.BRD File Extension

A BRD file is a CAD file created by Autodesk EAGLE, an application used for schematic capture and PCB (printed circuit board) design. It is created with the EAGLE Layout Editor and used to develop design templates for circuitry. BRD files can be saved in the Gerber drill data format, which may be used by CAM (computer-aided manufacturing) programs.

You can open a BRD file in a variety of PCB design applications, including Autodesk EAGLE (cross-platform), Altium Designer (Windows), and Open Board Viewer (Linux).

If you do not have access to any of the above applications, the easiest way to view the circuit board design contained within a BRD file is to upload it to Altium 365 Viewer, a free, online CAD file viewer (Web).

CAD file created by KiCad, a free, cross-platform electronics design automation (EDA) program; stores a PCB layout and includes electronic components and their connections as drawn on the program's design canvas.

A BRD file may also be a printed circuit board (PCB) schematic created by Cadence Allegro PCB Designer or OrCAD PCB Designer. It contains binary data that, when loaded in PCB Designer, appears as a circuit board design.

Cadence Allegro PCB Designer is a CAD program that electrical engineers use to prototype PCBs. The designs that engineers create in Allegro PCB Designer are saved as BRD files.

Other Cadence CAD programs can also create and load BRD files. For example, OrCAD PCB Designer allows engineers to save circuit board layouts as BRD files.

You can open a BRD file in Cadence Allegro PCB Designer (Windows), OrCAD PCB Designer (Windows), and Allegro Viewer (Windows). Allegro Viewer is a free BRD file viewer available for download from Cadence's website.

You can use Cadence Allegro PCB Designer to convert BRD files to many standard PCB formats (including the Gerber format), as well as the .PDF format.