IPC-2581 import guide
Prepare and upload IPC-2581 exports from Cadence, Siemens PADS, Altium, and other supported design tools.
IPC-2581 is an open manufacturing-data format that can describe both PCB fabrication and assembly. It includes board, layer, component, and placement information that is not available in Gerber files.
CircuitHub accepts IPC-2581 Revision B or C exported in Full mode or Assembly mode level 3. Make sure the export includes every layer that defines the board.
Upload an IPC-2581 file
You can upload an uncompressed .cvg file, a gzip-compressed .cvg.gz or .xml.gz file, or a .zip archive containing an IPC-2581 .xml or .cvg file. Compressing large exports helps avoid upload failures.
See Upload IPC-2581 files to CircuitHub for all supported extensions and export requirements.
Export from your design tool
Cadence Allegro and OrCAD
Export an IPC-2581B file in the required functional mode.
Siemens (Mentor) PADS
Create an IPC-2581B file using the PADS export workflow.
Altium Designer
Export IPC-2581 with the additional netlist and CSV BOM required for an Altium design.
If your design tool can export compliant IPC-2581 Revision B or C data, you can use that export even when CircuitHub does not support the tool's native files.