y

On Mon, 27 Dec 2004, Lawrence Lile wrote:

> The 3D capability is a nice feature.
>
> In Eagle, the 3D feature is provided in Wetware (he said sarcastically)
>
> In other words, I would export the EAGLE file to AutoCad using the 
> DXF.ULP script, then I would draw the 3D components in Autocad.  The 
> library I used was the actual dimensions of the parts, usually 
> rendering them as cylinders or rectangular boxes to save effort. 
> Then this would get ported into ProEngineer, usually as some kind of 
> STL solid.  It comes in white as a ghost and can't be edited, but at 
> least you can see it and run interference checks on it.
>
> I nearly bought Protel because it supposedly makes this 3D capability 
> automatic.
>
> None of this 3D stuff is needed if you don't do anything complex 
> mechanically.  A simple 2D AutoCad port of your board, showing 
> mounting hardware locations, and a box around the board for clearance 
> and component areas is usually fine.

Fyi someone made a ulp script for Eagle that turns a design into a 
Pov-Ray file and then runs Pov-Ray on it. Pov-Ray is a photorealistic 
renderer (3D). The script uses a database of 3d models of the parts you 
use. The ulp script takes the parts from the design, and their 
placement, combines it with the 3d model database, and makes the Pov-Ray 
script. The result is a photorealistic rendering of the completed 
project, in several views (3-views or whatever you select). This is only 
available on Linux as far as I know. The 3d model database models each 
part using relatively simple graphical primitives (cylinder, cube, 
prism), and textures/colors. The results are visually impressive (you 
can see the image of a tall cap mirrored on the top of a TO-18 
transistor when viewed in perspective etc).

Peter
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