kicad-developers team mailing list archive

[Cirilo Bernardo <cirilo_bernardo@xxxxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message -----

> From: Tomasz Wlostowski <tomasz.wlostowski@xxxxxxx>
> To: Wayne Stambaugh <stambaughw@xxxxxxxxxxx>; kicad-developers@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Cc: 
> Sent: Friday, June 6, 2014 12:58 AM
> Subject: Re: [Kicad-developers] CERN work package 4 (Extend number of layers)
> 
[snip]
>>     (front_courtyard_z ENCLOSED_AREA_GEOMETRY_LIST (height HEIGHT_IN_MM))
> I wouldn't reserve a special entity for the courtyards, IMHO the layer 
> may contain graphic shapes just like other user layers. Height could be 
> an attribute of the component (like a value), the DRC should take these 
> two into account when checking component clearances.
> 
> BTW. Is there a way of defining a list of 3D models for a footprint in 
> the sexpr footprint format?


That already exists; I shoehorned it into the VRML model list, so all you
have to do in the module editor is edit->properties->3D and select the IDF
filter. The idea was that it makes no sense to mix 3D models from different
domains. If you specify a VRML model then that is for eye-candy only. An
IDF model will be for IDF export only, and a STEP or any other MCAD model
is for export of a native MCAD model. As an example, the current code for
the IDF exporter looks through the list of 3D models for a module and only
reads *.idf files. This scheme allows minor changes in the 3D model 
selection dialog to select whatever models you need for a job - there is no
need to add other file selectors or container classes for 3D models.

I remember your earlier work with importing STEP model data for the VRML
viewer. My opinion on using STEP models + 3D view is that we should use
a separate tool for that job. This avoids adding yet another monstrous
dependency to KiCad (OpenCascade) and avoids the expensive operations to
convert the model on-the-fly. It also avoids model confusion in the scheme
I imagined for handling 3D models. If STEP were a valid model for 3DView,
how would I know if a STEP model were intended for 3DView or for an MCAD
tool? I can add a STEP to VRML tool into my VRML modeling project if people
really want this function.

- Cirilo