Once in the Preview window, Components (and cases/enclosures) can be moved to reposition them.
Enabling Move of Components and Enclosures
The ability to move Components and Enclosures must first be enabled using the Components and/or Enclosures check boxes must be enabled in the 3D Settings Interaction dialog.
A note to make, if you are using both Components with enclosures and the enclosure ‘covers’ the board, if you have enabled the Enclosure selection, it will be very difficult to select the Components without selecting the enclosure instead.
Moving Components
Once enabled, on selection of a Component, the movement indicator will be shown, the Component will also be highlighted. A 2-axis indicator is shown for X and Y movement.
Using the arrow ‘bars’, move the Component to the position required. If you have the Clash Detection enabled from within the 3D Settings Interaction, moving the Component to a position where is does not create a clash violation, the Clash colour will change.
Depending on your selection, you will be able to move the Component either on or off grid. It is
recommended that On Grid is used. The movement on grid is set in the
3D Settings Interaction dialog. The
Enclosures (and other STEP models)
You can add additional STEP models to your design. This can be done in the PCB design editor (and passed into the 3D Preview), or it can be done in the 3D environment using the 3D Settings Enclosures dialog. These STEP models can be enclosures, or additional STEP models required. You can add multiple STEP models to create the enclosure, for example, two halves of a casing.
Once added, these enclosures can be moved interactively. Firstly, they must be made selectable in the 3D Settings Interaction dialog. Once selectable, they can be moved in the same manner as Components; select the Enclosure and use the movement indicator. The indicator used for enclosures will move in 3-axis, X, Y and Z.
To make Components easier to view when Enclosures cover the board, you can set the Transparency of the Enclosures. This is set in the 3D Settings Colours dialog.
With Enclosures added to the design, you can check whether they clash with other items on the board. This is described in more detail under Clash Detection
Related Topics
3D Viewer | 3D Settings Colours | 3D Settings Enclosures | 3D Settings Interaction