Is there a way to reliably convert models from VRML 1.0 to VRML 2.0 that works with pcbnew? It seems pcbnew cannot recognize VRML 1.0 models and most models from sources such as 3dcontentcentral are in VRML 1.0. I tried this and then this and it managed to convert the file but it still didn’t work. The end goal is to get a STEP file of the board.
Im not 100% sure but you should be able to do it with Freecad. I know it supports exporting as vrml 2.0 and Ive used it to convert step models before. I dont have any vrml 1.0 models to test on hand.
If you want a STEP model of the board you need STEP models of your parts on the board. I believe many models on 3dconentscentral are STEP models. With StepUp for FreeCad you can then create aligned models of the part in both STEP and WRML format. Also the new KiCad libraries have STEP models. Converting a WMRL file to STEP is usually not a good solution if at all possible.
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Thanks folks. I delved a little deeper into StepUp and I was able to create a first STEP. The tutorial PDF bundled with StepUp is very useful and it helped me create the necessary VRML and STEP files. For future reference, this video really helped.
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Note that there has been a number of improvements since the video was created. If you use the development version of FreeCad( v. 0.17), StepUp can be installed as a workbench. To install go to Tools - Addon manager, and simply scroll down to kicadStepupMod and press install. Download is then automatic.
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Same in freecad 0.16. But there the addon manager must be installed first, or you have to manually copy the workbench files into the freecad searchpath. (Linux: ~/.Freecad/Mod/)
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