Polarized Electrolytic TH Capacitor

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   I've notice that 3D models for electrolytic capacitors place the minus (stripe) side on the same side as pin 1 for radial type packages.  
We would usually associate the plus side with pin 1.  
Is there a way to configure this in the Library Expert so you can dictate which side is plus and which side is minus? (I am an Altium user if it matters).

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jflagstad Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List New User Joined: 09 Feb 2015 Status: Offline Points: 5	Post Options Post Reply Quote jflagstad Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Polarized Electrolytic TH Capacitor Posted: 09 Feb 2015 at 2:25pm
	I've notice that 3D models for electrolytic capacitors place the minus (stripe) side on the same side as pin 1 for radial type packages. We would usually associate the plus side with pin 1. Is there a way to configure this in the Library Expert so you can dictate which side is plus and which side is minus? (I am an Altium user if it matters).



Tom H Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: 05 Jan 2012 Location: San Diego, CA Status: Offline Points: 5716	Post Options Post Reply Quote Tom H Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 09 Feb 2015 at 2:53pm
	Do you want the 3D STEP polarity on Pin 2?
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jflagstad Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List New User Joined: 09 Feb 2015 Status: Offline Points: 5	Post Options Post Reply Quote jflagstad Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 09 Feb 2015 at 3:15pm
	Yes, I need a way to keep pin 1 on the left, and the stripe on the 3D model on the right.

chrisa_pcb Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group Joined: 29 Jul 2012 Location: San Diego Status: Offline Points: 772	Post Options Post Reply Quote chrisa_pcb Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 09 Feb 2015 at 3:47pm
	If you import the STEP file manually, you should be able to specify a 180 degree rotation around the vertical axis. Since its centered on the origin, this should flip the stripe to the other side. Haven't tried it, but that should be a temp fix. Its also feasible to do this in code, but I would need some UI to denote this is what was intended and its a very specialized use case. I'll run it by Jeff.

jflagstad Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List New User Joined: 09 Feb 2015 Status: Offline Points: 5	Post Options Post Reply Quote jflagstad Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 09 Feb 2015 at 3:57pm
	Yep, importing the STEP itself with the 180deg. rotation works. I guess I was looking for this orientation coming direct from the "CreateALibrary" script that I wouldn't have to modify. I can also see the other side of this argument... that being we could just change our polarized capacitor symbol so the negative side is pin 1 and the positive side is pin 2. However, in our database library, we are using 1 symbol to many parts, so we wouldn't want to change that at this point. Having this as a configurable option in the UI would be desirable.

chrisa_pcb Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group Joined: 29 Jul 2012 Location: San Diego Status: Offline Points: 772	Post Options Post Reply Quote chrisa_pcb Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 09 Feb 2015 at 8:22pm
	The other side of the argument is you simply add it manually, or rotate the model itself 180 after placement. The issue I have is that for the FPX to handle it, the modification is so user specific to a single family that literally you're likely to be the only one that uses it. How many Radial Electrolytics are we talking?

jflagstad Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List New User Joined: 09 Feb 2015 Status: Offline Points: 5	Post Options Post Reply Quote jflagstad Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 10 Feb 2015 at 10:24am
	All of them :) Rotating the STEP is fine; we can deal with the three seconds it takes to do that. I was merely looking for another solution other than a manual edit. Thanks.