Calling maui and friends making a 3d model in freecad pair with module and export wrl

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Hi

I created a quick 3d model (incomplete) but wanted to see it in kicad before putting to much effort in.

alas: installing maui phyton script.

But as i cannot move my objects in one single move i tried to save it 1:st as wrl and secondly as step.
But step need to be with all objects unified as one (connected ?)

I dont know how to get this in as a single object.

screen shot from freecad with its native format FCstd and a loaded module shown

1167Ɨ774 73 KB
SI1133.kicad_mod (2.8 KB)
Si1133.FCStd (12.9 KB)

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"- convert your model to STEP in scale 1:1

  • assure that your STEP module is fused to just one solid object"

The above is what I donā€™t know how to do.

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In FreeCAD make sure the Part module is active. Then in the Edit menu, choose ā€œSelect Allā€ and in the Part toolbar select the ā€œUnionā€ button.

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Merging (fusing) your object is done in the part workbench.
Select all your objects and choose the boolean operator fusion.

1882Ɨ1174 182 KB

Well 3 (similar) answers within 12 minutes. How about that?

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Hi @nicholas as @Rene_Poschl pointed out,
you can fuse (make a union) of your objects or just make a compoundā€¦

anyway the chip is a DFN with 10 pins, 2x2 pith 0.5
It can be parametrically generated by my FreeCAD scripts here


creating the right parametric list, just copying the parameters from the pdf file @ the
Table 10.1. Package Diagram Dimensions section
ā€¦
anyway that is the model automatically generated with my scripts and FreeCAD
Si1133.FCStd (15.7 KB)

Si1133.wrl (50.6 KB)

Si1133.step (278.8 KB)

1233Ɨ862 98.6 KB

1233Ɨ862 101 KB

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Thank you all.

I wanted the optical sensor areas marked out thatā€™s why I got started and then the need to make a diffuser

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Hi, Maui

this chip body (an optical sensor) should be clear plastic so the sensors can be seen inside

but that doesnā€™t seems to work

unsupported ?

Si1133.FCStd (17.3 KB)

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If you use VRML and keep the opaque parts as a separate object within FreeCAD before exporting it, you can ā€˜safeā€™ the transparency (works in nightly 2016-09-17). Didnā€™t try STEP in KiCAD yet, but maybe you can set different faces to have transparency (as you have to unify it), but I wouldnā€™t count on it.

PS:
Autodesk Inventor also only does transparency for separate parts only internally and exported as different STEP parts.

Example (VRML models in KiCAD):

EC2.stp (193.5 KB)
LED_0805_ASM.stp (177.1 KB)

To make it work for VRML one has to select the parts that need to be opaque and set their transparency option to less than 100% in FreeCAD. Donā€™t know if STEP does support something like thatā€¦

Another workaround might be to have 2 STEP parts for your device and load both in your footprint definition. One opaque and the other solid. KiCAD will put them over each other and should behaveā€¦

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Re: STEP and transparency - no, STEP does not support transparency; after all it is intended to pass CAM data and not visual information. I guess VRML will survive in KiCad for some time then even though I never use it. But who knows - STEP is always changing and someone might stuff a material appearance spec in there.

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Hi @nicholas
you can conserve transparency in wrl both on kicad stable and kicad nightly if:

  1. create your model in FC assigning transparency values to subparts
  2. select all parts and export those with kicad StepUp (you can export without wrl material check or with wrl materialsā€¦ in case you select to export with materials, you have to assign ā€˜asisā€™ to transparent blocks)
  3. create a simple copy with FC Part and fuse all the objects, then export the step model and donā€™t overwrite wrl model.
    Si1133-wTransparency.FCStd (52.2 KB)

Si1133-transparency.wrl (36.5 KB)

Si1133-step.step (270.7 KB)

1381Ɨ1030 117 KB

Please consider that STEP doesnā€™t support transparency, so you will not have any transparency on 3d viewer assigning 3D STEP model to your footprint.
The best option IMO for aesthetic and mechanical design is to use WRL (coming from STEP model) in kicad 3d viewer and STEP for MCAD.

Removing WRL support from kicad would reduce kicad featuresā€¦

  1. it will remove material properties on 3D models, throwing away many of the 3D raytracing features
  2. it will remove transparency properties on 3D models (very useful both for aesthetic and for mechanical purposes)

I donā€™t see any advantage on removing a well working featureā€¦
Maurice

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Works now

thanks alot