Setting up 3D parts

Copper can automatically generate a 3D representation of the PCB, but you will need to find and attach 3D models of the parts to your footprints. As you only have to do that for every package, this is typically done very fast.

We have hundreds of common parts in our library, and custom parts can be added with the macOS version of Copper (not possible on iOS at the moment). Upon request we add parts for you. Please send a mail to the support if you want us to add a part to the library for you.

Assigning parts is simple. Navigate to the components section of the document viewer, tap on the info button of a part and scroll down the inspector until you see the 3D Model section providing two buttons as shown in this image. Please follow the article Part and Signal list and Part infos to learn how to navigate up to this point.

Part or Package?

Copper will assign a 3D model to the package, that means, that if you choose a 0603 capacitor and assign a 0603 capacitor 3D model to it, you will automatically assign this 3D model to all your 0603 capacitors. If you have hundreds of 0603 capacitors on your board, you will only have to assign a 3D model to one of them.

In Copper for macOS you can decide to just assign a 3D model to a single part, instead of the underlying package. We did remove this option from the iOS as we didn't want to get it too complicated on small screens. Let us know if you would like to have that feature in iOS, too.

Selecting a part category

After tapping on the Choose 3D Part button you will be presented with a list of part categories. All parts are compiled into categories to make it easier to find the correct part. Some categories have sub categories. 

Finding the correct part

Once you have selected a category you'll get a list of parts that are currently available in this category. Categories for common parts like Capacitors, Resistors and ICs have a lot of parts and you should find a part for most parts. Tap on any part to test if it matches the footprint.

Some categories like capacitors or resistors there are a lot of parts. You can tap on the filter icon to filter the current list by adding part specifications like the package type or number of pins.

Filter the current list by adding specifications

If there are many parts available you can filter them by assigning filters. Tap on the filters icon to show the filter system.

Just tap on the values to choose what you want in the list. Sometimes a lot of values are available. Scroll the values list horizontally to reveal more.

If you have activated a filter, tap on the x icon to remove this filter again. After you are finished assigning filters, just go back to the list to show the filtered list.

Fitting 3D models to your footprints

Tapping on a part in the list will allow you to fit the 3D part to your footprint. Although there are conventions on how to lay out parts, it is always possible and often the case that the 3D model does not match the footprint exactly. Most of the time you only need to adjust the rotation.

Push the part with one finger around and move it so it matches the footprint. This is the same process as you do it when soldering a PCB. Using two fingers you can rotate the part. If you want to rotate the part by 90°, there are buttons for that.

Rotation angles are different for every orientation. Sometimes parts are really misaligned, just play around with the orientation and rotation buttons to get the part in the correct orientation.

If you selected the Front or Right orientation you cannot move the part to the left or right, you can just adjust the parts vertical position.

Important: Tap on the Done button to finally assign the 3D model to this part. If you choose to tap Back, you will not have assigned the part, you will just have tested it.