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  • Author Author: Jan Cumps
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Create a custom footprint in KiCad 7 - 1: collect info and component details

Jan Cumps
Create a custom footprint in KiCad 7 - 1: collect info and component details

I'm going to draw my first footprint in the KiCad 7 Footprint editor.

image

I have experience with previous versions. To try out version 7, I'm going to make one for the Amphenol /  SV Microwave SF2921-61506-1S   SMA coaxial connector. In a first post on KiCad 7, I checked how to import a public domain footprint. This time I will try to mimic the microstripdesign that   spotted in an application note. In this exercise, I will make it single layer, without vias. I don't want to prescribe that the microstrip's reference plane is the bottom layer of a PCB stack. I can always make a second version with reference plane and vias.

Info collection and component details

As comparison, the imported footprint from previous post, the one from the application note with the best view, and the one from the note that I want to achieve:

image

image source for 2 and 3: Amphenol / SV Microwave app note

The middle pin of the coax connector is best set on a PCB copper layer. It has spring action and does not need a hole. The housing should land on a copper pad that's the size of the connector's footprint. The middle pin's microstrip trace (conductor) should snake out via the opening in the underside of the connector.

image

image source: Amphenol datasheet on element14 shop, annotated and edited by me

With this info, I should be able to define a footprint that looks approximately like this:

image
image source: Amphenol datasheet on element14 shop, annotated and edited by me

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