New CAD 3D Model: Rotary Encoder RGB Illuminated
I have seen quite a few boards using the Rotary Encoder RGB Illuminated (COM-10982) sold by Sparkfun. We would like to have support for this part in Copper, but we couldn't find it. The manufacturer didn't have a CAD model either. So we created it ourselves using Fusion 360. Awesome software it is. The part is available in Coppers 3D Part Library in the "Switches" category and is named "Rotary Encoder RGB Illuminated". Have fun with it. You may also download it from this locations: * 3D Content Central * Fusion 360
Version 1.1.2 released
We just released version 1.1.2. This is mainly a bugfix release, although we added a few minor features. How to update: If you have bought Copper in Mac App Store just download the update (as usual) from the Mac App Store Application. If you downloaded a Trial or have bought it in our own store, please choose menu Copper -> Check for Updates. Bugs fixed: Fixed a Problem with corrupted 3D models (see below for details) Pads with "Long" shape are displayed correctly now Schematics View now scales and positions sheets correctly Schematics don't hover items that are invisible due [...]
Version 1.1 has landed
Before we begin: Thank you so much for your very positive feedback either per email or as ratings and reviews in the App Store. That is so motivating! Releasing a software is always a very exciting experience as you never know if users love your app or think it's a piece of crap. It looks like Copper seems to fall in the first category and this makes us work even harder. Today, we are releasing Copper 1.1. This is what Copper looks like now: He have added a lot of features and have fixed every bug that has been reported. Copper 1.1 is available [...]
Why you can’t import 3D models yourself
UPDATE (May 5, 2016): It's now possible to import (custom) STEP models. It's available in 1.3 which is in now in open beta. More info can be found here: Importing CAD 3D models. UPDATE (January 11, 2016): We recently got the foundation of this feature working: STEP import! Importing your own models, sharing them with the community, forks for custom materials and a lot more will be released in the March update that is scheduled around March 20, 2016. We have written a blog post about our progress in this area and how the new feature will exactly work. [...]
What’s next?
Now that Coppers initial version is released to the public I want to give an outlook of what will be the next few steps. Copper has been developed from scratch and from the ground up to be a native Mac OS X Cocoa Application. It uses latest Apple technology and I will do so in the future. I don't have any plans at the moment to port it to Windows as this would slow down development pace and wouldn't be a lot of fun at all. It will be a long road to actually build a full EDA software suite that allows you to create [...]
Copper is available on the Mac App Store now
Today, Copper has been approved for Mac App Store. And to celebrate the release of Copper it'll be available for a limited time for just 24,99 Euro/USD. Thank you very much beta testers for downloading and testing Copper. With your help I could fix a few nasty bugs and I think I could release a robust and feature rich initial 1.0 release.
Let’s get started
It all started with quite a complex PCB that I have been developing with Eagle CAD. A 4-Layer PCB with a lot of parts (>100) and quite a few ICs with a lot of pins. All these traces, all this pins and pads. There are so many possibilities to screw it up, that I always thought about this sentence all of you interested in this kind of stuff know well: "Hardware is hard". It is. And after triple checking every pin and trace, working through dozens of data sheets and controlling pin layouts I had it in front of me: My very [...]