ForgeForgeSchematics

Mechanical and electrical
design in sync.

ForgeSchematics bridges your ECAD tools and ForgeCAD. Live two-way sync, unified BOM, and clearance checks — so you stop discovering mechanical conflicts after the PCB is already ordered.

THE PROBLEM

Most teams pass IDF files back and forth over email and discover mechanical conflicts at board spin.

The PCB layout lives in one tool. The enclosure lives in another. The two teams work in parallel and sync manually — if they sync at all. ForgeSchematics replaces the IDF-over-email workflow with a live integration layer. Electrical and mechanical stay in sync automatically.

One integration layer for everything

Live ECAD–MCAD sync

Changes in your electrical schematic push to ForgeCAD immediately. Move a connector in the PCB layout and the mechanical envelope updates in your assembly — no IDF export/import cycle.

📦

IDF import & export

Full IDF 2.0/3.0 import and export. Board outlines, component placements, keepouts, and height constraints all round-trip cleanly. Works with Altium, KiCad, Eagle, Cadence Allegro, and Mentor PADS.

🔌

Connector & harness routing

ForgeSchematics maps connectors from your schematic to physical bodies in ForgeCAD. Route cable harnesses through the mechanical assembly with clearance checks against the 3D model.

📋

Unified BOM

Electrical components (resistors, caps, ICs, connectors) merge into the ForgeCAD BOM alongside mechanical parts. One bill of materials covers the complete product — mechanical and electrical.

🔍

DRC + clearance checks

Detect board-to-enclosure clearance violations, connector-to-wall conflicts, and heat-sensitive component placement issues before you spin hardware.

🧵

Digital thread

Every schematic reference to a physical component traces back to a ForgeCAD body. Change a part in the CAD and ForgeSchematics flags affected net connections — the link is bidirectional.

Supported ECAD tools

Tool
Integration
Altium Designer
Full
KiCad
Full
Eagle / Autodesk EE
Full
Cadence Allegro
Full
Mentor PADS
Full
OrCAD
Via IDF
Zuken CR-8000
Via IDF

All tools support IDF import/export as a fallback. Full integration uses the native plugin where available.

Also in Forge