Altium Designer has powerful 3D tools, allowing you to export a STEP model of a PCB. This is very convenient as a complete 3D model of your PCB can easily be imported into CAD programs such as Solidworks.
There is a problem when doing this with with multiple different PCBs, however. Due to file naming when Solidworks imports the STEP file, each separate PCB has a model named “Board” for example that is the model of the bare PCB. Since the assemblies for each PCB have the same part named “Board”, Solidworks will use the same bare PCB model for all the assemblies, which is clearly wrong. This problem extends to other components which have the same name such as R1, C1, etc. This import procedure applies a suffix to all components to avoid this problem, allowing successful use of multiple PCBs in one assembly.
This procedure has been tested with Altium Designer 13.1.2 and Solidworks 2014 x64 SP0.0
What Are Step FilesImportant: Some of these steps like restarting Solidworks may seem odd, but they must be followed EXACTLY for this to work.
Jul 27, 2011 A Short Video that shows hpw ypu can create and import STE files into Altium for free. Create and import STEP into Altium for free. Importing Altium Designer PCB files. Importing Altium files to SolidWorks. Paul Kloster Dec 4, 2013 3:31 PM When I import Altium files into solidworks, slots will come in as pologons with small segments not as true arcs.
The resulting assemblies for each PCB can then be used in a single Solidworks assembly without problems. Windows xp live iso. The final assembly for a single PCB is shown below, with suffixes on all components:
Modified by Phil Loughhead on Apr 11, 2017
Contents
Altium Designer offers advanced capabilities for interacting with mechanical design system and software (MCAD) through the activate exchange of physical design data. The range of systems and interfaces that bridge the ECAD-MCAD domains also rely on standardized data formats such as the industry ratified STEP protocol (Standard for Exchange of Product model data), which provides an information rich, clear text encoded file format for 3D model design data.
The STEP file format itself (
*.step or *.stp ) is defined in the ISO 10303-21 (International Organization for Standardization) specification for CAD data exchange, and is supported by the majority of MCAD tools and systems. At the fundamental file exchange level, Altium Designer offers both export and import capabilities for 3D STEP files.
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This provides the basis for the free exchange of high quality, standardized 3D modeling data between software domains, which simplifies ECAD-MCAD design collaboration and enhances both the quality and accuracy of 3D model data. Note that both the STEP AP214 and the legacy AP203 formats are supported by Altium Designer – exported files are ISO-10303-21 -compliant (AP214).
– See the the ISO 10303-21 specification web page.
– Read information on the STEP file format. – Read The Advantage of 3D in ECAD-MCAD Integration to learn more about 3 dimensional PCB design in Altium Designer. Export STEP files
An important function in the data exchange relationship between the ECAD and MCAD worlds is the ability to port the PCB assembly into mechanical design software for the purposes of physical clearance checking. This is particularly crucial where the design is intimately matched with a product enclosure that also exposes PCB peripherals such as controls, switches, connectors and displays.
In this case the inherent universality and accuracy of the STEP file format allows comprehensive PCB modeling data to be transferred from Altium Designer to MCAD software with a high degree of confidence in the dimensional relationships. The MCAD designer can then import and place the PCB assembly 3D STEP model into the mechanical design to check and/or modify accordingly.
Enabling the Exporter
This board export capability is available through Altium Designer’s STEP Export feature, which also includes a broad range of data and object filtering options. If not already enabled, the STEP exporter checkbox should be selected in the Configure Platform page in Altium Designer’s Extension & Update view – select DXP » Extensions and Updates, then the Configure link under the view’s Installed tab.
If not enabled during Altium Designer's installation, the STEP Exporter can be activated from the ImportersExporters page in Extensions & Updates .
Using the Exporter
To export the currently active board design as a STEP file, select File » Export 3D from the main menu, then nominate a target file name and location. The following Export Options dialog provides a range of selections that include options to determine which board objects will be included in the generated file.
Exported STEP files displayed in a wireframe viewer, where the upper image file includes no pad holes or 3D bodies and the lower image file includes all objects (a socket component is selected).
Dynamic link download cs6 windows 8. – See the Export Options dialog for more information on STEP file export settings.
Notes on Exported files
Import STEP files
STEP files can be imported and used in Altium Designer through two distinct approaches, both of which use the same mechanism. The approach used is essentially dependent on how a STEP file will be applied in a design:
Import into the PCB
Within both the PCB and PCB Library domains in Altium Designer, STEP files are imported into a dedicated 3D Body object that is placed and aligned as required.
To place a 3D Body and populate its contents in the PCB Editor, select Place » 3D Body from the main menu and choose the Generic 3D Model option as the model type. The Generic 3D Model section of the following 3D Body dialog offers three alternative source options for importing a STEP files:
– See the 3D Body dialog for more information on the 3D Body object options.
The placed 3D Body (including its imported/linked STEP file) will appear as a simple body area in the editor's 2D display mode, and as a fully rendered 3D model in the 3D display mode (shortcut keys 2 and 3). In the below image, a STEP file for a PCB and all its components (exported as outlined above) has been imported into the PCB as an embedded model.
To check its validity, an exported STEP file can be loaded back into a 3D Body object in the PCB workspce object. Note the simplified, but accurate, form of the STEP model on the right.
One of the most important STEP files that can be brought into the PCB space is a 3D model of the design’s host enclosure. Typically developed and then exported from the MCAD domain, the imported enclosure model can be placed and precisely aligned in the board design to check for clearance violations and accuracy.
In the image below, the design’s 3D enclosure model has been sourced from an Altium Vault. The imported model’s reference points and snap behavior is configured in the 3D Body dialog.
A product enclosure file from the MCAD domain can be imported into, or linked to, a host 3D Body object. The linked file option streamlines design collaboration between the ECAD-MCAD domains.
Import into a Component
Using the same mechanism outlined above, a 3D STEP model file can be imported into a component footprint definition to provide a fully rendered 3D component body for that component. The STEP model can replace, or co-exist with, an existing 3D component body constructed from simple 3D shapes (Extruded, Cylinder, Sphere).
A 3D STEP file model is applied to a component footprint in an Altium Designer PCB Library by selecting Place » 3D Body from the main menu, and then the Generic 3D Model option as the model type in the 3D Body dialog. The STEP model is then loaded into the 3D Body using the Vault or Embedded import option as detailed above. Note that the File linking option is not available in the PCB Library editor.
Alternatively, to replace an existing 3D Body shape applied to a footprint (such as a Cylinder, for example), simply select its 3D Body object and load the STEP file using the Generic 3D Model option – this type of change is easiest to perform with the editor in 3D display mode.
A polarized capacitor footprint shown in the PCB Library editor. The center image is the 3D body made from 3D Shapes, while the right image shows its replacement STEP file model.
– See Including a 3D Model of the Component for more information on placing 3D footprint models.
– See 3D Content Central and component manufacturer websites for access to downloadable STEP models. Comments are closed.
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