Running DXF to GDSII on Windows

This page describes the basic procedure for translating a DXF file to GDSII using ASM 3500 on Windows.

Before translating the file, one must know a few things about the DXF file - Most importantly, the units of the DXF file.
In this example, we will use one of the DXF files in our examples directory called sinuous.dxf - The file is in mils.



asm3500w_dxf.gif

In the example at left, all polygons are drawn on one layer and they are all 0 width closed plines. Our translator also supports drawing polygons as lines and arcs as long as they are connected end to end.



Running DXF2GDS on Windows

Step 1 - Open the DXF File
  asm3500w_selectdxf.gif  

Start DXF2GDS and open the file you wish to convert to GDSII:sinuous.dxf.



Step 2 - Configuring the Translator
  asm3500w_cfg.gif
 

From the main menu, click on theConfiguration button to open the Configuration dialog and select the Translator tab. Set the proper units and grid which in this example is units of mils, and grid of 10000.

Set the Max Points to 4000.
Set the Error Layer to 10 - any open polygons will go to that layer (great way to make sure no open polygons exist in your file).
Set the Arc Resolution to 3 (the lower the value, the more segments you will get per arc).

Next select the Text Setting tab. You can leave this menu as is but it is worth mentioning the 3 options there.
Translate Text to GDSII Text - DXF text will get translated to GDSII Text.
Explode Text to Boundaries - DXF text will be converted to GDSII polygons using our orthogonal pgfont.shx.
Explode Text to Path - DXF text will get translated to GDSII path using the DXF font specified.

Click OK to save the settings.



Step 3 - Selecting Layers to Convert
  asm3500w_layers.gif  

From the Main Menu, Click on the Layers button. The Layer Table will appear. Make sure that the layer(s) you wish to translate have been selected with a checkmark next to their layer name.

In this example, the polygons were all drawn on layer "0" so that is the only layer we need to convert.

Click OK to close the Layer Table.


Step 4 - Starting the Translation

Start the Translation from the Main Menu by Clicking on the Translate button.



Step 5 - Viewing the Results
  asm3500w_view.gif  

Click on the View GDSII button from the Main Menu to view the resulting GDSII file.

Idealy, you want all polygons to be filled. If there are any open polygons in the DXF file, they will go to the layer we defined as the error layer in the Configuration menu.