F.A.Q.
My outline is correct but the board does not appear in Sketchup.
This is a known issue of Sketchup on systems using the comma (,) as a default decimal separator.
There is no fix yet, you can try to change your regional settings to use a dot, import the eup file, then revert to your comma setting.
The board is not generated correctly.
This happens when the outline of the board is not a single closed path. Here I had left the technical borders for manufacturing of the PCB. eagleUp only supports a single outline. Try removing the unnecessary lines from your layout and export again.
The export in Eagle works, but it does not import in Sketchup
There seems to be an issue when non-english characters such as ü, ö or å are present in the folder path. This is a Windows related issue so I cannot help but suggest you use a different path.
Which layers are used by eagleUp ?
eagleUp uses two layers for internal process :
int drill_image_layer = 116;
int imagesize_layer = 222;
These lines are at the beginning of the ULP file. If these layers are in conflict with your setup, edit and pick a free layer.
Importing my design in Sketchup is very slow
- Using a lower resolution like 300 dpi (this is sufficient to check the placement of the parts, you can use a higher resolution when the design is finalized)
- Installing the xxx-Q8 versions of ImageMagick instead of the xxx-Q16 (the processing is done on 8-bit per color which is sufficient for our images and is 50% faster)
- Skipping the vias (eagleUp 4.3 and later). This reduces the complexity of the model and is faster to create and display.
- Using as much as possible simple skp models for the parts. Models created from step/iges are heavy and not optimized. It is more efficient to draw your own parts whenever possible.
- do not use the “use jpg images instead of png” setting, unless required by your post processing. The jpg images are heavier and slower to display than the png.
The displayed model is blurred.
In Sketchup, go to Window menu, then Preferences, then OpenGL tab. I activate the three first options and select the higher settings in the list (yours might be different).
The image is larger than the board, holes and components are misplaced.
Set the width of the dimension lines to zero to correct this problem.
The solder is not visible between the component and the pads
For a very realistic view you should place the tin on your skp models. With trial and error you will find the best looking shape.
Is eagleUp free ?
Yes, eagleUp is a free tool. A donation is always appreciated.
The import and export scripts are freely readable so you can edit them and learn new techniques.
I am in a hurry. Can you make the 3D model of my project ?
Sure, contact me for a quotation.
I like this tool and would like to contribute. What can I do ?
You can subscribe to the beta tester list to help develop the future releases.
Even if you are not familiar with ULP and Ruby coding, feel free to suggest ideas of improvements, different methods or tools to make eagleUp better and faster.
You can also support the development by making a small donation.
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I leave the comments open on this page, feel free to leave your questions 
made according to tutorial, worked perfectly.
may be the dimensions should be in mm, we can use the dimension tool and make a mechanical drawing out of it. in present case it is displaying dimensions in meters
Hello Rauol,
I use meters because SketchUp is not precise enough when working with mm.
You can scale your model 1000:1 just before adding the dimensions.
Jerome
Hi,
Is there any way to render without a solder mask as a couple of boards I am working on I’m not planning to have one.
Ian.
You can try to adjust the board color for the natural epoxy color. Then draw a rectangle of tStop and bStop over the whole board to remove the solder mask. Choose silver for the trace color.
Jerome
Hi Jerome, let me firstly thank you for your excellent tool.
I discoverd it one week ago searching for a 3D tool for Eagle; I used a lot Eagle3D from Mathias (a great program and a very nice guy), but it is quite complex to manage.
I then re-downloaded SketchUP8; this was tested and then discarded since unuseful for me until I found the connection to Eagle.
After few days of learning and testing I was able to completely reproduce one of my board, using parts downloaded from the wahrehouse and adding all the missing parts with my drawing.
Fantastic.
Two request and one question (I use the Windows version):
1. a choice to automatically delete all the image files, generated during the assembly process, at the end of job.
This to avoid the 11 requests to overwrite existing file, or manually delete them, when rebuilding the board; annoying.
2. Would be nice to have a tool, a command, a parameter…to cut all pins under the board at a given lenght, indipendently from model’s geometry. Looking below the surface there is a forest!
3. Question: what are the duplicated .skp files left in the model folder, with same name and desinence of working file, but unrecognized from operating system ?
They appear to be unuseful; I delete them regularly and everything runs ok.
Giacomo
Hello Giacomo,
Thanks for your feedback. Here are some answers :
1. Some users requested to keep the images so that they do not need to export, in case they import in Sketchup several times (this happens often of you miss some models at first). The warning appears on Eagle version up to 5.10. On Eagle 5.11 and 5.12 the message does not appear thanks to a new command. You can freely update to the latest 5.x version, it’s very reliable. Currently with eagleUp 4.3 the warning messages appear on Eagle 6.x This is a little bug that will be fixed in the next release of eagleUp. Check line 1071 in the ulp to see why.
2. This would be a very nice feature indeed. This is however not trivial to implement as you need to edit sub-models. My advice is that usually I design models with pins 3mm long below the origin. Common PCB are 1.6mm so there is 1,4mm left, close to the industry standards (remember the diagonal pliers used to cut all pins at the same length before wave soldering, usually around 1.5mm).
3. You have SKP files, SketchUp Part. And SKB where B is backup. You can indeed delete them.
Jerome
Hello Jerome, thanks for the answers.
1. I modified line 1071 (I use Eagle 6.1) to:
if( EAGLE_VERSION == 6 ) cmd += “SET CONFIRM OFF;\n”;
but it still asks for confirmation.
2. clear. I will modify all my models.
3. I am dumb; I did not notice that were SKP and SKB (sight problem)
New question:
what if want to have different versions of the same model?
(in example: Led3mm in red, green and yellow cases).
I saw your video on assigning attributes, but it appears to concern spatial placement.
Is there any way to select a different geometry according to a given parameter?
You say: ‘This attribute can be defined within the library (it then applies to all your components) or on board level for a single part.’
Sorry, but I am quite confused about this.
Giacomo
Hello Giacomo,
1. I have not tried yet Eagle 6.x sorry. I will come back on this later.
For your leds, create the parts in Sketchup and name them for exemple LED3MM_GREEN , LED3MM_RED … You can also vary the transparency/diffusion of the Led to match your real parts.
Then in Eagle, edit your (personnal) library and add the attribute EAGLEUP to the Led device, put LED3MM_RED as value. This will be the default value.
In your schematics/board you can edit the attribute of a given part, and overwrite the value, for ex LED3MM_GREEN.
Export with the ULP and import again. You should have now both colors on your board.
This method may look complex but it is entirely generic and can apply to any part, Leds, connectors, custom whatever… You can have small or large variations the method remains identical.
Jerome
Hi Jerome, I tried in this last two days to display different ‘skins’ for a model (Led), without result.
I believe to have done everything according to your indications:
1. I created 4 different (color) models, naming them LED3MM_RED, LED3MM_GREEN,…
2. I edited the Eagle led.lbr adding the attribute name EAGLEUP with value (default) LED3MM_RED and (variable) LED3MM_GREEN,…
3. In the schematics I set the attribute’s value for the 4 leds to the EAGLEUP models name.
4. Saved the board
5. Run the ULP
6. Open the board in SketchUP …
and all the leds are Red !
Actually, this was the result of many initial tests; then, I touched something (what?) and now they are always blue!
Selecting one of the component in SU, the Entity windows shows the correct model name (definition), despite of the wrong aspect.
Surely I made a mistake, but where ?
I could provide models, board, images or whatever needed.
Thanks if you can do something
Giacomo
I wish to inform that this issue has been fixed with a great help form Jerome.
The problem was my understanding of some particularity of SU behavior and in no way related to EagleUp.
Thanks Jerome
Finally it turned out to be a SketchUp design mistake. This could be useful for others so I will explain a bit.
When you set a material in a SkechUp model, a copy of it is stored in the model properties. Giacomo made a primary (very nice) Led model, then edited the material of the translucent plastic to vary the colour. But the material name stayed the same.
When eagleUp imports the first (blue) Led, the translucent plastic is imported into the board model. When the second (yellow) Led is imported, the Led appears blue. Surprising ! SketchUp optimizes the model by having only one instance of the material.
Conclusion of this interesting experience : when you want objects of various colours, make sure you apply different materials, and not edit an existing one. Alternatively you can make a copy of a material under a new name : transparent blue, transparent red, etc.
Hi there!
First of all: really good job! Easy to achieve 3D-models that look pretty good, too! Nice!
But I have one little problem: my 3D-model (the exapmle-board) doesn’t have any signal-layer. The top and the bottom side are grey. No matter if I use jpeg or png. In the eagleUp-subdirectory I can see the “eagleUp_demo3d_top.png” for example with all the signals, but they don’t appear in my model. I’ve tested with the 32- and the 64-bit version of ImageMagick 6.7.6, Eagle 6.1.0 and eagleUp 4.3.
Is this a known issue or a common mistake from my side?
Thanks for the help!
Hi,
Can you please try with this older version ?
http://image_magick.veidrodis.com/image_magick/binaries/ImageMagick-6.7.3-5-Q16-windows-dll.exe
Tell us if it improves.
Jerome
OK. That made it! Thanks! Looks really great!
I know that the setup-instructions one should use 6.7.3, but I think I installed 6.7.6 because this was the only linked version on the ImageMagick-page. But I’m not totally sure.
But thanks a lot!
Sven