Blender allows the creation of highly realistic renders and animations from the 3D model of a PCB exported from KiCAD.

Prerequisites

I don’t want to waste time cleaning up the generated model and dealing with random crap, so I prefer to use the pcb2blender plugin, which automates the generation of the Blender object and already handles materials and such. In short, it makes the job MUCH easier.

However, you have to be careful when installing it, at least as of 20/03/2025, and I’ll explain the errors and how to fix them below.

Here’s the list of prerequisites:

• pcb2blender (KiCAD plugin)
• pcb 3d importer (Blender plugin)
• Blender (version <4.4 as of today)

Installing pcb2blender

First, try installing and running the plugin directly from KiCAD’s plugin manager. If it works — great.

If not, here’s how to fix it:

Solution

1. Go to the plugin’s GitHub repo (pcb2blender) and find the pcb2blender exporter folder.
2. Locate the folder where KiCAD keeps its third-party plugins.
3. Replace the files there with the ones from the main branch on GitHub.

You can do this by copying and pasting the content manually, cloning the repo, unzipping — whatever works for you. The key point is: overwrite the files.

Installing PCB 3D importer

As of now, this plugin doesn’t work in versions ≥4.4 (which is the most up to date), so stick with earlier versions — 4.3 worked best for me.

1. In Blender, go to Edit > Preferences (Edit is in the top bar).
2. Select Get Extensions, grant permissions, and so on.
3. Find the plugin or drag it in from its official page.
4. Install and done.

Usage

Easy: File > Import > PCB (.pcb3d) and you’re good to go — the object comes in with preloaded settings and materials.

Next, we’ll go over the steps to render a PCB and make it look like what you’ll see on the next page.

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