Not so much a question but more a contribution. I was looking for a 3D model for the MKRVRS motor driver which I have incorporated into our new Rover robot. In the end I used the Kicad pcb on Github and exported a STEP file which gave me the basic board. I added in all the components. One or two might not be 100% correct but I ended up with the board and components. I then added some of the text. Ended up with this which I was pretty happy with.
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Hi Pete,
That model looks great!
What did you use to get a usable STEP out of KiCad? I’ve always heard FreeCAD was necessary, and I’ve never been able to get my head around its weird workflow.
If you shoot us a link to the CAD file, I’m sure we’d love to give it a closer look and maybe stick it on our product page with a link to this forum thread 
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Hi James,
Thanks for your response. I’m attaching the STEP file. Maybe you can correct the inaccuracies in it as I think I went for some generic components/packages.
My workflow was as follows:
- Load up the PCB layout model into Kicad (downloaded from Github)
- Hide all layers until I could easily the outlines for each component
- Search and place each component’s 3D model using the PCB component properties dialog
For step 3, I use Grabcad to find all of the component models. I deleted all of the .wrl files. I had previously tried the Blender route (open in blender and then re-save) but it didn’t work for me. - Once all the SMT components were placed, I exported the model as a STEP. This works surprisingly well.
- Opened it in Fusion and got the rest of the through hole components and jointed them in
- Finished off writing/colours
Hope this is useful.
Just to let you know, I’m using this for an educational robot that my company has built (version 3 of our Rover). We use this to run incursions and STEM clubs at high schools and stage 3 in primary. It has 4 wheel drive (parallel motor connections) using N20 motors and is powered with a 2S battery. The sensors are all Grove so are swappable. The custom PCB that we designed can take a Nano form factor microcontroller.
MKRVSR-Motor-Driver.zip (1.5 MB)
Many thanks
Pete…
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