I’m using the KiCad stable version on two computers. First an apple iMac with macOS bigSur v11.5.2 and on a Windows 10 machine.
Then I have a project which is shared with GitLab and the libraries (symbols, footprints and 3d Models) are project specific and added as “git submodule”. So that everything can be cloned including the 3d Models. But I have differences regarding the orientation of the 3d models. On the mac version the orientation is good, but on the Windows machine the model is rotated somehow by 90°. In the 3d model settings tab the rotation and offset values are the same. Does anyone know why there is a difference?
Could it be that both KiCad version are interpreting the settings differently or have I missed something?
p.S. I have double and triple checked the step files also with checksum (sha256). They are the same
SHA256(./JST-XH 6Pin B6B-XH-A.STEP)= b200605d1406bfcd6315e85e32f74d7ab04af71738f3ccdf541a836c5c1cdfd2
It shouldn’t happen, of course. This is mysterious. KiCad uses a 3rd party programming library to show the models, maybe there’s some subtle difference.
Where’s the model from? It may be something in the model which can’t be interpreted. You could try importing the model to the StepUp workbench in FreeCAD and export it again, it often helps making models fully compliant with KiCad.
Thanks for your reply. I’ve made the model by myself, using Solidworks 2021 and exported the model as ap214. Now I have an idea. I’ve made a custom reference axis which is on pin1. I’ve tried to export the model with this axis so that I don’t have to adjust any offset and rotation in KiCad. This have never worked well. Regardless how I’ve set the axis directions, the model had only the position which is shown in the windows screenshot or 180° off. But never on the correct orientation. Maybe this have only never worked on the macOS version but it works actually on the windows machine. Maybe therefore I have the different orientation.
But also then, both versions slightly interpretes the file a bit different.
I can do a export this evening without a reference axis and will look how the orientation then behave on both machines.
If you made the 3D model yourself, then rotate and shift it in your CAD program before export. There should be no rotating, scaling or shifting of 3D parts in KiCad. The option to do so is purely for parts where you have no other choice.
This also helps with automated placement.
If you think about the origins of parts, and they are correct, then it “just works”. (Optimistic thinking here). If you get into a habit of ad-hoc corrections, they may bite you later.
(On the other side, you can spend endless hours on insignificant finicky details too).
This rotation discrepancy is … weird.
It seems unlikely that Germans rotate parts differently from English speaking persons, but it’s also a small effort to verify what it looks like if you change KiCad to English, restart KiCad and see what it looks like then. In my experience there is not much correlation between bugs and the absence of logic of their cause.
FWIW you look like you are still using version 4 libraries for your project. Libraries shipped with KiCad v5 are 'singular ’ i.e. Connector_JST not Connectors_JST.
I fully agree. I would also have my models already correct in my CAD program. Im just not sure how to rotate/shift it in Solidworks. Because there you draw sketches on a plane and then you go further from that. That means when I move my first sketch to another plane and shift it, the whole model would be messed up. I think there comes the reference axis function of Solidworks in play.
I’ve searched already some tutorials. But unfortunately all tutorials are: “how to export from KiCad to Solidworks” and not from Solidworks to KiCad.
Also fully agree
Have also spend thousands of hours with detailing my models up to a level which is beyon any normal stage ^^
Okay language change from DE to EN made no difference.
I know there are differences about left-hand and right-hand coordinate system. This gave me also some headache already.
I’ve made now a test with an export from Solidworks without a custom / reference coordinate system. Just exported without. Then aligned the part in KiCad. Pushed to GitLab and pulled on the Windows machine. And then both models are identical. Then I made one more time a test with the custom axis and the issue with the misaligned orientation came back.
So I guess that either KiCad does interpret the custom coordinate system on mac and windows differently, or Solidworks has a problem with exporting.
I have also noticed that I wasnt able to export the model so that it just fits in KiCad without entering any offsets. No mather how I adjusted the reference axis in Solidworks.
Just don’t know If I should life with this at the moment because KiCad6 is on it’s way. And look then if the issue is already solved when 6.0 is released or try to invesigate deeper.
Sorry haven’t seen your post yet because I was writing at my other reply
It is actually a v5 library. I had turned off some of the standard libraries because of loading time. Therefore I wasn’t aware that there is already a Connector_JST library in place. My Connectors_JST library is a library where I have made the Symbol and the according footprints and 3D model all by myself with KiCad 5.1.10
I try to share my GitLab Project but somehow I can’t change the Project from private to public access. When I have figured out how to do, then I can share the project. I’m relatively new to git.
edit:
Managed to change the GitLab setting to public. The group I’ve made was on private. So I was unable to set the project itself to public ^^.
Now it should be accessible with this link: https://gitlab.com/solarpanel1/KiCad_Gartenhaus.git
