PCB 3D Projection Modes

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Modified by Admin on Jul 29, 2014

Altium Designer's PCB editor can display your board design in glorious 3D, giving you not only a highly realistic view of what the assembled board will look like, but also the ability to perform critical design tasks, including:

3D clearance checking
Checking the location and presentation of text strings
Layer examination - switch to single layer mode in 3D
Perform measurements directly from the 3D view

The 3D Layout Mode supports 2 types of projection, Perspective and Orthographic, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. To switch the board to 3D, press the 3 shortcut or select View » 3D Layout Mode from the menus.

Perspective Projection

Perspective projection is a linear projection where three dimensional objects are projected on a picture plane. This has the effect that distant objects appear smaller than nearer objects, just like real objects appear to the human eye. While a perspective projection appears natural, the dimensions of objects in the image are not accurate so cannot be used to perform measurements.

Orthographic Projection

Orthographic, or parallel, projections involve no perspective correction. That is, there is no adjustment for distance from the camera made in these projections, meaning objects on the screen will appear the same size no matter how close or far away they are in reality. Orthographic projections often give the appearance that the object is distorted, so they lack that human realism that perspective projection offers. They are dimensionally correct though, they present object geometry precisely, allowing measurements to be take direction in the workspace.

Changing the Projection Mode

To toggle between Perspective and Orthographic projection use the Projection dropdown in the View Configurations dialog. Press the L shortcut to open the dialog when you are in 3D Layout Mode.

Note the three blue cylindrical capacitors on the right of the board, with a perspective projection their exact position is unclear and their designators can not be seen from the camera position.

In orthographic projection you can see that the exact area of the board that is covered by the three capacitors is visible and no designators are obscured.

Once the board has been rotated, perspective projection gives a realistic view of the board.

In orthographic projection the rotated board appears distorted.