KiCAD 6.0 Netclass board setup recommendations

11 Sep 2022

I’m looking for some recommendation on KiCAD netclass board setup. What do you use for clearance, via size and track width?

I realize the most appropriate response to this questions depends on a number of factors. I’m hoping for a generalization from a individual that has some experience. I'm new to KiCAD and would like to generalized setup information.

Fritzing had six track widths to select from. I typically used the larger sizes for power and others for signal. With KiCAD 6.0 default is set but what are reasonable setting for others.

I have purchased PCB using Fritzing generated Gerber files without issue. I don’t reconfigure the default options provided by the PCB manufacture, I just use their defaults and upload my Gerbers. I know I need to learn some of the heavy lifting Fritzing does regarding setup. I'm hoping I can do this on KiCAD without having to dive into the deep end of knowledge.

Care to share you knowledge on the use cases for netclass board setup or a quick resource I can use to do some generalizations?

Top Comments

shabaz over 2 years ago in reply to colporteur +1

For all low-level signals (e.g. to Arduino, op amps etc) on a typical PCB, 8 mil is as good a choice as any other, it is not too thin to be unreliable for the PCB manufacturer, and not unnecessarily thick…

colporteur over 1 year ago

I linking this post to this question as a possible resource.
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shabaz over 2 years ago in reply to colporteur

For all low-level signals (e.g. to Arduino, op amps etc) on a typical PCB, 8 mil is as good a choice as any other, it is not too thin to be unreliable for the PCB manufacturer, and not unnecessarily thick.

You could comfortably drop down to 6 mil if space is tight anywhere.

For power connections, you can continue to use whatever worked for you with Fritzing etc, there are calculators but if your PCB isn't that large and current isn't beyond an amp or so, then 24 mil is fine (for 2 amps or so, then 48 mil would be better). If you want to calculate then a good free tool is called Saturn PCB Toolkit, but it is Windows only.
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shabaz over 2 years ago in reply to colporteur

There will be other sources for this information too, however some suggested values for JLC PCB are also in the blog post here:

KiCad 6 Unofficial Quick Start Training / Video

(scroll down to the section called PCB Editor Configuration Screenshots).
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colporteur over 2 years ago in reply to misaz

I have used JLCPCB with very good success.

In Fritzing I used 24mil width for all wiring except power where I would use 48mil.

Looking at KiCAD the default is 8mil, a 1/3 of what Fritzing labels as standard default.

I'm hoping to get some default values for things like power rails, input signals, output signals. I do understand the values depend on the wiring application it has to support but for something small can it be generalized.

I could convert the 24mil and 48mil but what about clearance and vias. Just to much to know as a novice.
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misaz over 2 years ago

I usualy use default setting but sometimes when I need small I modified paramter according to manufacturer requirements. Default parameters are suitable for most hobby project manufactured by OSHPark, JLCPCB, PCBway, ..., and so on.
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