTranslator, allows you to utilize ODB++ and ANFv4 file formats to perform analyses of printed circuit boards in support of SIwave and PlanarEM. AnsTranslator takes as input an ODB++ v7.1 job structure and produces as output an ANFv4 or ANFv2 file and an SIwave component file (*.cmp).

• The input to AnsTranslator is an ODB++ v7.1 job structure—either as a compressed *.tgz file or an uncompressed top directory—and an optional control file (*.xml).
• The output from AnsTranslator is an ANFv4 file and a log file (*.log), or optionally an ANF v2 file and a component file (*.cmp).
• The information translated is a collection of geometric data that is sufficient to perform a useful analysis of the represented circuit for SIwave and PlanarEM designs (which support HFSS and Q3D as well).
  Note:

  The AnsTranslator process is subject to whatever limitations exist for the ANFv4 or ANF v2 format to represent ODB++ content.