What is ODB++?
ODB++ is a manufacturing data format for printed circuit boards and assemblies. Unlike Gerber, it does not describe individual layers as drawings but the assembly as one connected data model: layer stack, netlist, components, pads, drills and routing paths in a structure from which relationships can be read rather than reconstructed.
The difference from a Gerber set
A Gerber set says which area on which layer is covered. ODB++ additionally says what that area is: which pad belongs to which net and to which component, what function a layer has, how the stack is built. That makes it possible to automate checks which, on a set of drawings, are only possible with extra assumptions.
What it means for manufacturing preparation
From an ODB++ data set, layer count, copper weight, drill and via geometry including laser vias, routing paths and panel build-up can be read directly. What is otherwise assembled from several files and one query back to the customer sits in a single place, and is therefore also checkable by machine.
ODB++ and IPC-2581
Both pursue the same goal: a complete, connected manufacturing data model instead of a set of drawings. IPC-2581 is the vendor-neutral standard of a consortium; ODB++ is the widely used format originally developed by a single vendor. In practice both turn up, and manufacturing preparation should be able to read either.
Where this shows up in PCBoffer
ODB++ is the input format PCBoffer prefers, because the assembly can be derived from it without queries: layers, nets, components and drills already hang together in the data set. IPC-2581 and Gerber are read just as well, there is simply more to reconstruct.
BOM softwareAn ODB++ job does not have to go into a CAD system before you can see what is in it. The viewer reads the layer list from the matrix, draws the layers and reports the board size, free and without an account.
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