Extract text from circuit board designs (PCB)
To convert PCB board designs to another format, you need Altium Designer or other Cad software.
To convert other file formats to the "PCB Layout File" file type, you need software like Altium Designer or a similar tool.
A .PCB file stores printed circuit board layout data, including electrical routing, component footprint placement, copper pours, and layer definitions. It is heavily utilized by electrical engineers for physical board design. Secondarily, the extension is used by Microsoft PowerPoint to store application clipboard data.
The main issue with the .PCB format is extreme software fragmentation. The extension is shared as the native save format by Siemens PADS Layout, Altium Designer, Protel EDA, Pulsonix, DesignSpark PCB, CADSTAR, and Sprint Layout. These files are completely proprietary and heavily vendor-locked. A file generated by PADS will not open cleanly in Altium Designer without specialized import filters. Furthermore, these applications require expensive subscription licenses just to view the raw data. They are not supported by web browsers, making collaboration with mechanical engineers or clients difficult.
To solve these compatibility issues, convert your file based on your end goal. For manufacturing and fabrication, convert to standard Gerber (.GBR) RS-274X and Excellon (.DRL) drill files. For mechanical CAD integration, convert to STEP (.STP) or DXF. For quick web viewing, print, or archiving without CAD software, convert to PDF or SVG. If the file is a PowerPoint clipboard backup, convert or extract the OLE objects to PPTX or PNG.
Convert.Guru analyzes your PCB file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted KICAD_PCB, PCBDOC, PCBLIB, SCH, ZIP, KICAD_PRO, PDF, GBR, KICAD_SCH, JPG, PCBS, SCHDOC and BRD files.
If you want to convert PCB file to SCHEMATIC, PDF, GCODE, DXF, CSV, JSON, XML, YAML, YML, TOML, INI or CFG, you can use Altium Designer or similar software from the "Printed Circuit Board Design" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert DBF, XML, SQLITE, XLSX, SQL, TSV, ACCDB, YAML, MDB, CSV, ODS or JSON files to PCB, try Altium Designer or another comparable tool in the "Printed Circuit Board Design" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our PCB converter.