Zuken CR-5000 Importer Added to Import Wizard

This document is no longer available beyond version 17.0. Information can now be found here: Importing a Design from CR-5000 for version 25

The Import Wizard is a quick and simple way to convert your design files from other vendors to Altium Designer files. The Wizard walks you through the import process, handling both the schematic and PCB parts of the project, as well as managing the relationship between them. Altium Designer 17.0 includes the capability to import Zuken® CR-5000™ files through the Import Wizard. The Wizard will lead you step-by-step to import your CR-5000 files into Altium Designer.

Zuken CR5000 Importer Extension

You will need to ensure the Zuken CR5000 Importer is included in the Software Extensions region of the Installed tab located at DXP » Extensions and Updates.

If the Zuken CR5000 Importer is not listed or is at anytime uninstalled, you will need to install it. To install the extension, click DXP » Extensions and Updates, then open the Purchased tab where you will find the Zuken CR5000 Importer listed (the extensions are listed alphabetically). Click  to download the extension. Altium Designer will need to be restarted when prompted to do so. 

Preparing Your Zuken Binary Files for Import

The Zuken CR-5000 Importer requires ASCII files so you will need to convert your Zuken CR-5000 binary files to ASCII format before using the Import Wizard.

Converting Zuken binary files to ASCII format requires a special license from Zuken.

Use the following steps to convert your Zuken CR-5000 binary PCB database files to ASCII files:

  1. Convert the binary file <basename>.ftp into an ASCII file: In the cdb directory, extract <basename>.ftf using the DOS (or command script) command: ftout.exe<basename>. For example C:\cr5000\bin\ftout.exe basename.
  2. Convert the binary file <jobname>.pcb into an ASCII file: In the pcb directory, extract <jobname>.pcf using the DOS (or command script) command: pcout.exe<jobname>. For example: C:\cr5000\bin\pcout.exe jobname

To convert the Zuken CR-5000 schematic binary file (*.sht) to ASCII format (*.eds), run the Zuken editWriter.exe utility. This opens a GUI for creating the ASCII format file.

The Zuken CR-5000 Importer requires two ASCII files to import a Zuken CR-5000 PCB design and an ASCII schematic file to import a schematic:

  • An ASCII layout file which contains placement and layer symbols, layer count, units, etc. (*.pcf)
  • An ASCII representation of the footprints used in the design (library) (*.ftf)
  • An ASCII representation of the schematic (*.eds
Please note that if you import a PCB (.pcf) file and do not import a footprint library, or the footprint library does not provide any information about a pad, it will be imported as a through-hole with a default size and shape. Similarly, vias will not be imported correctly as well.
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Note

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