Take a look at my newly improved PCB viewer / Gerber Viewer

[nigelwright7557]

free software is pretty much the only thing that is given away.
i dont see scopes etc being given away.
on the one hand great for software users but bad for business.
i sell pcbcad software and have done for 28 years.
i used to do ok but competition has pretty much killed it so now no incentive to take it to the next stage.
innovation killed.

think how much better your software would be if it was funded properly?
take on more programmers to increase productivity.

[PlainName]

i dont see scopes etc being given away.

Hardware designs are. Clearly, you can't give away physical stuff because each single instance costs you. Although that hasn't stopped people giving actual hardware away. However, the designs and everything that don't have a per-instance cost are given away.

think how much better your software would be if it was funded properly?
take on more programmers to increase productivity.

Not quite that simple. You might have a significant number of users for your free or low-cost product, but double the price and watch most of them disappear. Where is the funding going to come from for the new mouths you now have to feed? Maybe bumping up the price of the product to compensate, and now you have an even more niche clientele.

There are numerous instances of products that had a loyal user-base, who would pay upgrade fees as a matter of course because without thinking about it, and then either the company or product got bloated by the success (with the price to match) and suddenly the upgrades needed thinking about, and that's the loyal inertia-driven income stream gone.

[nigelwright7557]

i think my main point was giving stuff away wont make you rich.
Easy-PC gave away one of their lesser pcb design packages and went on to sell the new version for £379 a go and did ok.
this killed off a lot of cheaper packages.
Kicad is now the main free package i have to compete with.
i agree about bloatware as Easypc forum is full of people complaining about bugs.

[nigelwright7557]

Not quite that simple. You might have a significant number of users for your free or low-cost product, but double the price and watch most of them disappear. Where is the funding going to come from for the new mouths you now have to feed? Maybe bumping up the price of the product to compensate, and now you have an even more niche clientele.

is it better to sell 100 with £1 profit or sell 1 with £100 profit?
with 100 times more customers there is more chance of attracting people who have problems.
i spend half my life hand holding because people dont understand the basics of pcb design.
some people just wont spend money, you would be gobsmacked how many customers i have talked to still on Win XP

[PlainName]

Swings and roundabouts. On the face of it, supporting 1 customer instead of 100 looks pretty good, but you're stuffed if that one customer decides he's no longer interested. Lost 20 of the 100 and there's probably another 30 waiting to tie you down in silly support calls

[E-Design]

i think my main point was giving stuff away wont make you rich.
Easy-PC gave away one of their lesser pcb design packages and went on to sell the new version for £379 a go and did ok.
this killed off a lot of cheaper packages.
Kicad is now the main free package i have to compete with.
i agree about bloatware as Easypc forum is full of people complaining about bugs.

Getting rich / making money isnt always the point. If that was your point, I think you might be in the wrong thread.
If you would like to offer software as a business there is nothing wrong with that, have at it.
Competing with the free stuff makes it better for the users. Because now, you have to offer something that's worth paying for.
Those who cant or wont compete, either improve their offerings-- or die away.. it it the natural law of things.

ZofZ is doing great things and he should keep going and keep a free offering. I for one, am thankful for his dedication.

[nigelwright7557]

Getting rich / making money isnt always the point. If that was your point, I think you might be in the wrong thread.
If you would like to offer software as a business there is nothing wrong with that, have at it.
Competing with the free stuff makes it better for the users. Because now, you have to offer something that's worth paying for.
Those who cant or wont compete, either improve their offerings-- or die away.. it it the natural law of things.

ZofZ is doing great things and he should keep going and keep a free offering. I for one, am thankful for his dedication.

with free offerings all that happens is companies see that and realise its pointless to develop software and walk away.
if i was starting out again i would avoid writing cad software like the plague.
i have found i have had to diversify into specialist hardware/software to compete.
making money is vital to fund software projects properly unless you have a day job too.

while i am impressed with his software i never use 3d viewers.
i just make sure my 2d components are correct sizes.

[Mechatrommer]

...for collision detection, before post-production disaster... today in order to compete, one need to be the best (better service better product better price better offering etc) otherwise they will just die like the rest...

[Quarlo Klobrigney]

First of all, thanks for the software. I had been using it on and off for a few years now. Nothing commercial, just my own PCBs. I would use it to verify other viewers that just seemed to misbehave. Yours ran without issue as a visual confirmation. I downloaded the latest version and started to play around with which features are free and which are not. No problem with licensing some extras. Well I was able to right click on the component and do adjustments to shape, size etc. Now when I right click on the component, I cannot adjust anything as the "Body Builder" menu option is gone. Is there a limitation as to how many times I can use that function? I've used it for about a day, See the attached "Modify" photo. Thanks.

Quote from: zofz on 2017-02-26, 23:41:03

Right-click menu for component model and parameters (like elcap height) - I am still working on it. I hope to release this in couple of weeks.

[zofz]

First of all, thanks for the software. I had been using it on and off for a few years now. Nothing commercial, just my own PCBs. I would use it to verify other viewers that just seemed to misbehave. Yours ran without issue as a visual confirmation. I downloaded the latest version and started to play around with which features are free and which are not. No problem with licensing some extras. Well I was able to right click on the component and do adjustments to shape, size etc. Now when I right click on the component, I cannot adjust anything as the "Body Builder" menu option is gone. Is there a limitation as to how many times I can use that function? I've used it for about a day, See the attached "Modify" photo. Thanks.

Quote from: zofz on 2017-02-26, 23:41:03

Right-click menu for component model and parameters (like elcap height) - I am still working on it. I hope to release this in couple of weeks.

It looks like the "Parametric" model generator is disabled. It could be caused by the end of license validity, as the modeler is a "premium" feature. Or it can be caused by configuration - see picture.
There is a promo-code: EEVBlog60 valid to the end of weekend, 60% reduction. 

[Quarlo Klobrigney]

 I downloaded the free version. So the real answer is that it was working and has a limited time functionality? You haven't quite answered the question.

[zofz]

I downloaded the free version. So the real answer is that it was working and has a limited time functionality? You haven't quite answered the question.

The same image can operate in the premium mode and in the free mode:
There are 3 demo designs included.
The program loads one demo design, after the other, by first 3 starts.
I want the user to see the demos in a fully loaded mode, of course. So the program acts in the premium mode, whenever the demo is loaded. This includes the Parametric Modeler and the STEP file export.
This mode override ends, when you load your own design.
In case no valid license key is stored in the program, after the 3 demos are shown, the program randomly shows a nagging info. The popping up nagging message can be disabled by switching off the Parametric Modeler. Go to menu: Components / Model Generator / Extruded (free)
Or, of course, by a license key. There you can have date based, 30-day, free license per email address.

[Jay_Diddy_B]

Hi ZofZ and the group,

Does anybody know if the viewer supports blind vias? That vias that only go from layer 1 to 2 on a 4  layer board.

Many thanks!!

Regards,
Jay_Diddy_B

[zofz]

Hi ZofZ and the group,

Does anybody know if the viewer supports blind vias? That vias that only go from layer 1 to 2 on a 4  layer board.

Many thanks!!

Regards,
Jay_Diddy_B

yes.
If auto-load does not recognize the drill files from-to values in the filenames, please adjust it before rendering. If you have laser vias, you can also adjust the style and direction. All of this settings, in the Drill-Plate stackup list, before rendering.

[nigelwright7557]

Amazing graphics, very impressed.
Do I need a pcb viewer ?
No, my pcb libraries already shows the exact component outline.

[zofz]

Windows UI, Internal layers STEP, new Flattening ---> version 2.0


Download: https://www.zofzpcb.com/Gerber-Viewer-Download.html

[nigelwright7557]

Very clever software and very pretty drawings too.
However never had a use for a 3d PCB viewer.
I just make sure my library component outlines are correct in the first place.

[PlainName]

I guess that means you don't need to trouble yourself with this, then.

[sleemanj]

For somebody who never uses 3d viewers you sure do like to post a lot in this thread nigelwright7557

[zofz]

update:

A lot of bug fixes. UI and flattening/triangulation.

new features:

• marking and measurements between multi-selected objects (like two tracks) https://www.zofzpcb.com/Measurements-Table
• STEP export where objects are grouped by Net. Should be helpful for EM-FEM Simulation

There will be no hotfix/updates for a couple of months now - I have started ODB++ and a bunch of functionality related to handling multiple PCBs, like comparison and piggy-back arrangements.

I have started a Users' Forum   https://www.zofzpcb.com/forum/ - please visit, and register, of course - don't let me down!

FREE License Program for Open-Source-Hardware designers https://www.zofzpcb.com/reg/OSH-Free-License

The net-ordered STEP export image:


And the use-case:


see https://www.zofzpcb.com/Gerber-to-STEP-Export for details.

[zofz]

Hi,
long time.

Version 3 is out and fairly seasoned (3.2.1)

What is new:

• ODB++
  I kind of completed the task, the program reads Gerber, ODB++, and IPC2581 now. This is the free offering.
  
• Board revision compare, multiple PCB loading capability, allowing to show assemblies. I have decided that this will be the premium offering.
  
• DX9 updated to DX11 - a time-consuming task related to fighting the "well-known vulnerabilities".
  
• A number of small improvements, like searching sub-directories in Gerber Autoload

[Microdoser]

Interesting app, I'll have a look

[SiliconWizard]

Just for the record, I tried running it (portable version) with Wine on Linux, and it does, really, not work properly. There are odd resource problems apparently - no menu, missing strings, etc.
But the demo board appears to load fine (on its own) and the 3D viewer seems to work well and snappy. So making it work with Wine is probably not that far away. I can help with testing if you're interested.

[zofz]

Yes, I have lost the compatibility; the program has problems running on Wine. I guess I am using too many of the new Windows features in the UI. BTW, Wine is quite good when installing the software instead of using the 'portable' version.
I need to go back to Linux and Wine. In some sense, time works in my favor as the Wine improves.

And ZofzPCB works on the M1-ARM Mac! See zofzpcb forum topic

Someone also requested improvement for Linux on the forum, I will be continuing the discussion there: another zofzpcb forum topic

[Quarlo Klobrigney]

Have you tried using Bottles in Linux?
It was the only way I could install and use stubborn Windows programs.
I would post a link, but you can do the usual program installer in whatever flavour of Linux you use.