PCB 3D Print Settings

Using Altium Documentation

Created: December 10, 2020 | Updated: December 15, 2021

Contents

Summary
Access
Options/Controls

All Contents

The PCB 3D Print Settings dialog

Summary

This dialog allows you to define settings when generating a print of the board in 3D.

Access

The dialog is accessed in the following ways:

Click File » Export » PCB 3D Print from the main menus of the PCB editor.
With the PCB 3D Print entry selected on the Default Prints tab of the Project Options dialog, click Configure.

To access the Default Prints tab of the Project Options dialog, the Value field for the UI.ProjectOptions.DefaultPrints option on the Advanced Settings dialog must be enabled. The Advanced Settings dialog is accessed by clicking the Advanced button on the System – General page of the Preferences dialog. If any changes are made in the Advanced Settings dialog, the software must be restarted in order for the changes to take effect.
If the PCB 3D Print output type is the default print for the PCB editor, click File » Print Preview then right-click in the main window and choose Configuration.
From the OutpuJob editor – right-click on a PCB 3D Print output then click Configure.

Options/Controls

Render Resolution

Use this region to specify the quality of the 3D model to be printed in terms of resolution. Supported resolutions are 75 DPI, 150 DPI, 300 DPI, and 600 DPI.

The available resolutions are not printer dependent.

View to Print

Use this region to select the view of the board to be printed. Choose from the following options:

Entire Board From Above – choose to print the 3D view of the board looking directly down from above the board (camera perspective is perpendicular to the board).
Entire Board From Below – choose to print the 3D view of the board looking directly up from below the board (camera perspective is perpendicular to the board).
Custom – choose this option then click Take Current Camera Position to print the 3D view of the board as it is currently displayed in the PCB editor.

If you make a change to the orientation of the board in the 3D design space, you will need to access this dialog then click Take Current Camera Position again to update the print configuration.

The Custom view option allows you to print out views of the board from different perspectives.

View Configuration

Click Take Current View Configuration to apply the current design space view configuration settings for surface colors, visibility, opacity, and board thickness.

View Configuration settings are defined on the View Configuration panel.

If you make a change to the 3D view configuration, you will need to access this dialog then click Take Current View Configuration again to update the print configuration.

Image Format for Folder Output

Use the drop-down menu to select the image format for the generated print. Choose from .bmp, .jpg, and .png.

Preview

This region displays a preview of what will be printed. It will dynamically update as changes are made in the View to Print and/or View Configuration regions of the dialog.