kicad-developers team mailing list archive

[Cirilo Bernardo <cirilo.bernardo@xxxxxxxxx>]

On Tue, May 9, 2017 at 3:19 PM, Kevin Cozens <kevin@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> On 2017-05-08 11:26 PM, Cirilo Bernardo wrote:
>>
>> You can get better material appearances using Wings3D but it really is a
>> nuisance to get right. For those who script their own models in FreeCAD
>> it's much better to use StepUp and assign material appearances for VRML.
>
>
> I've noticed that you can get better material appearance in the 3D viewer of
> pcbnew if you use WRML models vs STEP models.
>
> I created a model in Rhino 3D and saved the model in STEP format. I imported
> the STEP file in to FreeCAD and textured the model. I exported the textured
> model from FreeCAD in both STEP and WRML formats. When I use the textured
> models in pcbnew I find the WRML models look better than STEP. The STEP
> models look a bit flat. The WRML version of the same model with the same
> texturing looks a little more realistic vs the STEP based model.
>
> I don't know why there should be a difference in how the 3D viewer of pcbnew
> renders the two versions of the same model.
>

That's easy - STEP has a simplistic RGB model while VRML has a much better
material appearance model. The two models are worlds apart; STEP for example
has no transparency, reflection, and ambient lighting but VRML does. This is why
MCAD colors look so awful no matter what you do and every MCAD has a
proprietary scheme for managing material appearance for the renderer.

- Cirilo

> --
> Cheers!
>
> Kevin.
>
> http://www.ve3syb.ca/           |"Nerds make the shiny things that distract
> Owner of Elecraft K2 #2172      | the mouth-breathers, and that's why we're
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>
>
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