Kai Bader writes, “I’m currently working on a custom development board, based on a quarter of a century old microprocessor, the Sharp LH5801. This microprocessor is the heart of the Sharp PC-1500(A) Pocket Computer, also known as Tandy TRS-80 Model II.” More details at Kai Bader’s blog.
Tag Archives: Kicad
2015 Release Candidate Branch And RC1
Kicad announce 2015 Release Candidate 4.0.0 RC1: We are pleased to announce that KiCad has finally made a 2015 release branch. The 2015 stable release of KiCad will start from version 4.0.0. Currently we are in the release candidate phase and as such BZR 6188 is now known as 4.0.0 RC1. The 4.0 branch can […]
Experience with the DirtyPCBs
Iñigo of ElektroQuark shares his experience with DirtyPCBs (machine translation). He talk about how to order at Dirtypcbs.com and how to prepare files from KiCAD for DirtypPCBs. Via the contact form.
BOMtools: Python scripts build Kicad part database
Steve Rodgers has been busy coding. He’s developed a set of Python scripts (BOMtools) which allow you to extract part numbers from a Kicad schematic and match them to a part number database. There are two scripts. One which does the part merge operation and is called from Kicad and the other which manages the […]
Eagle vs. KiCad revisited
Steve Chamberlin of Big Mess o’ Wires writes: Four and a half years ago, I wrote a mini-review of Eagle vs. KiCad, two of the most popular software tools for hobbyists creating custom circuit boards. I concluded that while KiCad had lots of promise, it was too full of quirks and bugs to recommend, and […]
Kicad converter for TM-240A Pick-and-Place machines
Kicad converter for TM-240A Pick-and-Place machines by Wayne and Layne: The Pick-and-Place machine needs to know where to place each part, and we have created some software to help convert the PCB design data from our favorite ECAD tool, KiCad, into the proper file format needed for these PnP machines. The documentation for this software is […]
KiCad: CERN’s contribution to Free/Open PCB design
Bearmos writes, “Looks like more good things are going to be coming to KiCAD, thanks to the folks at CERN. It sounds like they’re committing a programmer full time for one year to the project.” One of the main issues the open hardware community must overcome to reach a maturity level akin to that of […]
Share and visualize KiCad components with KiCadCloud
Alan C. Assis writes with a new way to share and visualize KiCad components. It is not easy to find KiCad components. Normally people search at www.kicadlib.org or just “Google” for the component part-number + KiCad, but neither approach normally will return good results. At end of day he/she decides to “home-brew” their components. But […]
KiCad video tutorials
Tom from Numato Labs writes: We have launched a new KiCad tutorial video series at the Numato Labs’ Youtube channel. Hoping this would help the KiCad learners out there. Via the contact form.
Kicad Tutorial: Using the autorouter
WayneAndLayne is doing a series of short Kicad tutorials. This next tutorial in the series will show you how to use autorouter: Routing, the process of connecting all the pads of a printed circuit board (PCB) layout, can be a time-consuming and tedious process. To avoid the time and frustration of manually routing your PCB, there […]
Kicad Tutorial: Copper pours / fills
Here’s another Kicad tutorial by Wayne and Layne: Copper pours / fills: A copper pour or fill refers to an area on a printed circuit board where the original copper is not etched away, and remains in place, usually electrically connected to the Ground signal, producing a “Ground Plane”. This has a number of advantages, […]
Kicad tutorial: PCB edges
Here’s a short Kicad tutorial by Wayne and Layne: PCB edges An important part of designing a PCB is to clearly indicate the outline of the board, so the board house will know how to cut your boards apart. Most PCBs are rectangular, but sometimes you want to add a more complex outline (like a […]
Eagle Parts: Our Eagle library converted to KiCad
Lately we’ve been testing the KiCad waters. For the ATX Breakout Board v2 we needed to escape Eagle’s PCB constraints, and we succeed. A major hurdle to using any new CAD package is that all your part libraries have to be built again. Luckily Sjaak pointed us to a script that helps you convert your […]
Our KiCad EDA experience with ATX breakout v2
Last week we used the open source circuit design and PCB layout program KiCad to design version 2 of the ATX Breakout Board. This came as a necessity because the free version of Eagle is restricted to 100mm x 80mm PCBs, and the current ATX breakout already uses all that space. Read our likes, dislikes, […]
Kicad libgen tool
Boseji informs us of the new libgen tool for creating Kicad schematics symbols. This tool is based on Python and can generate one Component from a XML file.This tool in multiple ways emulates the Quick KICAD Library Component Builder online tool for generating the symbols. However since it’s standalone it becomes easier to edit and […]
CPLD breakout board ported to KiCad
Numanto Lab ported one of our CPLD breakout boards from the original Eagle files to the open source KiCad. CPLD breakout board design in KiCad based on design by Ian Lesnet of Dangerous Prototypes. This board is completely designed in KiCad in 3-4 hours. Get the CoolRunner-II development board for $15 and XC9572XL dev-board for […]
KiCad open source PCB layout package reviewed
T Boyd wrote a review of the open source schematic and PCB layout program KiCad: That makes the third PCB CAD package I’ve spent hours getting to know a bit about. And I like it, at 8/11. Looks like the hours I spent trying to learn the other two were partly wasted.It is early days […]
Tutorials for KiCad
KiCad is an open source PCB layout program. It’s not as well loved as Eagle, but there’s no restrictions on board size. Curiousinventor’s KiCad tutorial covers many of the common issues new users will encounter. Thanks Kelvin! Via the tips line.
Kicad tutorial
Kicad is an open source (GPL) software for the creation of electronic schematic diagrams and printed circuit board artwork, and consists of a set of four softwares and a project manager: Eeschema (schematic entry), Pcbnew (board editor), Gerbview (GERBER viewer), Cvpcb (the footprint selector for components used in the circuit design) and the Kicad project […]