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Electrical and Electronic Design Exchange
Plan board, enclosure, device, analysis, harness, and supplier handoffs around the electrical and physical information the receiving task needs.
Choose a question
Reference notes
Choose the Design Data an ECAD-MCAD Handoff Needs
Define the recipient task, source state, required design information, and change authority before choosing an ECAD-MCAD handoff.
Hand Off a PCB Model for Enclosure Fit
Specify the board shape, datum, component models, placement, and population needed for a useful mechanical fit review.
Preserve Electrical Identity, Connectivity and Stackup Context
Separate physical component models from electrical objects, and specify which identity, connectivity, layer, stackup, and population relationships a recipient needs.
Exchange a Multi-board Device Without Confusing Board and Assembly State
Reconcile each PCB's content and population separately from its occurrence, placement, enclosure, and connector context.
Exchange Rigid-Flex Boards in the Intended Flat and Folded States
Specify rigid and flex regions, assigned stackups, bend state, and representation limits for an integration or supplier handoff.
Exchange Harness Connectivity and Routed Physical Information
Track which harness relationships travel in each direction, and how returned routing values relate to the intended connections.
Control ECAD-MCAD Changes Without Assuming Complete Synchronization
Distinguish proposed, received, applied, and saved changes, and check object authority and operation mode.
Define a PCB Fabrication and Assembly Design Package
Match layer, drill, stackup, placement, BOM, and structured design data to the named supplier's receiving task.
Prepare PCB Data for SIwave, AEDT, or Sherlock Analysis
Match a PCB's source data, layers, nets, and component properties to the documented import path and limits of an analysis tool.
Hand Off a Panelized PCB Without Losing Board-Level Context
Keep linked child-board source state, panel information, layer stacks, and fabrication outputs aligned.
An ECAD-to-MCAD handoff can show a board shape without carrying the electrical meaning behind it. A supplier package, a device assembly, a rigid-flex model, and a harness route answer different questions. Start with the receiving task, name the source design state, then agree which data and change authority must cross the boundary.
This category covers board and enclosure fit, electrical identity and connectivity, multi-board devices, rigid-flex representation, harness information, ECAD-MCAD change control, PCB manufacturing data, linked-board panels, and analysis-recipient intake. It focuses on physical design integration, analysis-specific PCB inputs, and supplier design-data exchange. It does not teach circuit design, firmware, component selection, or semiconductor mask layout.
Choose a starting point
- Choose the design data an ECAD-MCAD handoff needs to turn a receiving task into a bounded information brief.
- Hand off a PCB model for enclosure fit when the question is shape, mounting, component models, and the intended population.
- Preserve electrical identity, connectivity, and stackup context when visible geometry is not enough.
- Exchange a multi-board device when board content and device-level placement must be reconciled separately.
- Exchange rigid-flex boards when regions, stackups, and flat or folded state affect the receiving task.
- Exchange harness connectivity and routed information when data travels in different directions.
- Control ECAD-MCAD changes when the teams need to know what was proposed, applied, and saved.
- Define a PCB fabrication and assembly design package when a fabricator or assembler needs design data.
- Prepare PCB data for SIwave, AEDT, or Sherlock analysis when an analysis receiver has its own import, mapping, and element limits.
- Hand off a panelized PCB without losing board-level context when linked child boards and parent-panel state must stay aligned.
Shape fidelity is covered more generally in Geometry, Topology, and Mesh Fidelity. General representation and route choices belong in Formats, Profiles, and Translators and Ecosystem Routes and Collaborative Exchange; electrical meaning here does not establish that a particular product pair preserves it.