kicad-lib-committers team mailing list archive

[Cirilo Bernardo <cirilo.bernardo@xxxxxxxxx>]

On Wed, Aug 3, 2016 at 4:40 AM, Thomas Pointhuber <thomas.pointhuber@xxxxxx>
wrote:

> I contacted the company Würth Electronics (http://www.we-online.de) some
> time ago about using their
> 3D-Models inside KiCad. They answered recently and after a little bit of
> clarification I'm now
> announcing their positive reply:
>
> * They allowed to use their 3D-Models inside KiCad as long as they are
> used for components from
> Würth Electronic. That means we are not allowed for example to use their
> Models for an SO-8 chip
> which would be a generic footprint/model. Parts like the Shielding
> Cabinets which I made some time
> ago are no problem because they are clearly Würth Electronic Components.
>
>
> The original important line of the reply (in German):
>
> > So lange unsere STP-Dateien ausschließlich in unseren Libraries
> verwendet werden, haben wir
> > prinzipiell nichts dagegen einzuwenden, wenn Kunden unsere Bauteile in
> Libraries pflegen.
>
>
> Now we should check how to include external sources without re licencing
> them by mistake under the
> GPL. Then we could start to use their 3D-Models inside KiCad. I think this
> are great news, and
> we could also write letters to other companies about using their 3D-Models
> inside KiCad. (Especially
> JST because there are already 3D-Models from them merged inside KiCad)
>
>
Normally I determine parts and footprint then retrieve a 3D model (or make
one). If a
footprint is specific to a Wurth product then there is no issue putting a
tag in the
footprint so a user can find the file. It is also possible of course to put
a copy of that
3D model into a repository (if the company, like Wurth, gives permission)
to be sure
users get the model even if the original link is not valid in the future.
I don't know if
KiCad maintainers should get into collecting and managing STEP models
though.

The one remaining issue with KiCad + STEP models is sorting out
availability of OCE
libraries on OSX/Linux/Windows. Once we're all happy that we have it under
control
then we can move the OCE plugin into the main code branch. STEP export will
remain
a separate tool until I find time to write the required plugin system for
that.

- Cirilo

We should also add a wiki page to document which companies agreed with
> usage of their Models inside
> KiCad under which conditions.
>
> Regards,
> Thomas
>
>
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