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Subject: Re: [geda-user] PCB and 3D Views
From: Peter Clifton <pcjc2 AT cam DOT ac DOT uk>
To: geda-user AT delorie DOT com
Cc: knaak AT iqo DOT uni-hannover DOT de
Date: Tue, 06 Jan 2015 00:48:13 +0000
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On Mon, 2014-11-17 at 22:26 +0100, Levente Kovacs wrote:
> On Mon, 17 Nov 2014 21:27:53 +0100
> Kai-Martin Knaak <knaak AT iqo DOT uni-hannover DOT de> wrote:
> 
> > Not at all. 
> 
> I think the approach to store 3D models externally is a good one.
> 
> Forgive my ignorance... but then why would be _any_ 3D support inside PCB? To
> rotate a 2D image in 3D doesn't make any sense, does it?

git HEAD is 2D, apart from the silly track-ball I merged. (It is more
useful in later changes not yet in git HEAD).

2.5D is not merged, but works... (with hard-coded layer-layer
separation):

http://www2.eng.cam.ac.uk/~pcjc2/geda/pcb+gl_3d/pcb+gl_3d-6.png
(Also -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 and -7)

(Ok.. I feel old now, realising these screenshots are from late 2009!!!)


3D was the eventual intent, but only some toy hard-coded models exist at
the moment (screen-shots from late 2010!):

http://www2.eng.cam.ac.uk/~pcjc2/geda/pcb+gl_3d/pcb+gl_3d_packages_mockup.png
http://www2.eng.cam.ac.uk/~pcjc2/geda/pcb+gl_3d/pcb+gl_3d_packages_mockup2.png
http://www2.eng.cam.ac.uk/~pcjc2/geda/pcb+gl_3d/pcb+gl_3d_packages_mockup3.png
http://www2.eng.cam.ac.uk/~pcjc2/geda/pcb+gl_3d/pcb+gl_3d_packages_mockup4.png

(Some other hard-coded components exist in my branches, which I added
when designing some high-voltage PSUs that required some thinking in
3D).


STEP export of the bare PCB board is not far off. (It currently works
(with hard-coded board thickness) for single body boards, albeit with
small "milling" offset from the centre-lines found on the "outline"
layer).

My pre-requisites for merging are defining file-format extensions to
codify (and GUI to edit) the exact outline of the board, including arcs,
AND some means to specify the layer stack (or board thickness).


I also have newer STEP export code that copes with multi-body boards,
but it needs dusting off and checking... I've not used it in anger
recently!

There are various subtleties I've learned along the way, such as need to
provide some kind of persistent (or at least predictable) naming of
faces in the STEP file, so you don't need to replace all your mates in
Solidworks (or other MCAD) each time you re-export and import the PCB. 

The simple exporter has this now, it needs "back"porting to the newer
multi-body code.


Regards,

-- 
Peter Clifton <peter DOT clifton AT clifton-electronics DOT co DOT uk>

Clifton Electronics