Join our next Ask Me Anything about PCB file formats where you can ask us questions on:
- Understanding different PCB file formats (Gerber, ODB++, IPC-2581)
- Benefits and limitations of each format
- Tips for optimizing file handling and sharing
- And much more!
Question submission window: Through July 3rd
Please, note that this is not a live event. We ask you to post your questions on the forum before the deadline.
Nathan
2
Why is there size limit of 36 inches in IPC-2581. We do Flex that are longer than that. Viewers freak out.
Nathan
3
Why does IPC-2581 not handle negative planes? It becomes useless.
We dont know of a limit of 36" in 2581. Which Viewer are you using and what error message do you get?
1 Like
To the best of my knowledge 2581 does support negative planes. Chris Shaw from Fujitsu uses negative planes with 2581. What EDA tool are you using?
1 Like
Here’s an example in XML provided by Chris Shaw -
Layer name=“ISL2” layerFunction=“PLANE” side=“INTERNAL” polarity=“NEGATIVE”
Altium Designer.
The viewing tools available do not import negative layers correctly, so it is not possible to verify the data.
Nathan
10
All standard viewers have issues with the large format.