No installation needed. Just download this (https://github.com/fjovine/Fpc2Scad/blob/master/Fpc2Scad.exe) and run from the command prompt. Works under windows and under linux in the mono environment.
Creates 3D models for printed circuit boards developed with FreePCB
FreePCB (http://www.freepcb.com) open source PCB CAD : an easy and powerful tool to place components and route the connections manually or automatically.
OpenScad is a unique 3D modeller/editor that uses a C-like language to create 3D models. (http://www.openscad.org/).
fpc2scad is a C# command line utility that creates 3D models of PCB's designed with freepcb. The tool can be used both on windows and on linux, using the mono virtual machine.
fpc2scad reads the FreePCB file and creates a first approximation 3D open scad file that contains the full board with holes where the components are simple 3D extrusions of the outlines found inside the PCB file.
Then the components can be modified manually to create a 3D model closer to the real circuit.
The FreePCB documentation shows a printer circuit board named motor.fpc
Running Fpc2Scad motor.pfg will create a plain vanilla 3D model having the holes drilled on the board and components created extruding the outline found inside the file.
It is possible to generate exernal skeleton OpenScad files for all the components on the board with the -g option on the command line:
- create the
genfolder - run
Fpc2Scad -ggen motor.pfg
This will store files for each component found in the gen folder:
Each file can be edited to create a realistic view of each component.
In order to do so, create a folder where a repository for components to be rendered will be stored and use the -d option on the command line, e.g. Fpc2Scad -dlib motor.pfg
Then edit manually each file to create a realistic model: this is how the board looks like with realistic headers
And this is after all the components have been defined.
Fpc2Scad [options] filename
options
-g[{folder}] : generate footprints, if folder is present,
it stores them in the folder otherwise in the current folder.
No scad generation.
-d{folder} : folder where the reference footprints are stored.`