At 01:56 PM 2/7/2002 -0500, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: >"Many users will not want to have to convert all their libraries to include >3-D information" >This is my point exactly. Some PCB designers have no interest in the 3D >world, so let's not create a proverbial white elephant inside of Protel.
Lloyd missed my point. A good implementation will not require users to provide 3-D information. It will merely allow them to attach a 3-D model to a footprint. Thus there would be no legacy issues. >The >functionality you request would add cost, or possibly an add-on package. >Hmmm extra packages....sounds like the road the PADs and Orcads have been >down before. And frankly I'm not interested in going down that road again. The functionality is almost there, additional cost would be minor. Protel already did most of the work in providing the viewer. Sure, if there were substantial additional cost, it could become an add-on, like the excellent -- I understand -- Qual-ECAD package. Altium might simply buy Qual-ECAD, which makes sense if Qual-ECAD is on offer at a reasonable price. The decision was already made, obviously, to provide 3-D functionality. Why they did not give us access to the models, a relatively simple step, I don't know, that's a mystery. >You don't use a car in the lake nor do you use a boat on roads, but as long >as you have a boat trailer to transport back and forth to the different >mediums.. (perhaps a flakey analogy!?) Yes, pretty flakey. It is routine for me as a PCB designer to be considering vertical interference issues. Most of the time they are simple enough that, yes, I don't need interference checking. But we asked for a way to deal with height information a long time ago, there was broad consensus that it would be useful. There is a height field already assigned in the PCB file format. This is enough for simple checking, but some components are pretty complex in shape and a single height won't cut it. What I'm asking for does not require a database change. Instead, a text file could associate 3-D models with footprint names. If the file does not have an entry for a footprint, the height attribute would be used. We need to have editor access to the height attribute, both in the footprint library editor and in the PCB. This is not a great deal to ask for. I think the only work actually needed as a first step is give us access to the height attribute. The reason why this truly belongs as part of a sophisticated PCB design package is that *placement* belongs in the PCB design package. It is entirely too cumbersome to have to move designs in and out of various programs just to figure out where on the PCB to put a part, assuming that there is a model of the environment. Yes, 3-D placement rule checking would need to be added as well. I'd want to be able to move a part around and see the error color appear and disappear. [EMAIL PROTECTED] Abdulrahman Lomax Easthampton, Massachusetts USA * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * To post a message: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] * * To leave this list visit: * http://www.techservinc.com/protelusers/leave.html * * Contact the list manager: * mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] * * Forum Guidelines Rules: * http://www.techservinc.com/protelusers/forumrules.html * * Browse or Search previous postings: * http://www.mail-archive.com/proteledaforum@techservinc.com * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
