2 ms·
I'm still not sure what the 3D aspect in particular adds, though. Tools which work with physical wiring diagrams, like Fritzing, have been available for ages, a
by duskwuff 4y ago
I'm still not sure what the 3D aspect in particular adds, though. Tools which work with physical wiring diagrams, like Fritzing, have been available for ages, and I don't think the 2D nature of those tools has ever been a meaningful obstacle to understanding.
- azalemeth 4y agoIn my opinion, 3D is useful if: a) You want to check that your components won't physically bash into something else you care about b) You are designing something that operates at RF to mm-wave frequencies and need to worry (a lot) about the spatial location of the high-frequency components and nearby conductors / ground planes c) You want to get an idea about airflow and heat dissipation on power electronics and/or modules (such as power amplifiers) that come with their own heatsinks (some SIPs do!) Kicad and other bits of more hobby-orientated software that do a 3D render (such as diptrace) tend to do it for reasons (a) and (c). Software that does (b) properly costs hundreds of thousands of €$£ per year to rent and tends to have a UI that makes you scream with frustration at every possible moment.
- duskwuff 4y agoThose are all good reasons to use 3D capabilities in a more capable tool, but none of them apply here. "Diode" doesn't even check for collisions between parts -- it'll happily let you stick a DIP 555 "inside" another 555, for example -- and it certainly doesn't do any RF or thermal simulation.
- kragen 4y agoi agree, those would be good reasons for 3d