The 3D PCB Viewer application from Mentor Graphics Corporation provides you with a three-dimensional view of printed circuit board (PCB) designs and their components. PCB layouts can be flipped and rotated to give you views from the top, bottom, and sides in either two- or three-dimensions. The view can also be filtered so as to show or hide the components and traces that are located on the top or bottom of the board or on specific board layers. Planes can be filtered on any layer. Also, Board, Contours, Mounting Holes and Other Holes can be filtered.
The 3D PCB Viewer can also import and align mechanical models or three-dimensional cells so that you can see how the parts will fit together when assembled.
The 3D PCB Viewer is strictly a passive viewer so that it cannot be used to make any changes to the design itself. It simply provides you with greatly expanded viewing capabilities, including dynamic view updates that show changes to the state of the design in the active layout tool. Some possible uses for the 3D PCB Viewer include: