v2.08 (5/9/2024)

Both the ODB GUI and library were mistakenly failing to distinguish a local path from a network path. This has now been fixed by treating a network path as a literal one after recognizing it by looking for a beginning pair of backslash characters in the path.

The problem was found with nested user symbols contained in exploded ones. When ODB conversion is done without exploding all symbols, some of the symbols are exploded anyways if there is a change in polarity or dynamic text is floated to be resolved later. This has been fixed by forcing these nested symbols to be exploded as well.

Odb2gdx64.dll library outputs "attrlist_all.db and "userattr.db" memory map files. This is an optimization for the odb2gdx64.exe ODB feature interpreter engine. This allows the attribute database to be created once and subsequently read in directly by odb2gdx64.exe each time it's called to translate each symbol and layer instead of having odb2gdx64.exe create it every time it's launched. Otherwise, this can be time consuming if there are a high number of attributes to search for in addition to a high number of symbols and layers as the database is being created.

Chord error table fix when concidering surface holes and islands Each entry in the table has a polarity field. The mistake was to only use the surface polarity to help determine which entry to use for a given surface curve. What was needed was to also consider whether the curve was part of a hole or island. This has now been fixed.

v2.07h (11/23/2023)

Added support for additional ODB++ symbols

Type Name                         ODB SYMBOL NAME
RoundedSquareThermalOpenCorners_type  s_ths
LineThermal_type                      s_thr
HomePlate_type                        hplate
InvertedHomePlate_type                rhplate
FlatHomePlate_type                    fhplate
RadiusedInvertedHomePlate_type        radhplate
RadiusedHomePlate_type                dshape
Dogbone_type                          dogbone
DPack_type                            dpack

The Boolean libraries used by ODB2GBR have been updated to the most recent version.
Updated the Gerber validation module.

Version 2.07g 8/25/2023

In certain cases, the profile extents incorrectly displayed "unknown". This has now been fixed so that when the profile information has been found to be correct, the extents will be displayed instead of "unknown".

Added support for type name Cross_type and ODB++ Symbol name cross.

When the symbols below are encountered, a warning is reported. Before, nothing was reported.

Type Name                         ODB SYMBOL NAME
LineThermal_type                  s_thr
HomePlate_type                    hplate
InvertedHomePlate_type            rhplate
FlatHomePlate_type                fhplate
RadiusedInvertedHomePlate_type    radhplate
RadiusedHomePlate_type            dshape
Dogbone_type                      dogbone
DPack_type                        dpack

The Boolean libraries used by ODB2GBR have been updated to the most recent version.
Updated the Gerber validation module.

Version 2.07f 7/26/2023

The memory used to support these arguments was only 260 bytes long. It has been changed to be dynamically allocated to the length of these arguments.

Fixed ODB2GDX library to include component layers in ODBTREE functions.

Updated ODB feature file converter (ODB2GDX ENGINE)

The Boolean libraries used by NETEXG have been updated to the most recent version.
Updated the Gerber validation module.

Version 2.07e 6/21/2023

Optimized ODB++ file existence check for speed (Windows only). This generated a speed up of about two to five times.

Version 2.07d 5/27/2023

Added support for ODB++ oblong thermal types.

Added warnings for referenced undefined ODB++ symbol types.

Bug fix to dropped ODB++ arcs with point precision smaller than output grid. These were mistakenly treated as small arcs and output as pads. The data point precision required to calculate the angle precision needed to be 10x the greater of data point precision and output grid. Otherwise, the arc data would be considered a small arc and drawn as a round pad the start point.

Version 2.07c 4/27/2023

User symbol were left undefined because of differences in upper and lower case letters in the names. A directory search is done to ensure the exact letter case is used in the name. This fixed the problem.

Nets were being dropped during net node data clipping. The escape characters in the net name were being confused with line continuation delimiters so that net names were being mistakenly truncated and generating undefined nets. The parsing of the net and node names associated has been fixed to prevent this.

Updated net computation engine.
Updated Boolean components.

Version 2.07b 3/30/2023

Dropped Padstacks - Custom RS274X round apertures which were to be used for padstack definitions were mistakenly segmented with default accuracy (arcres 9 degrees and arcsag 0) even though different values were being specified.
As a result, the pad definition generator failed to recognize some polygons as being round vias in some instances (larger vias). This has now been fixed. The custom apertures are now segmented to the specified values.

Ensure Leonov Polygon output uses full union booleanization - This prevents partition lines from appearing in final output.

Force polygon format to be cutlines when it's Leonov for DXF and GDSII - A warning to that effect will be output if this is the case.

Version 2.07a 3/15/2023

This version drops boundaries from output during clipping stage if they have less than 4 vertices.

Version 2.07 3/2/2023

This version fixes a problem which occurred when there was an empty drill file and multi threading. The net computation engine has been updated to deal with this problem.

The file "ntxgmatalias.txt" contains material alias names for any given material name specified in the "ntxgmatlib.txt" file.
Its format for each entry is as follows :
[Material Name from "ntxgmatlib.txt"] [List of Alias Names]
Items for each line are separated by spaces or ','. Each item can be quoted for spaces in a given item. An example is shown below :
Gold "My gold" "His gold" "Her gold" "Their gold"
FR4 "FR-4" "FR 4" "F R 4"
Copper "My penny" "His penny" "Her penny" "Their penny".

Updated Boolean Components.
Updated Gerber validation components.
Updated IPC2581 importer:

Version 2.06 2/3/2023

Added "Ignore Missing Drill Files" check box to "Drills" dialog box. This forces Netex-G to ignore drill files that do not exist.

Updated Boolean Components.
Updated Gerber validation components.
Updated IPC2581 importer to use QT.

Version 2.05a 9/9/2022

One optimization reduced sleep times between program launches (wrunbat update).
Reduced the number of times the clipping program (ascexfilt64.exe) read an input file and internal boolean handle creation was removed from acsbool. The handle creation was opening and closing files unnecessarily for each boolean operation.

Fixed parsing problem of the STEPHDR files during ODB++ import. There was a problem handling space characters around '=' character.
ODB++ importer uses version information from version.txt
Implemented safe round ended thermal draw.
Updated Boolean Components.
Updated Gerber validation components.

Version 2.05 9/21/2021

The input unit cannot be known until after, when output units are set to be same as input units.

This is done to guarantee use of desired value regardless of odb data units imported.

It was broken when ODB importing started using odbgui64.dll and odbgui_main64.dll instead of odb2gbr.dll. It was always being imported as MM. This has now been fixed.

Update boolean engine.
Allow multi threading in net computation.
Gerber validation was updated.
Gerber interpreter was updated to handle large layer count with over 50000 layers.

Version 2.04 4/13/2021

This condition caused all nets but the one(s) containing non-connected vias to appear. This has now been fixed.

The 'x' multiplication operator was being supported but not the 'X'. This has now been fixed.

Scaling would fail and report error when some of the intermediate files were over 2GB. This has now been fixed.

Version 2.03 3/18/2021

When a GDSII output file is generated, a net information file is generated (base_name_netinfo.txt

The bin folder contains odbscan_exec64.exe executable.

The odbscan_sample folder contains the odbscan_exec64.exe sample code.

The lib folder contains odbscan64.lib library. The DLL, odbscan64.dll, is currently loaded dynamically, but the .lib file is provided for static builds.
Remove _ODBSCAN_LIB_RUNTIME_LOAD_ preprocessor define and include odbscan64.lib for static build.

The artwork folder contains odbscan64.dll.

The examples/odb_input folder has odb_test_scan64.bat batch file and 220_array.tgz ODB++ example file.

The bin folder contains odbscan_exec64.exe executable and a odbscan_exec script for setting up environment.

The odbscan_source folder contains the odbscan_exec64.exe sample code.

The lib64 folder contains libodbscan64.so shared object.

The artwork folder also contains libodbscan64.so shared object.

The examples/odb_input folder has odb_test_scan.sh script file and 220_array.tgz ODB++ example file.

Version 2.02d 3/3/2021

Boolean and Gerber validation components have been updated.
This version was compiled with VS2015. VS2008 is discontinued.

Netex-G V2.02c Windows 2/9/2021

Boolean components were updated.

Gerber validation components were updated.

Merging stage (gdsfilt64.exe) input/output synchronization was fixed on Windows.

Netex-G V2.02b Windows 1/28/2021

Suppress output of component pin vias in ANF output. These vias (entries starting w/ V) are not needed since component pins (entries starting w/ X) are already provided.

Updated boolean modules and Gerber validation modules.

Netex-G V2.02a Windows 1/18/2021

Add support for polygon pad shapes in ANF output.
Bug fix in the boundary to path conversion when ANF output is used.
Restore polygon formatting to be before boundary to path conversion.

Netex-G V2.02 Windows 1/7/2021

This is done because the conversion cannot currently work with leonov polygons. As a result, polygons with holes are not properly unionized. This has now been fixed.

Mount holes are taken from drill sets. Without drills messages were popping up regarding empty files. This has now been fixed.

When a drill's start layer was below the end layer in the stackup it went missing. This has now been fixed. In this case, the importer is automatically reversing the drill's start and end layer in the NJB output instead of dropping it.

Ensure output file name always have an extension - This is done when the output file name is missing a file extension. Without an extension, the shell and manager become confused and erroneously report a failure when there isn't one.

Netex-G V2.01b Windows 10/20/2020

Layer names in 3d output now appear as basenames of Gerber files created from OBB++ importing or from a user instead of the designations found in the 2nd column of B_LAYERS or B_AUX_PROPS sections of .njb file.

This version includes updated boolean engine and library to fix several bugs involving crashes and dropped data.

Updated ODB++ import executables and libraries.

Updated 3Di, XT, and Step output engines and libraries .

Netex-G V2.01a Windows 8/27/2020

This version has a revised boolean operations for the 274hdr, asc2anf, ascexfilt, prfshpgn, and xtrctmh modules.

Internal boolean operations are thread controlled - The maximum thread count can come from the OS or it's user specified.

This version fixed boolean error log problems in ODB++ feature file translation.

Netex-G V2.01 Windows 8/5/2020

This occurred when multiple identical net labels on separate physical nets were employed. This caused the associations of nets to net numbers to be misaligned by the number of physically merged nets found in GDSII and DXF output. This has now been fixed.

This version includes ODB Import Settings sub dialog in the PReference menu.

odbgui64.dll and odbgui_main64.dll are used instead of odb2gbr64.dll

"Preferences", "Drill", and "Output Formats" menus - Saving these to the registry used to depend on whether a .njb file was not opened. It is now always done regardless of any .njb file being opened or not.

Improved log files.

Netex-G V2.00b Windows 1/9/2020

Padstack generation finds, for each via, the largest Gerber flash on each metal layer the via traverses. If the flash size is greater than the via size filter, smaller than the via drill size, or it's on a scratch layer, the flash is ignored.
The via drill size is the default size to use when no Gerber flash can be found. To obtain the correct flashes, the fix was done as follows :

Netex-G V2.00a Windows 11/25/2019

This version includes enhancements to the boolean engine with respect to validation.
Unionization has been improved to be nearly thread independent.

Netex-G V1.99f Windows 06/7/2018

IPC-D-356 307 Opcode are treated now the same as 327 opcode.

Updated boolean engines.

Netex-G V1.99e Windows 06/2/2018

This release handles large attribute values. When encountered, these could potentially cause the importer to crash. This has now been fixed..

This text is generated and clipped to the composite of extraction and ROI windows.

Netex-G V1.99d Windows 03/5/2018

ODB++ import was updated to fix a problem with unit import.

Split274x components were fixed to handle a problem with a file that included consecutive empty mass parameters.

Netex-G V1.99c Windows 01/9/2018

All relevant executables and DLL's have been ported to 64 bit Visual Studio 2015.
Safenet USB licensing is no longer supported - Flexid USB keys are now supported for node locked and floating license.
Gerber viewer included.

Netex-G V1.98 Windows 04/25/2017

The DXF error, Undefined group code 2, was appearing during an Auto-CAD load. This has now been fixed.

Wire vias that were used to form GDSII output are now dropped in DXF output by design. There is no need for them with 3D extrusions.

Wire data appearing as flush ended paths was mistakenly represented as boundary data when the "Output Paths" option was selected. This has been fixed to remain as paths to later be treated as wires.

Path data converted from boundary data when the "Output Paths" option was selected was being treated as wires even though it was not on any wire stack ups. This caused a failure in generating DXF output. This has now been fixed.

Licensing has been changed from a single to a multi-key model. Licensing has been altered to hold one license feature for each of the available output and import licenses relevant to the shell. Only one of the licenses are released during output execution while other programs acquire, hold and release it. Import licenses are held during the life of the shell. All are released when the shell is closed. The old behavior was to test import and output licenses and only hold one of the output licenses.

(b) Solder mask reversals have been set to be on by default. The previous behavior was to have it off.

Netex-G V1.97e Windows 03/16/2017

A. Netex-G manager now makes use of daisy-chain soft key licensing. Previously, each licensed module would acquire and release its own license during program flow.
Now the manager holds on to the license until either a license error occurs or program flows completes normally. The manager also guarantees that no license tampering occurs during program execution by refreshing the license periodically. This minimizes network traffic associated with floating licensing and avoids compatibilty issues between modules built with older version of FLEXLM and newer FLEXLM daemons. In addition all latency issues that might occur when making use of WAN licensing are minimized.

B. Both floating and nodelocked licensing tied to FLEXID Type 9 dongle was tested and demonstrated to work without any issues.

Netex-G V1.97d Windows and Linux 02/28/2017

Fixed issue in v1.97c when the AUX_PROPS section in the NJB file was omitted resulting in bad GDSII output.

Fixed an issue with layermap and WIREBOND entries in the NJB file.

A Qt based help pop up now provides help information on Windows and Linux.

Netex-G V1.97c 02/14/2017

Vias were being dropped because they were mistakenly left broken apart by the data partitioning applied during unionization. This has now been fixed. All such data partitions are now always unionized.

The window is launched by double clicking on the executable and describes the available command line arguments. The contents of the description are taken from a text resource file, "netexgmgr_usage.txt"

Prior to this version of netexmgr, the units of any command line arguments were assumed to be in the input file units - which must be either inches or mm. From this version forward the user may add a unit specifier to each parameter that includes a physical size or coordinate if so desired. For example when specifying arcsag parameter the user could force the units to um in the following manner:

The absence of a unit specifier, for an argument's value that could take one, defaults the the previous behavior of using the input file units.

Added a command line argument, -outgrid <value>, that manually controls the output precision. For example if you want a resolution of 0.0001 enter this value. Note that there is no checking to verify that this combination of output grid and the units of the output file won't produce a coordinate overflow.

The file handle is now closed before program termination to allow deletion of working directory contents.

The module, asc23di.exe, which is used to produce 3Di output, now also produces a netlist text file. The netlist file is only valid if the user has assigned Nodes (i.e. pin labels). The purpose of this new function is to aid package designers who are building daisy chains and need to produce a netlist. This function is only available for 3Di as the main output.

gdsscale.exe (a utility shipped with the Netex-g release) has a nwe usage box which can be accessed by double clicking on the executable. The contents of this usage box are taken from the resource text file named gdsscale_usage.txt.

Netex-G V1.97b 01/22/2017

Updated boolean engines to handle data that caused a crash.
Fixed a problem in the ODB++ import to handle empty text attribute string.

Netex-G V1.97a 01/17/2017

Enforce single thread run for net computation.

Tab characters are now supported in the njb job file.

Netex-G V1.97 01/10/2017

The AIF importer now supports user defined reference designator for node labels on the DIE and BGA side. This is useful for producing a netlist by asc23di.exe.

a patch is available (will be incorporated in next release of Netex-G) for asc23di.exe. The new version, 1.36, produces a netlist at the same time as the 3Di output. This netlist generator supports reference designators either when they are present in the node label (a dash must be used between the ref_des and the pin label) or if no ref des is present in the node labels the stackup layer is used as a substitute reference designator.

If no node labels are present at all, the net list file will be empty.

Netex-G V1.96a 12/21/2016

Fixed a problem where the command line of the netexg manager didn't handle correctly arguments with quotes.

Fixed a problem with getting wire layer color in GDSII map file generation.

Updated licensing to check for WAN Enabler

Netex-G V1.96 9/1/2016

New release for both Windows and Linux.

Netex-G V1.95 8/10/2016

Files with same base name and different extensions were being treated as the same file. (e.g. 56040.gtp, 56040.in2, 56040.in3, 56040.gtb)This has now been fixed.

GDSII Layer mapping has been affected by this change. This renders older GDSII layer maps invalid.

GBRVU must be version 3.45 or later to work with the new layer names.

DXF and EGS output no longer are generated with an uneeded layer called "_fmtbest_gbr." These suffixes appeared in Netex-G v1.94 due to Gerber validation routines that were introduced forcing the precision to 3.5 in MM or 2.6 in INCH.

Netex-G V1.94 7/25/2016

The "View Output" Button in the Main Dialog is disabled until successful execution; disabled whenever a new .NJB file or ODB++ file has been loaded.

The format of the Gerber data is "adjusted" to 3.5 when units of MM and 2.6 when units of inch in order to produce the highest quality output.

In "Silent Mode" (as opposed to Single Display Mode and "Fireworks" modes [each program displays its own progress] errors and warnings are recorded in the detail log. A message box still pops up if warnings and/or errors are detected. They can then be reviewed with the "View Log/Details" button.

Floating licensing fix to several of NETEX-G's modules. Previously failures occurred for floating licensing in conjunction with FLEXLM servers running FLEXLM higher than v11.3.

The algorithm to generate a foot print based profile has been optimized. (Programmer - need some details here, please.)

MSVC 2008 Builds.

Update 3Di output.

More information about the conversion is entered into the log file. The Log file now includes:

netexgmgr program id information - Version, Date, and License Type

split274x log information - Information on Gerber input conditioning

Start, end, and total elapsed time.

Backside pin placement and orientation have been corrected. Previously, component pins were missing or misplaced and the component orientation may have been incorrect.

Previously, components on the bottom were not mirrored on output. Now they are mirrored as needed.

Netex-G V1.93a 3/31/2016

Bug fix to clipping of soldermask layers. This was fixed.

Support UNITS=[MM|INCH] in feature file.
Support UNITS=[MM|INCH] handling of .copper_weight and .layer_dielectric attributes.
Fix parsing of components attributes to which prevents duplicating .comp_height from appearing multiple times

Netex-G V1.93 1/15/2016

Remove 3di for STEP export option.
Incorporate latest 3Di engine 1.21

Remove Minimum ODB++ Threshold of metal and dielectric layer thickness.

Allow wire and die information to be passed to GDSII and DXF output.
This was done to restore support of wires in the intermediate ASCII to [GDSII | DXF] flow. Before, the flow was from intermediate GDSII to [GDSII | DXF].

Add wire and wire via support to GDSII layer mapping.

Netex-G V1.92 11/4/2015

Add circularize to 3Di output. This option will reduce 3Di file size.

Information was deleted or misrepresented by certain executables. This has now been fixed.

Adopted new Flexlm license model, and no more support for disk serial number.

Netex-G/Netex-ODB V1.91a 9/14/2015

The problem occurred when mount holes appeared inside rout areas. This has now been fixed. To avoid this problem, unionization of routing and mount holes is applied.

Netex-G/Netex-ODB V1.91 7/21/2015

Rout data completely inside profile data creates voids while other rout data is used to trim edges.

Component pins over mounting holes are detected and removed.

Control over number of drill sides has been modified. 45 Degree restrictions has been removed from arc recognition control - A user can select coarser value than 45 degrees (e.g. 60 degrees).

XML parsing is more robust and can handle missing elements. XML parsing now handles problem with stackup layer material type - The space characters appearing in the name are replaced with '_'. LayerRefs ARE SYNCHED TO LayerFeatures.

OEMs wishing to use ACS Softkey Licensing will require a uniform supplemental soft key kit, a customer vendor key file, and two static vendor files.

OEMs should follow these instructions to properly compile and use the soft key license test program:

• Install Netex-G and select "OEM licensing scheme".
• Install Netexg-G Softkey Kit after item a)
• Artwork will provide a password protected zip file with required libraries and documentation. Unzip this and put the files as shown below:

• 
  File Name                       Description         Instructions 
  ---------                       ----------- ------------ 
  vkf.txt                         Vendor Key File     Place in [Installdir]\bin 
  
  acsvendor_s.lib                 32 bit Softkey Lib  Place in [Installdir]\lib 
  
  acsvendor64_s.lib               64 bit Softkey Lib  Place in [Installdir]\lib 
  
  gbr_import_manual.pdf           Help Manual         Place in [Installdir]\artwork 
  
  OEM_user_interface_help.pdf     Help Manual         Place in [Installdir]\artwork 
  
  netex-g_help_index.txt          Help Manual Index   Place in [Installdir]\artwork 
  
  

• Open solution file in [Installation_Directory]/softkey_sample_vs2008 using Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 and compile win32 and x64 target programs.
• Run the batch files already provided in the njb_input and odb_input subfolders under the examples subfolder or run softkeyshell.exe or softkeyshell64.exe in a similar manner as indicated below.

[Installation_Directory]\bin\softkeyshell.exe 
     "[Installation_Directory]\artwork\gbrunmgr.exe" [Program_Arguments]               
         "-acsp:[VKF_Directory]\vkf.txt" 

Read [Installation_Directory]\documentation\oem_readme.txt for more detailed instructions.




---




Netex-G/Netex-ODB V1.90a 12/17/2014

CADNAV Fix


CADNAV output has been fixed to support large number of pins.

ODB++ Import updates


Program crash has been handled in Gerber file generation.
Fixed to handle bad definition pins with zero dimensions.
Circular recognition has been improved.


---

Netex-G/Netex-ODB V1.89a 9/4/2014

Silent mode deletes job file


The "netexgmgr.exe" program was still sometimes mistakenly being launched more than once for a given execution run. This has now been fixed.

Netex-G/Netex-ODB V1.89 8/26/2014

Components were dropped when drill treated as mounting hole


If all nets are generated, all components in clipping window(s) will be included regardless of any holes appearing in clipping window(s) (i.e. net connections will not be considered here). If a subset of the nets is requested, the previous behavior will take effect (i.e. if there is no net connection for component pins, the component is dropped).

Component outline not showing up in 3Di


Circle outlines were not being handled for components. This has now been fixed.

Added support for dummy/Silhouette layers


A new "Layer Type" has been added to the shell called "Silhouette" When the layer type for a given metal layer is set to Silhouette, the output of the layer is replaced by ROI profile information including mounting holes and applied routing.

Problem importing circular information to profile


Circular information in Gerber files set to be imported as profile data was not being imported correctly. Arc resolution and chord error were not being passed correctly during Gerber interpretation. This has now been fixed.

DXF Layer name issue


Program was creating bad layer names when name was greater than 32 characters. This has been fixed.

---

Netex-G/Netex-ODB V1.88 6/26/2014

Added ability to set CADNAV "Pin Pad Size" per Component References


The "CADNAV Settings" dialog has a check box labeled "By Component" which enables a button labeled "By Component..." to allow a user to set the sizes for each or a group of component references. The list displayed is filtered by the "Min. Component Pin Count".

Pad Metal Filter


Remove flatten requirement from pad metal filter. This is for GDSII and DXF advanced output settings.

CADNAV


Added CADNAV functionality to GDSII advanced settings.

---

Netex-G/Netex-ODB V1.87 5/21/2014

Netex-G ODB++ and IPC2581 import update


Netex-G ODB++ and IPC2581 importing have been altered to prevent default output of paths designed to cover break lines formed in polygon formatting which is set to cut lines or butting edges. In certain cases, the default behavior caused niblets to appear for lack of a correct Gerber D-Code assignment for those paths.

Pad Metal Filter


Remove flatten requirement from pad metal filter. This is for GDSII and DXF advanced output settings.

CADNAV


Added CADNAV functionality to GDSII advanced settings.

---

Netex-G/Netex-ODB V1.86 4/25/2014

GUI Updates


Added "Advanced..." button to "GDSII Settings" controls in "Netex-G Output Formats" dialog box. This launches new "GDSII Advanced"dialog box.
Layer mapping settings have been moved from "Output Formats" dialog to "GDSII Advanced" dialog.

Revised DXF output


Support output of pass thru layers. These pertain to non net specific layers that are not solder mask or silkscreen layers. See notesbelow for description of structure hierarchy and layering.
Pad metal filter option has been added to DXF advanced output settings to prevent the metal intersections of pad stacks from appearing in output. This only works with flatten option.

Revised GDSII output


Output has been made to be similar to DXF. See notes below for description of structure hierarchy and layering.
Option to use new Component Library sections is provided.
Option to flatten data is available.
Pad metal filter option has been added to GDS advanced output settings.
"profile" layer entry has been added to layer mapping to allow user control of what layer data type is assigned to profile data.


Bug fix


Support longer key names greater than 32 characters for component attributes.

---

Netex-G/Netex-ODB V1.85 4/4/2014

Revised DXF Output


New layers of information provided - Components, Profile, Solder mask, and Silkscreen.
3d output option provided.
Option to use new Component Library sections is provided.
Option to flatten data is available.


Clipping of Soldermask and silkscreen layer has been fixed


Data that was completely outside of clipping regions (ROI or window extractions) were mistakenly included. This has now been fixed.

Component Information


New component attribute information added caused problem. This information was quoted and arbitrary in form.
(e.g. DESCRIPTION='HEADER PLUG 2WAY 1ROW TOP ENTRY 13MM LONG'). Before there were only attribute of the form attribute=value (e.g. comp_height=329.921000). This has now been fixed.

Changes in new Component Library sections were also handled. Example of definition and reference section is shown below. New lines are tagged as NEW(description).



================== Component Library Section ==============
B_COMP_LIB


B_COMP_DEF
2 "220-01720-05a_PKG1" "PL2HR-P2_A84D50E25"


B_COMP_POLY 1
B_COMP_VERT 6 P
-98.819000 48.819000
98.819000 48.819000
98.819000 -48.819000
-88.976000 -48.819000
-98.819000 -38.976000
-98.819000 48.819000
E_COMP_VERT
E_COMP_POLY


B_COMP_WH 197.638000 97.638000


B_COMP_PIN
1 "1" -50.000000 0.000000 1   5
2 "2" 50.000000 0.000000  1   -
E_COMP_PIN                ^   ^
                          |   |
                          |___|
                            |
      NEW(Last 2 fields are top & bottom pad stack index,  Before there was only one for all)



B_COMP_ATTR
comp_mount_type=2
comp_height=329.921000
PART_NUMBER='240-00020-68'
ALT_SYMBOLS='(PL2HR-P2_A84D50E25)'
COST='0.0151'
DESCRIPTION='HEADER PLUG 2WAY 1ROW TOP ENTRY 13MM LONG'
HEIGHT='8.38'
INSERTION_CODE='RADIAL'
PARENT_PART_TYPE='CONN2'
PARENT_PPT='CONN2'
PARENT_PPT_PART='CONN2_RADIAL-240-00020-68'
PART_NAME='CONN2'
PART_NUMBER='240-00020-68'
SMD_OFFSET='90'
STATUS_TEXT='SSA'
UNICAD_CODE='PL2S'
VALUE='PL2HR'
VERSION='V1.0'
E_COMP_ATTR


E_COMP_DEF


E_COMP_LIB



================== Component Library Reference Section ==============


B_COMP_LIBREF


B_COMP_REF
"J4" 2 4507.874000 717.717000 270.000 M0 1 T "240-00020-68"
B_COMP_ATTR                                ^
E_COMP_ATTR                                |
E_COMP_REF                                 |
                                           |
      NEW ( Added T / B field indicates TOP or BOTTOM component placement)


E_COMP_LIBREF

---

Netex-G/Netex-ODB V1.83 3/1/2014

New Circular output option


The "Preferences" dialog has new check box control labeled "Circularize" to output circularized data. Currently, this only works for ANF output.

Component values


Added component nominal values from ODB++ import to ANF component output. Improved better component output part names from ODB++.

---

Netex-G/Netex-ODB V1.81 12/12/2013

Silk Screen Support


Added Silk Screen Support for 3Di output.

Licensing problem


Fixed a licensing problem with respect to 3Di and STEP.

Reversed Solder Mask


When reversal was selected, the solder mask data was missing in GDSII output. This has now been fixed.

---

Netex-G/Netex-ODB V1.80 11/25/2013

GDSII Output with no components


A crash sometimes occurred under this condition in a stage that removes component data so as to process it later. This has now been fixed.

Missing Vias


When drill file counts were more than two, layer assignments were overlappig, causing some via information to be subtracted away. This has now been fixed.

---

Netex-G/Netex-ODB V1.79 11/7/2013

ODB++ and IPC2581 arc with large width


ODB++ and IPC2581 importing have been fixed to handle arcs with large widths. Widths are considered large if half its value is greater than or equal to the radius of the arc.

Large stackup count


A bug fix was implemented with respect to larger stackup counts. In some cases, Netex-G would crash because it was trying to allocate memory in quantities exceeding 32 bit program limitations. The crash would happen during merging steps of unionized data. This has now been fixed.

---

Netex-G/Netex-ODB V1.78d 10/23/2013

Gerber Interperter Fixes


Gerber interpreter has been fixed to handle Gerber Custom apertures coming from files drawn in incremental mode.

Fixed problem that generated folded polygons resulting in data being dropped during unionization stage. This problem arose from not correctly keeping track of pen up and down states from within a G36/G37 block (block for closed region).

Gerber files with high format statements or multiply defined apertures were potentially wrong because of an incorrect dependency on a deprecated DLL which was replaced. This has now been fixed.

---

Netex-G/Netex-ODB V1.78c 10/10/2013

Metal Extent Computation


Any Gerber file name having more than one '.' character was problematic in determining the correct file name containing extent information.
Metal extent computation is done when there is any number of reversals or when dielectric profiles are created in 3Di output. When this fails, Netex-G exits. This has now been fixed.

---

Netex-G/Netex-ODB V1.78b 9/23/2013

ANF output includes component pins


Revised ANF output to embed component pins into the GEOMETRY section to allow rectangular footprints to be displayed for the pin collection of a specific component. This is now handled for any component input (i.e. ODB++ and IPC2581 imports or IPC356 file and accompanying bill of material file).

ASCII to 3Di properly includes material type


Integrated latest 3Di formatter (asc23di.exe). This was done to properly pass material types.

---

Netex-G/Netex-ODB V1.78a 9/13/2013

ODB++ Extraction of Stackup thickness


This information comes from attributes specified for each metal layer and the corresponding dielectric layer below it. Metal thickness is derived from .copper_weight attribute and dielectric from layer_dielectric attribute. The thickness values that are not found or less than a certain value are set to a default value.

The default values and minimum acceptable values are shown below:
Attribute Min. value Default_value
.copper_weight 1 mil 1.0
.layer_dielectric 10 mils 5x (Thickness from .copper_weight)


Default Material


This version assigns default material when unnamed one is encountered.

Stackup_type Material

Soldermask / Polyamide
Metal / Copper
Dielectric / FR4
Wbond / Copper


---

Netex-G/Netex-ODB V1.78 9/3/2013

Smoothing value


This version makes sure that smoothing is at least 5 times smaller than any specified nonzero chord error.

Incremental execution


Incremental execution has now been fixed. This problem was introduced in v1.76b (05/30/2013). This version, which included the ascecfilt.exe.manifest file instead of embedding it in the ascexfilt.exe file, failed to launch ascexfilt.exe during incremental runs as a consequence. This has now been handled.

Bug fixes


For GDSII output the following was done:
Fixed failure to save layer mapping state.
Component geometry is now shown as non-unionized path outlines instead of unionized boundaries.
Fixed node text height scale to be correct for differing unit outputs.

For ANF Output, all non polygonal pad types are converted to Rectangle types.

---

Netex-G/Netex-ODB V1.77 8/13/2013

IPC356 Components in ANF


The output dialog has an added "Advanced" button in the "ANF Settings" Group. This launches a dialog box which allows a user to specify whether or not the use of IPC351 components is desired instead of any other components that may have been imported (e.g. ODB++ import).
If usage is desired, the items to specify are:


• IPC356 File Contains Net, Reference Designators, Pin ID's Stackup, X and Y Locations, and Pad width, height and rotation
• B.O.M. (Bill Of Material) File Contains Part names for reference designators and the nominal element value for a given part.
• X and Y Specify in Gerber input units, the offset applied Offset to location information. Values for this can come from the offset used for net labeling from IPC351 import in "Labels" dialog or viceversa.
IPC356 parsing less strict to allow longer reference designator


In previous versions names exceeding their assigned column space (21 - 26) were truncated and the subsequent information (i.e. X and Y locations, pin Id's, etc.) was lost. As a consequence of this added flexibility, more net labels can be applied for net naming.

Allow resource anf_cmp_typ_list.txt to define component types


The syntax of each entry for any number of them is:

REF_HDR_PREFIX COMP_TYPE_HEADER [OPTIONAL_DESCRIPTION]
    where

      REF_HDR_PREFIX   -- String of alphabet characters only

      COMP_TYPE_HEADER -- B_CAP (capacitor), B_IND (inductor),
                             B_IC (integrated circuit),
                             B_RES (resistor),
                             or B_PINPLATE (discrete device - default)

      OPTIONAL_DESCRIPTION -- Can be any text

An example is shown below (Note: fields may or may not be quoted):

      # Component Type Resource File
      "C"    "B_CAP" "capacitor"
      "CONN" "B_IO"  "connector
      "J"    "B_IO"  "jack_connector"
      "JP"   "B_IO"  "jumper"
      "L"    "B_IND" "inductor"
      "OSC"  "B_IC"  "oscillator"
      "P"    "B_IO"  "plug_connector"
      "Q"    "B_IO"  "transistor"
      "R"    "B_RES" "resistor"
      "S"    "B_IO"  "switch"
      "SW"   "B_IO"  "switch"
      "T"    "B_PINPLATE" "transformer"
      "TEST" "B_IO"  "test"
      "TP"   "B_IO"  "test_point"
      "U"    "B_IC"  "integrated_circuit"
      "V"    "B_IO"  "vacuum_tube"
      "X"    "B_PINPLATE" "transducer"
      "Y"    "B_IC"  "oscillator"

Boundary to path conversion


Improved algorithm to convert more boundaries to path.

Two adjacent paths set to be extended at their intersecting point will not be unless points set to be extended are next to each other.

---

Netex-G/Netex-ODB V1.76c 7/10/2013

Empty nets


Empty nets are filtered out. This was done to accommodate 3Di output of empty net pin entries in TABLE NET_PINS section. The only empty entries are non empty nets which have no pins.

Solder Mask layers


ODB++ and IPC2581 importers were revised to restrict solder mask layers to use only one top and one bottom layer, each found to be adjacent to the metal stack up layers. All other layers tagged as solder mask are re-tagged as solmsk and are initially set to Layer Type: Pass Thru) in "Other Files" dialog launched from "Other Files..." button in main dialog.

---

Netex-G/Netex-ODB V1.76a 5/28/2013

Component reference designators


Component reference designators starting with a '#' character were not supported correctly. This has now been fixed.

---

Netex-G/Netex-ODB V1.76 4/28/2013

ODB++ and IPC2581 Updates


An issue with mirrored bottom components was corrected. Before pin geometries and component outlines were presented incorrectly in the ADS layout window and 3DVU.

Pin geometries whose origin did not coincide with 0,0 were displayed incorrectly. This has been fixed.

In order for a layer to be considered as a candidate stackup layer, it must be either be of context Board or of type signal between top or bottom component layers. This allows wirebond layers to be added to the stackup.

Soldermask and Wire Support


Added Soldermask and Wire support to ADFI output.

---

Netex-G/Netex-ODB V1.75 1/28/2013

IDF Output


IDF output type has been added to "Netex-G Output Formats" dialog.

The .bdf file has been revised to support the following:
Cutouts appear in the board outline for noncircular holes.
Circular data is translated into nonplated holes in the drill section
Component placement information now relies on the COMP_LIB and COMP_LIBREF sections instead of the COMP section.
Components with no shape information no longer appear in the component placement section.

The .ldf file has been revised to support the following:
Component information now relies on the COMP_LIB section instead of the COMP_SHAPES section.
Components with no shape information no longer appear in this file

Ansoft output type in "Netex-G Output Formats" dialog. will no longer output any IDF files.

Default thickness


The assignments of default thickness values has been changed in the following manner:
Assign default thickness to layers w/ 0 thickness or just after ODB++ import. Unlike IPC2581, ODB++ has no layer thickness information. These assignments use to only be done for layers w/ an unspecified material name.

The values assigned have been changed to the following:


LAYER TYPE      INCH      MM
Metal           0.001     0.02
Dielectric      0.025     0.50
Soldermask      0.001     0.02

IPC2581 update


IPC2581 importer has been updated to provide correct stackup order for soldermask layers. This was done to help identify which soldermask is top and which is bottom.

---

Netex-G/Netex-ODB V1.74 10/2/2012

STEP Output


STEP 3DI output compliancy is ready now.

Margin and Corner Settings


Problem arose when unit or data scale was applied. The settings were not scaled accordingly. This has been fixed.

---

Netex-G/Netex-ODB V1.73 05/30/2012

Fix to 3Di die body creation with no shape


A .njb file that does not contain a profile shape was causing a crash for 3Di output when creation of die electric bodies was requested.
Ordinarily, when an ODB++ or IPC2581 import is done, the shape information is provided. This has now been fixed. If the shape information is not provided, an extent box will be used to create that body.

Mount hole detection


Mount hole detection along with output via removal is now provided. The drill dialog provides controls for both.

Fix to Padstack generation


Any flashes appearing in a resulting Gerber Clear layer will no longer be considered in the pad stack generation.

Revision to Padstack generation


AIf arc resolution or chord error in the Drill Dialog is valid, these will be used for detecting round vias instead of the arc resolution or chord error specified in Preferences.

Back drill checking on/off enables/disables drill snapping


Note that the back drill checking is currently not fully working.

IPC2581 import partially supports stackup information


The thickness and material type is passed along, but those names that are not in the material library would have to have their properties defined. Currently, there is no warning about such properties after import.

---

Netex-G/Netex-ODB V1.72 05/09/2012

IPC2581 Support


Added support to the IPC2581 format.

ACIS Output


Removed ACIS Output.

Barcode support


Added support to barcode in the ODB++ importer.

---

Netex-G/Netex-ODB V1.70 2/15/2012

Wirebond Handling


Command line program applies filter dcode to wire scanning also.
Before, this was only applied to the full netex-G execution flow.

The GUI can now automatically import wires for Tier entries having no wires when opening a .njb file.
Before, wire importing would only take place when:



• A stackup's "Layer Type" was changed to "Wirebond" for an existing stackup file.


• A "Stackup" file was selected while its "Layer Type" was set to "Wirebond"

The GUI's wire importing also takes into account the dcode filtering found in a .njb file.

---

Netex-G/Netex-ODB V1.69 12/14/2011

Net name check


Net name checking has been added in ADFI output converting non alphanumeric characters to underscore.

Board Name


The board name in ADFI output is set to the base name of the output file name.
For example c:\tmp\odb.txt ==> BRD_odb.

Color Set


The default color set for ADS Auto cycles red, yellow, blue, magenta and cyan for metal layers, while dielectric are green.

Back Drill


Back drill checking has been added for top and bottom entry points.
This is activated in the Drills dialog box.

String Search


String Search capability has been added to the detailed log dialog.

---

Netex-G Linux and Solaris V1.67 12/05/2011

Job file with multiple "."


The netex-g engine failed when a job file contained multiple "." (dot character) in the job file name.

---

Netex-G/Netex-ODB V1.68a 11/11/2011

Incremental run


The shell was never running in incremental mode while the auto view log option was not set. This has been fixed so the shell runs incrementally as it has before when the auto view log option was set.

Component Output


Fixed component compatible output to preserve polygon format.
Before this fix, the output for the following formats was always outputting Leonov:


• GDS Ascii with Vias
• ANSOFT
• 3Di
• ADFI

This has now been fixed so that:

• ADS always outputs butting edge polygons for ADFI and Leonov for 3Di
• AWR always outputs Leonov polygons for 3Di
• Standard preserves allowable polygon format

---

Netex-G/Netex-ODB V1.66 9/13/2011

Wires drawn as boundaries


Wires drawn as boundaries are now supported. This means that in addition to wire as a Gerber draw, wire rectangles and wire outlines using G36/G37 G-Codes are imported as wires.

Gerber D-Code filtering


A new section has been defined for the Netex-G job file (*.njb) to support Gerber D-Code filtering.
The example below illustrates D-Code filtering applied in the following manner:


    (a) Filter 117 and 118 dcodes on   all  metal stackups
    (b) Filter  13 and  14 dcodes on 3,5,7  metal stackups
    (c) Filter  15 and  16 dcodes on     5  metal stackup
    (d) Filter  16 and  17 dcodes on     7  metal stackup

    Each line in the ADD_ARGS subsection must be in the format:

GBR2GDS METAL [[stackup_numbers] | ALL] -filterdc:[dcode_numbers]
[stackup_numbers] - comma separated integers
[dcode_numbers]   - comma separated integers

Example:

    B_CUSTOMIZE_FLOW

    B_ADD_ARGS

    GBR2GDS METAL ALL -filterdc:111,112
    GBR2GDS METAL 3,5,7 -filterdc:13,14
    GBR2GDS METAL 5 -filterdc:15,16
    GBR2GDS METAL 7 -filterdc:16,17

    E_ADD_ARGS

    E_CUSTOMIZE_FLOW

---

Netex-G/Netex-ODB V1.65 6/20/2011

IDF board and library files generated with ANF output


For ANF output, the following files are generated:


NAME FORMAT       DESCRIPTION
file_name.anf   ANF Output file


file_name.cmp   ANF Component file


file_name.bdf   IDF Board file
                  Contains: Header, Board Outline, Drill, and Placement sections


file_name.ldf   IDF Library file
                  Contains a series of Electrical sections describing shapes of component packages.

---

Netex-G/Netex-ODB V1.64e 3/15/2011

Wire Model Output


The first JEDEC parameters were output incorrectly. This has now been fixed.

NETEX-G GUI


The following checks have been added:
Layer Details dialog and upon execution: JEDEC values must be greater than wire diameter, and Die thickness must be greater than zero.

Upon execution:
Die "Connect to Layer" must specify an existing metal layer that it is attached to. Drill information must exist for the following output formats: - ASCII with \"Output Via\" set ANF, ACIS and 3Di.

---

Netex-G/Netex-ODB V1.64c 3/03/2011

Trace Conversion


Fixed a bug where traces were being generated even if they were wider than the user defined max trace width. [Reported by Advantest] This applies especially to ANF output.

---

Netex-G/Netex-ODB V1.64a 2/25/2011

GBRVU.EXE


Netex-G shell was revised to find GBRVU.EXE better. The shell will search in the following order:
NETEX-G registry (Advanced Preferences Setting)
gbrvu registry (Gbrvu installation directory)
User Prompt for gbrvu.exe


Ansoft Component Pins


Ansoft output includes component pins.

---

Netex-G/Netex-ODB V1.64 2/16/2011

Speed Improvements


Major improvements in processing speed have been made due to customer submissions of very large boards (20-50 conductor layers.) Several key modules were improved including: pad definition generator, net computations, associating vias with nets and proximity metal extraction. For example, an ODB++ file that took 70 minutes to process in V1.63 now processes (on a 4 processor machine) in 5 minutes.

Units


Units for parameters such as Chord Error and Smoothing now conform to the units of the input ODB++ file when the unit preference setting "Same as Input" is selected.

ANF Antipad

Previous versions did not generate an antipad in ANF when a pad stack passed through a "negatively" drawn layer. This has been fixed.

Ansoft Component File


When ANF output is selected an Ansoft component file (CMP) is now produced. This can be imported into SI-Wave so that components are properly located in the simulator. This is only generated for ODB++ input files that have netlist/components in them.




---




Netex-G V1.63 1/24/2011

Boundary to Path


Boundary to Path conversion has been improved to capture more paths by using extent areas versus polygon areas along with line to width ratios. Adjustments have also been made to prevent conversion of some polygonal areas which resulted in bad shapes for a given max width value.

Proximity


Proximity computations for 3Di and ASCII outputs now include vias that intersect with the expansion of the extracted nets.

---

Netex-G V1.60 12/16/2010

RS274X mass parameters


Gerber interpreter has been revised to handle larger RS274X mass parameters. This meant that Gbrunion executions, Netex-G executions, and Gbrvu displaying failed for mass parameters larger than 64K. The problem was fixed by changing this threshold to 2M.

ODB++ components import


ODB++ import components have been updated to the latest Odb2Gbr v1.84.

Other enhancements


Drill to Gerber engine has been updated to reflect the changes made on December 12 and listed below.

---

Drill to Gerber Upgrade 12/2/2010

New command line option -drlautoscan


Added a new command line option -drlautoscan on all platforms to retrieve the following drill parameter values from the specified set of priorities:

• Drill Format
• Drill Units (inch or mm)
• Zero Inclusion (decimal, leading, or trailing)
• XY coordinate mode (absolute or incremental)
Priority 1: Values specified through any of below options to drl2gbr explicitly:
-drlformat, -drlunits, -drlzeroinc, -drlxymode Priority 2: Values present in the input drill file.
Priority 3: Values present in the reference apt file.

Each of the values are determined as they are found going through the priorities. Any undetermined value will fall to a default setting:
Drill Format - 2.4
Drill Units - inch
Zero Inclusion - trailing
XY coordinate mode - absolute

New command line option -refaptfile:apt_file


Added a new command line option -refaptfile:apt_file on all platforms.
The -refaptfile:apt_file argument has been added to apply Gerber settings (unit, format precision, zero suppression, and XY incremental or absolute mode) from an aperture file.

---

Netex-G V1.57 09/09/2010

Thread control


Added thread number control in the Advanced Preferences dialog.

Unit Scaling problem


Unit scaling had been fixed for ASCII and ANF output.

Other enhancements

• Preference "Output Units" state is saved for any ODB++ imports.
• Layer section thickness is scaled in ANF.
• Overflow problems from unit scaling have been addressed with grid reduction for UM and MIL output units and changing integer computations to floating point..
• ODB++ import components have been updated to v1.80.
• 3DI engine has been updated addressing rotation errors and missing metal in pad stacks.

---

Netex-G V1.55a 06/12/2010

First official release with ODB++ support


First NETEX-G release with ODB++ import support.

Netex-G V1.51 01/12/2010

Wire Support


Updated the netexgmgr.exe manager to look for the presence of wire data in the job file and to generate the wire endpoints based on that data. This was needed so that a calling application could use NETEX's wire sorting and via generation routines without depending on the NETEX-G GUI. [Requestor: Knights/Magma for BoardView]

Netex-G V1.50 01/04/2010

Ported the NETEX-G engines only to Linux


ported the NETEX-G engines (32 bit) to Linux and tested it on the following platforms: RH4 64/RH5 64/SUSE 10 64. [Requestor: Knights/Magma for BoardView]

includes

drl2gbr engine

netexmgr

netex engine and boolean engine/libraries

does not include an engine for reading IPC-D-356 or AIF or for processing Wire Layers as these were part of the NETEX-G GUI that was not ported to Linux.




---




NETEX-G V1.49 10/19/2009

IPC Import fix


IPC356A import fix to support missing X and Y sign token.

---

Ndified Padstack Tab


This tab was used for defe-3 grid.

Reset Geometry Changes


The button failed to maintain the values that were restored in the padstack definition editor. This has now been fixed.

Padstack scan incorrect grid


The padstack scan in Labels page used incorrect grid. This has been fixed.

---

NETEX-G V1.49 10/19/2009

Revised "Labels" Dialog - Modifie-3 grid.
Reset Geometry Changes


The button failed to maintain the values that were restored in the padstack definition editor. This has now been fixed.

Padstack scan incorrect grid


The padstack scan in Labels page used incorrect grid. This has been fixed.

---

NETEX-G V1.49 10/19/2009

Revised "Labels" Dialog - Modified Padstack Tab


This tab was used for din shape, x and y dimensions, and the drill size. The shapes provided are: CIRCLE, RECT, SQUARE, ELLIPSE, and OBROUND. The "Reset Geometry Changes" restores the padstack geometries to their initial scanned state or first save state if the definition is new, user specified, rather than scanned.

• The references can only have their names modified to one of the available definitions. Any number of references can be selected for modification..
• Hitting the "Pan to Padstacks" button pans to a single reference selected.
• Hitting the "Scan for Padstacks" button will obtain padstack references and their corresponding definitions from the drill information provided. It is currently the only way to add references..
• Hitting the "Clear Padstacks" button will remove all definitions and references..
• Hitting the "Select Label" check box, when set, places Gbrvu in a mode which allows the user to choose a padstack or other label with a right mouse click on a given text marker..