Pads and Components
In the addition to the copper, dielectric and drill layers, a PCB file also contains the component outlines.
Here, we will import some components and crate pads on the copper traces that they connect to.
1
Click Import 1 node and expand the Pads section.
2
In the Components to add table hold Ctrl and select components C2, C4, C5, C6, R1, R2, R3.
3
Click Add Selected Components to Table () button.
This will add the components from the list to the table below.
4
Click Import .
This will create pads for the selected components.
5
Go to the Selection list and click on the Pads domain selection created after importing.
Notice that additional faces have been created.
To create a simplified 3D representation these pads’ corresponding components, we will add a separate import node.
6
In the Home toolbar, click Import .
7
In the Settings window for Import click the Browse button, then select the same file (printed_circuit_board_si_geom.zip) as previously.
8
Under the Layers table, click the Clear All Imports () button. This will not import any layers of the board.
9
Expand the Components section. Select the checkbox Import component outlines and click Import .
10
Click the Zoom Extents button in the Graphics toolbar.
Simplified 3D geometries were generated to represent the PCB’s components based on the component outlines available in the file. Since we are only interested in a few components, we can extract them as follows.
11
In the Geometry toolbar, click Selections and choose Logical Expression Selection.
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In the Logical expression text area, type imp2.component('C2','C4','C5','C6','R1','R2','R3').
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In the Geometry toolbar, click Extract.
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In the Extract settings window, choose the Domain as Geometric entity level.
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From the Selection list, choose Logical Expression Selection 1.
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From the Input object handling list, choose Remove. Click Build Selected.
17
Click the Zoom Extents button in the Graphics toolbar.
Only the desired components have been left and all the others have been deleted.