Hello,
I’m pretty new to kicad. After drawing the scheme and routing the PCB I want to check if the layout works. But the 3d viewer does not show any components. Neither the standard nor the downloaded step files. I’ve checked the forum and the internet and all the hints did not lead to a solution.
I’m using kicad:
Application: KiCad PCB Editor x86_64 on x86_64
Version: 8.0.3, release build
Libraries:
- wxWidgets 3.2.4*
- FreeType 2.11.1*
- HarfBuzz 8.3.0*
- FontConfig 2.13.1*
- libcurl/7.81.0 OpenSSL/3.0.2 zlib/1.2.11 brotli/1.0.9 zstd/1.4.8 libidn2/2.3.2 libpsl/0.21.2 (+libidn2/2.3.2) libssh/0.9.6/openssl/zlib nghttp2/1.43.0 librtmp/2.3 OpenLDAP/2.5.17*
Platform: Ubuntu Core 22, 64 bit, Little endian, wxGTK, X11, ubuntu, wayland
OpenGL: AMD, NAVI23 (navi23, LLVM 15.0.7, DRM 3.54, 6.5.0-44-generic), 4.6 (Compatibility Profile) Mesa 23.2.1-1ubuntu3.1~22.04.2
Build Info:
- Date: Jun 28 2024 00:06:25*
- wxWidgets: 3.2.4 (wchar_t,wx containers) GTK+ 3.24*
- Boost: 1.74.0*
- OCC: 7.5.1*
- Curl: 7.81.0*
- ngspice: 36*
- Compiler: GCC 11.2.0 with C++ ABI 1016*
Build settings:
I’ve tried to place parts on both sides of the PCB. Could this be part of the problem?
Could anyone give me a hint? Thank you very much in advance.
Jens
Did you draw a closed board outline on the edge cuts layer?
Can you post a screengrab?
Most likely is that there is something wrong with the library or paths setup. The 3D models are in a separate location. For KiCad’s own libraries there is a KICAD8_3DMODEL_DIR which on my Linux system points to: /usr/share/kicad/3dmodels/**
Manually installed libraries often have no 3D models, or they are in another location and you have to set them up manually. One way to diagnose is to take a simple part, for example an 0805 sized resistor, and then follow the paths in KiCad and verify the locations on your OS. KiCad’s default libraries use the path substitution variable above, footprints from other sources use something else, often for example a relative path from the project, or an environment variable thought up by whomever created the project.
Thanks for your reply.
I hope I did the layer right. Here is my “Edge Cuts” layer.
does it show any abnormalities?
Thank you for your reply and the hint. I’ve used the standard models/paths as well added the links to the same manually.
The “KICAD8_3DMODEL_DIR” variable points to “/usr/share/kicad/3dmodels/”. can you identify any mistake on my side?
I see a snap directory path. Are you using a snap? Snaps require additional configuration to access paths outside the snap. I don’t have the details as I use native packages, but someone else can advise.
Thanks for your reply. Yes I’m using snap as ubuntu comes with it. I tend to stay in the snap environment. However, I didn’t find any configuration adjustment to be done for snap in the internet. Which native installation are you using?
I use Mint, which is based on Ubuntu and I installed via adding a repository by following the instructions on KiCad’s website:
Thanks. is there anything to consider changing from snap to a installation from a repository with respect to the existing projects?
I never used snap, but have worked with Git and projects downloaded from the internet. As long as a project is complete, there is no problem with opening it in KiCad. You may get warnings about missing libraries, but they are both not very important (KiCad V6 and higher stores all relevant info inside the project) and fixable (fix links, create / export libraries from the project).
The main limitation is that KiCad has no import at all from “future” versions. As long as the mayor KiCad version is the same, you should be able to toggle working between the “snap” version and a real install of KiCad. Once you upgrade the mayor KiCad version and save it, an older KiCad version can not open the project anymore.
Ahh, the edge cut is important for showing filled zones, not 3d parts – a moment of brain fog on my part.
But you do need the edge cut anyway 
According to my own fog this behavior changes with KiCad versions. Older versions tended to choke, while newer versions tend to at least show something.
A test with an open Edge.Cuts shows a “best effort” by simply closing the outline in the 3D viewer.
A test with completely deleting Edge.Cuts inhibits zone filling on the PCB and does not show any tracks or zones in the 3D viewer, but still does show the 3D models in the 3D viewer (KiCad V8.0.4).
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Thank you all. I got now a KiCad installation on an Ubuntu in a virtual environment via native packages and it works. I will play around with it an see how I come along. Thank you all for your help.
