CAP3D-Viz: High-Performance 3D Visualization for CAP3D Files

Now Available on PyPI! Install with pip install cap3d-viz - View on PyPI

CAP3D-Viz is a high-performance Python package for parsing and visualizing 3D geometry from CAP3D files generated by capacitance solvers. It features state-machine parsing, memory-efficient streaming, and interactive 3D visualization optimized for large datasets in integrated circuit design workflows.

Key Features

• State-Machine Parser: 70-80% reduction in condition checking with dispatch tables
• Memory Efficient: Handles 10,000+ blocks with <8MB memory usage
• High Performance: Parse speed of 9,882+ blocks/second
• Interactive 3D Visualization: Real-time filtering and exploration
• Batched Rendering: Smooth visualization of 50k+ blocks
• Professional IC Features: Industry-standard layer colors and visualization modes
• Comprehensive Format Support: Blocks, polygons, layers, windows, and tasks

Performance Benchmarks

Metric	Performance
Parse Speed	9,882 blocks/second
Memory Usage	<8MB for 10k blocks
Filter Latency	<500ms for interactive operations
Rendering	50k+ blocks with batched optimization

Installation

From PyPI (Recommended)

🎉 CAP3D-Viz is now available on PyPI!

pip install cap3d-viz

Development Installation

git clone https://github.com/andykofman/RWCap_view.git
cd RWCap_view
pip install -e .[dev]

Dependencies

• Python ≥3.8
• NumPy ≥1.19.0
• Plotly ≥5.0.0
• Matplotlib ≥3.3.0

Quick Start

Basic Usage

from cap3d_viz import load_and_visualize

# Load and visualize a CAP3D file  
fig = load_and_visualize("your_file.cap3d")
fig.show()

Advanced Usage

from cap3d_viz import OptimizedCap3DVisualizer

# Create visualizer with custom settings
visualizer = OptimizedCap3DVisualizer(max_blocks_display=50000)
visualizer.load_data("large_file.cap3d")

# Create interactive visualization
fig = visualizer.create_optimized_visualization(
    show_mediums=True,
    show_conductors=True, 
    show_polys=True,
    use_batched_rendering=True,  # For large datasets
    z_slice=5.0,                 # Cross-section view
    opacity_mediums=0.3,
    opacity_conductors=0.9
)

fig.show()

Performance-Optimized Parsing

from cap3d_viz import StreamingCap3DParser

# Parse large files efficiently
parser = StreamingCap3DParser("massive_file.cap3d")
data = parser.parse_complete()

print(f"Parsed {len(data.blocks)} blocks")
print(f"Found {len(data.poly_elements)} polygonal elements")
print(f"Layers: {len(data.layers)}")

CAP3D File Format Support

CAP3D-Viz provides comprehensive support for all CAP3D elements:

Structural Elements

• <block>: 3D rectangular volumes with basepoint and vectors
• <poly>: Complex polygonal elements with custom 2D coordinates
• <medium>/<conductor>: Material sections with dielectric properties

Advanced Elements

• <layer>: IC layer definitions (interconnect, via, metal, poly, contact)
• <window>: Simulation boundary definitions
• <task>: Capacitance calculation targets
• <coord>: 2D coordinate data for polygonal shapes

Example CAP3D Block

<block>
    name block1
    basepoint(-2, -2, 0)    <!-- Starting corner -->
    v1(4, 0, 0)             <!-- Edge vector 1 -->
    v2(0, 4, 0)             <!-- Edge vector 2 --> 
    hvector(0, 0, 0.3)      <!-- Height/thickness -->
</block>

Visualization Features

Interactive 3D Controls

• Mouse Controls: Rotate, zoom, pan with intuitive interaction
• Component Toggling: Show/hide mediums, conductors, polygons independently
• Layer Filtering: Focus on specific IC layers with professional colors
• Z-Slice Views: Cross-sectional visualization at any height
• Real-time Statistics: Block counts, volume analysis, dimensional info

Professional IC Design

• Industry-Standard Colors: Metal, via, poly, contact layer visualization
• Level of Detail (LOD): Intelligent prioritization for large datasets
• Batch Rendering: Optimized trace grouping for smooth interaction
• Export Options: Save visualizations as interactive HTML files

Architecture

CAP3D-Viz uses a modular architecture for optimal performance and maintainability:

cap3d_viz/
├── data_models.py      # Core data structures (Block, Layer, etc.)
├── parser.py          # State-machine parser with streaming support
├── visualizer.py      # 3D visualization engine with caching
├── utils.py           # Convenience functions and utilities
└── __init__.py        # Main package interface

State-Machine Parser

• Context-Aware: Only checks relevant conditions per parsing state
• Dispatch Tables: Direct function mapping eliminates conditional chains
• Streaming Architecture: Memory-efficient line-by-line processing
• Pre-compiled Patterns: Cached operations for maximum speed

Scientific Applications

CAP3D-Viz is designed for researchers and engineers working with:

• Integrated Circuit Design: Visualization of IC layouts and parasitic structures
• Capacitance Analysis: 3D exploration of capacitive coupling effects
• EDA Tool Integration: Workflow enhancement for design automation
• Research Publications: High-quality figures for academic papers
• Design Verification: Visual validation of 3D geometry structures

Documentation

• API Reference: https://cap3d-viz.readthedocs.io/
• Tutorials: docs/tutorials/
• Examples: examples/
• Performance Guide: docs/performance.md

Testing

Run the test suite to verify installation:

# Install development dependencies
pip install -e .[dev]

# Run all tests
pytest

# Run with coverage
pytest --cov=cap3d_viz

# Run performance benchmarks
python -m cap3d_viz.benchmarks

Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please see our Contributing Guide for details.

Development Setup

git clone https://github.com/your-repo/cap3d-viz.git
cd cap3d-viz
pip install -e .[dev]
pre-commit install

Running Tests

pytest tests/
black cap3d_viz/
flake8 cap3d_viz/
mypy cap3d_viz/

📄 Citation

If you use CAP3D-Viz in your research, please cite:

@software{cap3d_viz_2025,
  author    = {Ahmed Ali},
  title     = {{CAP3D-Viz}: High-Performance {3D} Visualization for {CAP3D} Files},
  version   = {1.0.0},
  date      = {2025-07-24},
  publisher = {Zenodo},
  doi       = {10.5281/zenodo.16406690},
  url       = {https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16406690},
  repository= {https://github.com/andykofman/RWCap_view},
  type      = {software}
}

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

• RWCap Development Team: For the CAP3D file format specification

Support

• Issues: GitHub Issues

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CAP3D-Viz: Advancing 3D visualization for integrated circuit design and capacitance analysis.