Wasting time is such a waste (duh). Once you have modeled an object, it is great to have a library of part. The question is…how do you organize them in a way that you can find the part you need and easily import the part into you new design.
Today was my first attempt a building a library in Blender. I created a Blend file with 57 different configuration. There are 19 different resistance values (as indicated by the resistor color code) and each resistor is saved in 3 different mesh forms. The first form is straight. The 2nd form has both terminals bent at 90 degrees for horizontal mounting on a breadboard. The 3rd formation has one terminal bent to 180 degrees for vertical mounting on a breadboard.
I also created labels for each resistor. The labels are easy to turn on and off. The labels also share the same material so if you change the color of one…you change them all. This is a feature and not a bug.
It was mostly straight forward and it was very tedious. Getting the color bands to match the proper name. This could have used some coding to improve the efficiency.
Now that I have been through the exercise of creating a library, looking for Blender add-ons with the features I want should be easier.
If you are interested in resistor collection, it can be downloaded at CGTrader.com: https://www.cgtrader.com/3d-models/electronics/other/4-band-resistor-kit-on-breadboards
Simmer3D 