PowerPCB to Autodesk Inventor 3D

[roka2001]

If somebody has experienced to translate information from PowerPCB to Autodesk Inventor 3D model board with components?

[Alan K]

The optional IDF translator that you can buy for PADs will create a 3d file that can be imported into Mechanical Desktop and then imported into Inventor, or you can purchase Inventor "Pro" and skip the MDT translation.
It is also possible to use a 3d dxf file out of PADs that can be use in MDT. I have no experience with Inventor & dxf yet.
There is also info available in the newsgroups at : discussion.autodesk.com
Alan

[CADPartsUSA]

Mentor sells a Pro-E module that you can add to PowerPCB. You will be able to export your design into .emn and .emp files. Inventor will import the .emn file.
We have found library issues and have had to recreate libraries.
Decals are now created with a layer for the Pro-E module (we use layer 20). You can control how the parts will look by the information you include on the Pro-E Layer. Example: A radial leaded cap with a + sign will translate to a rectangle in Inventor. A radial leaded cap without the + sign will translate as a cylinder.
If you are going to revise the libs, you will want the origin at the center of the parts for both SMT and Thru hole. The rotational information is calculated from the origin.
Once you have the library parts working, the translation works well.