Component 3D Models

Manufacturers are facing a major challenge today as customers demand more variability or product customization than ever before. This growing trend is forcing manufacturers to adopt a strategy based on the specific product attributes of the order to be able to design on demand.
Companies now use 3D models of their components in the process when creating a PCB design. 3D models help to ensure the peace of mind that the design of the board will be functional even before it reaches the manufacturing floor.

Circuit board Clearances and verification are the most common reasons for choosing to use a 3D model in PCB design. Using a 3D model can also be helpful to ensure accurate placement, with no overlapping.

3D model data is usually coming in the STEP file format. STEP File is a widely used data definition format of STEP. ISO 10303 can represent 3D objects in Computer-aided design and related information. Because of its ASCII structure, a STEP file is very easy to read, with normally one instance per line.

A faulty 3D model can cause project delays, and in some cases result in the re-design of the product enclosure and/or PCB assemblies. Therefore it is important to have a library of components STEP files available at the time of Assembly Project’s Bill of Material analysis.

Intellial’s Sparrow ERP team has implemented multiple projects that contain components libraries with electronics components, 3D models, in formats such as STEP and VRML. There are off-the-shelf tools available in the market that makes the process of acquiring the 3D data faster. However, each component data requires manual verification before putting it into use.

A very nice implementation of this technology in practical use for electronics assembly project is done by Eurocircuits’s PCBA visualizer. A combination of 2D footprints and 3D step data is intuitively used for electronics designers to visualize PCB board before electronics assembly actually starts.