KB: MCAD CoDesigner Troubleshooting Guide

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MCAD CoDesigner Troubleshooting Guide

Verify the Installation and Configuration

Compatibility

Please check the below compatibility matrix: 

https://www.altium.com/documentation/altium-codesigner/new#ecad-mcad_version_compatibility_matrix

MCAD CoDesigner Plugin

Ensure the correct CoDesigner PlugIn version for MCAD is installed according to the above matrix. If not, download the compatible version here: https://www.altium.com/products/downloads 

MCAD CoDesigner Settings:

https://www.altium.com/documentation/altium-codesigner/direct-ecad-mcad-design#codesigner-mcad-settings-menu

MCAD CoDesigner User Permissions: 

The admin of the Altium Designer workspace needs to add the MCAD user to the workspace. Please check the share options (specifically "can edit") for the project as shown in the following documentation:

https://www.altium.com/documentation/altium-365/managed-projects#!sharing-overview 

https://www.altium.com/documentation/altium-365/inviting-users#!specifically-inviting-an-mcad-user 

Then, in Altium Designer > Explorer Panel right, click on the Mechatronics 3D Models Folder > Properties > Share

Check the permissions on 3D models and the projects

https://www.altium.com/documentation/altium-codesigner/linking-native-ecad-mcad-design-components#transferring-mechatronic-3d-models

MCAD Templates

It is recommended to use default templates with MCAD CoDesigner; if you have recently installed a new version of MCAD, check that the template paths reference the correct location of the new installation. When using custom templates, you may get a warning if the planes are not correctly defined in the template; older versions will build the PCB assembly incorrectly. Avoid placing in negative co-ordinates in MCAD. Matching the precision settings in ECAD to that in MCAD is recommended. Please see:

https://www.altium.com/documentation/altium-codesigner/video-tutorials#pcb-origins-during-the-ecad-mcad-exchange

Linking ECAD and MCAD Design Components:

https://www.altium.com/documentation/altium-codesigner/linking-native-ecad-mcad-design-components

Linking models with SOLIDWORKS PDM/Siemens Teamcenter PLM/PTC Windchill^® :

https://www.altium.com/documentation/altium-codesigner/direct-ecad-mcad-design#working-with-an-mcad-data-management-system

https://www.altium.com/documentation/altium-codesigner/linking-native-ecad-mcad-design-components#linking-from-the-ecad-components-to-the-mcad-components

Workflow Guides and Tutorials

Recommended workflow:

Please check that the recommended workflow has been followed:

https://www.altium.com/documentation/altium-codesigner/direct-ecad-mcad-design#recommended-collaboration-workflow 

Starting the design in MCAD:

https://www.altium.com/documentation/altium-codesigner/direct-ecad-mcad-design#starting_the_design_in_your_mcad_software

https://www.altium.com/documentation/altium-codesigner/direct-ecad-mcad-design#changes-that-will-not-be-transferred-from-mcad-to-ecad

Video Tutorials:

https://www.altium.com/documentation/altium-codesigner/video-tutorials

https://youtu.be/PsbOl5bN6-s?feature=shared

Resolving Warnings and Error Messages

Broken Models:

https://www.altium.com/documentation/altium-codesigner/video-tutorials#fixing-broken-component-models

AddALU_items failed:

The Admin of the workspace needs to give the user permissions.(See Permissions section above)

Micro-segments:

Please check the Health Check Monitor for any issues with microsegments:

https://www.altium.com/documentation/altium-designer/pcb-health-check-monitor

https://www.altium.com/documentation/altium-codesigner/direct-ecad-mcad-design#!resolving-issues-with-the-board-contour-in-ecad

If the automatic way cannot resolve this issue, you must do it manually.

See link: https://www.altium.com/documentation/altium-codesigner/direct-ecad-mcad-design#!manual-micro-segment-and-self-intersection-removal

Board Part is missing, local design is invalid:

If the Local Design is invalid there is a problem with the existing Mechanical Assembly, Push the design again from ECAD then try pulling the design in MCAD to a new local folder.

Unable to import model of component XXX. The model is replaced with a bounding box.

Check the template paths in MCAD and pull the design into a new folder if this works overwrite the previous assembly that used the wrong templates. If this does not help it could be that the model is broken please see video:

https://youtu.be/kDTYWvsDtAw

For issues regarding SOLIDWORKS decals:

Please see the below documentation: 

https://www.altium.com/documentation/altium-codesigner/preparing-solidworks-for-codesign#decal-storage-in-solidworks

If the decals do not display correctly, it may be a rendering issue in SOLIDWORKS. For more information on certified video cards and the latest video driver software updates, refer to https://www.solidworks.com/support/system-requirements. Note that the page includes a link to Certified Cards and Drivers, where you may be able to download an update patch for your video card.

If the previous step does not resolve the display of decals, in SolidWorks navigate to System>Performance and enable "Enhanced Graphics Performance" and restart, if this is all ready enabled then please disable it and restart.

For some video cards, disabling this option will help, for other video cards enabling it will help.If this does not help, enable "Use software OpenGL"In SolidWorks, navigate to Settings>Document Properties tab > Model Display and check "Store appearance, decal and scene data in the model file" Close SolidWorks and do a fresh Pull of the assembly.

Please try one of our example projects to see if the issue is present here. For example Kame_FMU project in the workspace or the following C:\Users\Public\Documents\Altium\AD24\Examples\SpiritLevel-SL1

Please try disabling any other Plugins installed in SolidWorks.

Creating a Support Case

If the problem still persists, please attach the following to your support case.

1. MCAD CoDesigner Logs: %localappdata%\Altium\Altium CoDesigner\
   1. For the ECAD Side: "AltiumDesignerExtension.log"
   2. and for the MCAD Side : "<MCAD>Addin.log"
2. Please also confirm the versions of the following:
   1. Altium Designer.
   2. The Altium Designer - CoDesigner Extension version.
   3. The Version of MCAD Installed.
   4. The version of the MCAD CoDesigner Plug in installed.
3. List any other Applications used in your workflow, PLM systems/Addins/External Cloud Storage etc
4. Please attach a screenshot of the CoDesigner Settings in the workspace:  https://www.altium.com/documentation/altium-codesigner/installing-configuring#controlling-the-naming-of-component-models
5. If the PCB will not push from ECAD please attach the *.PCBDoc.