Welcome to the
EDX Solutions Alliance

EDX Solutions Alliance

This website serves the exchange of information and ideas about a growing data standard, the Enterprise Data Exchange format, also called EDX.

EDX allows you to capture your PCB design information in a standard format to facilitate the sharing of data within your organization in a secure way.

Members of the EDX Solutions Alliance find here a central place, where developers as well as users can exchange ideas for the further development of EDX-based interfaces.

Aims of this website

Sharing and exchanging ideas and best practices for the development of EDX-based interfaces

Promoting and enabling acceptance of the EDX standard

Providing insight into the various applications, experiences and successes of EDX implementation

Promoting the wider adoption of EDX by providing tools and sharing ideas

Enabling further improvement of the format in line with technological developments

EDX key features

EDX is a stable, robust interface standard for data exchange between your PCB design process and the company infrastructure or other third-party solutions.

EDX is independent of the version and data formats of the authoring tools used. This allows the tools to evolve without affecting the data exchange with third-party solutions.

Integrations that use EDX do not need to be reworked with each new version of authoring tools.

EDX uses industry-standard neutral files, such as PDF, EDIF and EDX itself, for viewable objects used by non-ECAD tools.

A single file for exchange with the authoring tools: All design data can be exported via a single EDX package.

The EDX format makes extensive use of XML digital signatures to ensure that the content of the file has not been changed since its creation. This is very useful when EDX is used to send data to a contract manufacturer for production or verification. If the signatures are still valid, the manufacturer can be confident that the data set they have received is consistent.

How EDX works

EDX is a robust standard format for the exchange of library, component and design data between authoring tools and data consumers.

EDX is format-neutral and independent of the internal database structures of the authoring tools.

In detail, EDX is a zipped XML format based on existing IPC and OPC standards. It was developed specifically for data management, applications and processes in the PCB industry. An EDX package has a standard data definition for design, BOM, library, component and work instructions. The definition of the EDX package is flexible enough to include additional files such as test plans, specifications or control drawings that are commonly used to support the PCB design process.

In addition, the EDX package has a security feature that allows the user of the authoring tool to encrypt the data objects to restrict unauthorized access and editing of files.

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