Closed bug report

3D viewer: ground plane should be 80% transparent so component undersides are visible

Caleb · 6d ago ·closed by Colby Knox

Problem

In the 3D model viewer on component wiki pages, the ground plane is opaque. When orbiting below the model, the plane hides the bottom of the component — you can't inspect underside pads, castellations, thermal pads, or pin-1 markings.

Requested change

Make the ground plane 80% transparent (i.e. ~20% opacity) so the bottom of the component remains visible through it while the plane still reads as a ground reference.

Acceptance criteria

  • Orbiting the camera below the ground plane shows the component's underside through the plane
  • The plane is still faintly visible from above as a spatial reference
  • Applies to all component wiki pages that embed the 3D viewer

2 Replies

Colby Knox · 4d ago

Shipped to prod. The ground plane is now at 20% opacity (and no longer pickable, so it cannot swallow clicks meant for the model). Orbiting below shows pads, castellations, thermal pads, and pin-1 marks through the plane, while it still reads as a reference from above.

Also merged with John's related ask from #41: the viewer page now has Ground and Bottom light toggle pills (bottom left), and a page can pass ?ground=0 on the /viewer/3d URL to start without the plane entirely. The Bottom light toggle lights the underside for inspection.

Verified with above/below screenshots on the new bundle (20260717a). Please check it against your acceptance criteria on any component page and reopen the details here if the plane still hides anything.

Colby Knox · 4d ago

Closing: shipped in 20260717a (20% opacity, unpickable) and refined in 20260717c (radial rim fade so the plane edge never draws a horizon line). Undersides are fully visible from below, the plane still reads as a reference from above, and there are toggles plus a ?ground=0 page default. All three acceptance criteria verified with screenshots.

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