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EAGLE .brd Loader

Benjamin D. Richards, Gamelab

David ten Have, omniblox.io

Philip Lindsay, RancidBacon.com

Copyright (c) 2016, Omniblox Ltd.

About Script

Looking to render printed circuit boards (PCBs)? Look no further. This script loads and renders them visually using a .brd file created by CadSoft EAGLE (version 6.0 or later).

There are a number of ways to render PCBs, but this script visualizes them as THREE.js models.

We’re still working on this, so the script isn’t 100% accurate. With that in mind, it’s probably best to use this as a visualization aid only -- so don’t use it for to build anything ‘mission critical’ (for now...). And we’ve done our best to flag stuff that needs sorting.

This script assumes one circuit board per .brd file.

This script is designed for THREE.js r79 or later.

Files and Folders

File Description
dist/EagleLoader.js This is the file you're looking for
dist/OCRA.otf, dist/OCRA.woff Required font files
assets/ Source files for fonts and other assets required to run this script
docs/ Auto-generated API documentation
eagle/ Notes on the structure of EAGLE XML format
examples/ Examples
examples/brd-files/ Example files from adafruit and SparkFun
lib/ Files necessary for the script to run
src/ The source code
gruntfile.js Build systems
package.json Build systems
README.md This file

Using Script

Start by copying the THREE.js library from lib/ then load the EagleLoader.js script from dist/.

Here’s how to load the .brd file into an existing THREE.js scene:

var url = 'path/to/file.brd';
var brdParams = {
    colors: {
        solderMask: "rgb( 32, 168, 64 )"
    },
    pixelMicrons: 70,
    material: "basic"
}

var loader = new THREE.BRDLoader();
loader.load(
    url,
    brdParams,
    function ( brd ) {
        scene.add(brd.root);
    },
    undefined,
    undefined,
    [ "./OCRA.woff", "./OCRA.otf" ] );

This will create a PCB with green masking -- at half the standard resolution (of 35 microns per pixel) -- using a basic flat material instead of Phong lighting, displayed with auto-generated connector handles.

For more details and examples, take a closer look at the API documentation in docs/ and the examples/ folders.

Using Fonts

Currently, we do not have access to the vector font used by EAGLE software. We allow you to specify your own font for text elements on the board, or default to a system monospace font.

For an approximate board display, you may include the OCR-A font. Find OCRA.woff and OCRA.otf in the dist/ folder, alongside the main script. You may place these files in any folder, but ensure that you call load() with the fontPath parameter set.

This version of the OCR-A font was created by Matthew Skala and is public domain. See assets/fonts/ocr-0.2/ for more information.

Showing Components

This library has the ability to place components on the rendering of the BRD file. To do that you need to provide the BRD file, a directory of STL models and a component map. The file examples/components.html shows how to arrange this correctly.

Start by copying the THREE.js library and the STLLoader.js library from lib/ then load the EagleLoader.js script from dist/.

Here’s how to load the .brd file with components into an existing THREE.js scene:

var url = 'path/to/file.brd';

var brdParams = {
  colors: {
    solderMask: "rgb( 255, 0, 0 )"
  },
  viewComponents: true,
  componentMapCfg: {mapUrl: "path/to/components/map.json"},
};

loader = new THREE.BRDLoader();
loader.load(
  url,
  brdParams,
  function ( board ) {
    addToScene(board);
  });

The component map is a list that maps package names to geometry files. At present these are only STL files. The basic example is:

{
 "0603-CAP": {
  "filename": "models/sparkfun/redstick/passive/ceramic_smd/0603/0603-CAP.stl"
 },
 "0603-RES": {
  "filename": "models/sparkfun/redstick/passive/resistors/0603/0603-RES.stl"
 }
}

To orient component geometry correctly you can rotate and scale it.

{
  "SOT23-3": {
    "filename": "models/sparkfun/redstick/semiconductors/IC_SMD/SOT/SOT23-3.STL",
    "rotation": {
      "x": 90,
      "z": 180
    }
  },
  "TQFP32-08": {
    "filename": "models/sparkfun/redstick/semiconductors/IC_SMD/TQFP/TQFP32-08/TQFP32-08.stl",
    "scale": {
      "x": 0.001,
      "y": 0.001,
      "z": 0.001
    }
  }
}

NOTE: If you don't include the STLLoader the BRD file will still render - but no components will display. Look for the following error in your javascript console: You need to add THREE.STLLoader to see components on your BRD file.

Development

Want to make your own modifications to the library? Here's how to get started...

Setup the development environment

Future Development

We know these features would be great; so we’re working on them:

  • Generate full bump and specular map passes -- as well as color.
  • Generate texture maps using <signal> elements, rather than collections of components. This will allow the script to correctly layer copper traces, connect to ground planes, and process orphans.
  • Ensure that copper polygons fuse properly with pads according to EAGLE rules.
  • Investigate how thermals are generated. Does it involve elements?
  • The current board edges are defined by wire cuts. If these are not present, no bounds will be generated. A <polygon> element tagged as OUTLINES may be a valid alternative, but this has not been implemented or tested yet.
  • Fonts need tweaking: we can't use the built-in vector font from EAGLE.
  • Gold coating can’t be interpreted.