Assembly main page

You explore the contents of a PCB design file in detail on the different tabs of the Assembly main page.

Information tab

The Information tab displays an overview of the PCB design file content in the interactive table and the bar chart.


Option	Description
Information interactive table	Displays the number of the following PCB entities in the design: components, holes, areas, nets, signal layers, bends, stackups, and stackup zones.
Load External Data for Copper	Lets you upload an additional PCB design file (IDX format only) containing copper layers when this information is not available in the IDX baseline file. This file cannot be stored in the database, and it is not used for collaboration.
Information bar chart	Displays the number of PCB entities as a bar chart to let you visually see the entity quantities with respect to each other.

PCB tab

The PCB tab displays the PC board entity attributes such as dimensions, and layers in interactive tables and a simple board thickness viewer.


Option	Description
Board Dimensions	Displays the thickness, size, and area of the design PC board including the model units.
Layers interactive table	Displays the name, type, and thickness of the board layers that represent complex heat conduction paths due to dielectrics, traces, vias, and other entities. When you select a layer in the table, the software highlights it on the PCB model displayed in the board thickness viewer.
Stackups and Zones interactive table	The Stackups and Zones interactive table allows you to view the stackups, the stackup zones, and their associated properties. Zone Name Displays the name of the stackup zone. Stackup Name Displays the name of the stackup. Thickness Displays the thickness of the stackup zone in model units. Offset Displays the offset of the stackup zone as the difference of the topmost zone and board height in model units.
Bends interactive table	Displays the ID, angle, radius, and direction of each bend of the PCB. When you select one or more bends in the interactive table, the software changes the color of the bend lines to the selection color defined in the viewer settings.
Viewer	Displays schematically the assembly depending on the split layout setting. When the setting is disabled, the viewer displays a 2D layout of the layers in the board thickness. When the setting is enabled, the following tabs are available in the viewer: Stackups Displays a 2D layout of the layers in the board thickness. Viewer Displays the PCB designs in 2D from a top or bottom view. This is the same content as the Viewer tab while still showing the interactive tables.

Components tab

The Components tab displays the component attributes arranged in an interactive table with the information listed in the following table.


Component attribute	Description
Reference Designator	Identifies the component’s reference designator, which is the part unique instance name in NX.
Package Name	Identifies the component’s ECAD package name.
Part Number	Identifies the component’s ECAD part number.
Placement/Owner	Identifies the owner attribute that provides a reference for anyone who wants to modify the component part in the future. The possible options are Placed, Unplaced, MCAD, and ECAD.
Offset	Identifies the offset value between the component and the board.
Package Offset	Identifies the offset value within the component instance.
Rotation	Identifies the component's placement rotation on the board with respect to the board's coordinate system.
Board Side	Identifies the side on which the component is placed.
X Y	Identify the X and Y positions in model units of the component in the board’s plane using the board’s coordinate system.
Viewer	Appears when the split layout setting is enabled. Displays the PCB designs in 2D from a top or bottom view. This is the same content as the Viewer tab while still showing the interactive tables.

Drilled Holes tab

The Drilled Holes tab displays the hole attributes arranged in an interactive table with the information listed in the following table. A donut chart visually shows the number of drilled holes per size, type, and plating style.


Drilled hole attribute	Description
Type	Identifies the type of drilled hole as pin, via, mounting hole, tool, or other.
Plating	Identifies the plating style as plated or non-plated hole.
Owner	Identifies the ownership of the hole as either MCAD or ECAD, which prevents users from modifying the hole attributes. If the ownership is not defined, it displays as Unowned.
Associated Part	Identifies the entity that is associated to the drilled hole. BOARD indicates that the hole is defined in the board. NOREFDES indicates that the hole is non-electrical, such as a mounting hole. When the hole is associated to a component, the component’s reference designator is displayed.
Size	Identifies the drilled hole diameter in model units.
Top Layer Bottom Layer	Identifies, respectively, the top-most and bottom-most layers where the hole connects to the signal layers.
X Y	Identify the X and Y positions in model units of the hole center in the board’s plane using the board’s coordinate system.
Viewer	Appears when the split layout setting is enabled. Displays the PCB designs in 2D from a top or bottom view. This is the same content as the Viewer tab while still showing the interactive tables.

Restriction Areas tab

The Restriction Areas tab displays the restriction area attributes arranged in an interactive table with the information listed in the following table.


Restriction area attribute	Description
Type	Identifies the restriction area type, for example, keep-in, keep-out, copper, or other.
Kind	Identifies the restriction area subtype, which depends on the area type. Some possible area subtypes are: Routing defines the selected area as the routable area. This area must lie completely within the edges of the board. It is only available for keep-in, room, keep-out, and obstruct areas. Placement defines the selected area as the maximum area on the board for placing components. This area can extend outside the board outline to accommodate overhanging components, such as switches, connectors, and LEDs. It is only available for keep-in, room, keep-out, and obstruct areas. Placement Group defines the selected area as the area within which certain groups of components should be placed, for example, an analog portion of a circuit. It is only available for keep-in and room areas. Via defines the selected area as the area where vias are not permitted but routing is still allowed. It is only available for keep-out and obstruct areas. Copper defines the copper area. It is only available for copper areas. Other defines the restriction area as another subtype for any other restriction of special use to ECAD. It is available for area types other than keep-in, room, keep-out, obstruct, and copper areas.
Owner	Identifies the ownership of the restriction area as either MCAD or ECAD, which prevents users from modifying the area attributes. If ownership is not defined select Unowned.
Layer	Identifies the layer number of the area is positioned on, if available, when the layer position is Current. If not specified, or if the layer position is Both, Inner or All, the value is zero
Layer Position	Identifies the routing layers on which the restriction area is valid for multi-layer PC boards. Current indicates that the restriction area is positioned on the surface of the board (top or bottom layer). Both indicates that the restriction area is positioned on both the top and the bottom layers of the board. Inner indicates that the restriction area is positioned on routing layers within the board. All indicates that the restriction area is positioned on all the routing layers of the board.
Offset	Identifies the offset value between the restriction area and the board.
Parallel	Displays whether or not the area is parallel to the board face. The possible values are True or False.
System	Identifies the CAD system where the area originates from, if specified in the file.
Thickness	Displays the height of the restriction area in model units.
Inverted	Specifies whether the restriction area type is inverted, such that the volume of the region goes from the specified height to infinity. Only keep-out or obstruct area types can be inverted.
Color	Identifies the color of the restriction area used by NX. NX sets the color for the restriction area during import as a number between 1 and 216.
Output Layer	Identifies the secondary ECAD layer corresponding to the NX area type.
Height	Identifies the height of the restriction area.
Name	Identifies the name of the restriction area.
Viewer	Appears when the split layout setting is enabled. Displays the PCB designs in 2D from a top or bottom view. This is the same content as the Viewer tab while still showing the interactive tables.

Nets tab

The Nets tab displays the names of PCB entities with net attributes defined, such as traces and wire bonds, which you can filter.

Viewer tab

The Viewer tab lets you graphically explore the PCB design content with cross-selection capability between the interactive tables on other tabs and the 2D viewer.