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Need help making a fast transition to KiCad from Eagle.

genebren

For a while now, my desktop system was getting flakey.  Lots of blue screen crashes and finally a few reboots where the BIOS claimed to be unable to find the proper OS files (after resting for a while the reboot was successful).  I backed everything up and uninstalled/deactivated any software that I thought used any disk info as a part of the license lock.  I bought a new disk (larger than the old one that was filling up) and imaged the contents of the older disk onto the newer one.  Once everything appeared to be stable, I re-formatted the old disk to be a non-bootable, data disk.

I then started reactivating by software licenses.  This is when I found out that I did not deactivate my copy of Eagle.  Reaching out to Autodesk proved to be useless as they had no record of the purchase and claimed that the serial number that I had was not legal.  I am completely out of options to get a license key for my purchased copy of Eagle, so I am starting to look at using KiCad.  I downloaded the latest version and had luck importing a project into KiCad.  Now what I am looking for are any tutorials focused on prevision user of Eagle migrating to KiCad.

I started to try build a KiCad project from scratch (one of my existing project, but not imported).  Almost immediately I ran into parts not in the KiCad library which open a large can of worms that I was not quite ready to deal with.

I don't know if this is a function of advancing age, but my ability to understand or learn new things seems to take a larger and larger effort.  Thanks in advance to any help former Eagle user might be able to send my way. 

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  • I started from bare metal to learn KiCad. 30 years ago we did PCB by hand. Graph paper to draw the circuit and marker with tape to layout the board. Etch with chemicals and you had a board. I was dabbling in Fritzing when I heard chatter here about KiCad.

    I purchased a training  package from https://techexplorations.com/so/kicad-like-a-pro-3rd-edition/ I got everything I wanted and more. Shabaz has been my greatest source of inspiration and knowledge base since that. I've used a few of his design ideas in my projects.

    I estimate it took me three days with the material to come up to speed. By the end of the second day, I was using my own projects and the video instruction to keep pace. I started in version 6. I now see 8 is out. I've gotten updates from this course.

  • in reply to cstanton

    Yeah it has gotten pricey.

    I paid 75 bucks to get a book and access to the course material. It appears the material covered version 6 & 7 but I am on the hook to pay again for any version 8 material.

    They have priced themselves out of the market for any other training. I was looking at the Arduino stuff but being retired I have to be more picky on where I spend my hobby dollars.

  • in reply to colporteur

    Hi Sean,

    V8 of KiCad has near-zero difference in usage compared to V6/V7, only added features (which augment rather than change or remove existing ways of doing things), so perhaps no need to purchase V8 if you've already purchased earlier training.

    There are now some additional features that are nice-to-use and some may be discovered slowly over time.

    Some of those KiCad 8 features are discussed in comments here:

     KiCad 8 is here! 

    However a fuller list of KiCad 8 feature additions is here:

    https://www.kicad.org/blog/2024/02/Version-8.0.0-Released/

  • in reply to cstanton

    For  , who is a skilled PCB designer, I'd think that spending a weekend trying to make KiCAD designs would be more productive than reading a book or paying for a training path.

    It's not that intuitive, but neither is Eagle. However, if you try to design a few projects, from schematic to PCB to fab files, you hit the hardest hurdles. 

    The rest can be learned when needed.

  • in reply to shabaz

    I'm still using 7 and haven't moved to 8. I've kinda plateaued on knowledge needed to make PCB. What I have learned and knowledge I have accumulated from you and the E14 community has left me in good standing. I suspect 8 has some new feature that might make some thing easier. I'm not struggling so I'm really not looking.

  • in reply to Jan Cumps

    Yeah a few days was all it took to come up to speed. The course went through three projects each with more complexity. I substituted my own projects after I completed the first one.

    I benefit from directed learning. Discovery learning, not so much. I play in my basement for much discovery learning, but not if i have a timeline or specific expectations.

    I enrolled in the course because I wanted to learn KiCad fast. I looked for other resources and didn't feel I would accomplish the objective fast. I had used Fritzing and kept being disappointed. I also wanted reference material. The course provided an e-book and video material. I think after the first day I was branching out on my own and invested in my own projects.

    I've gone back to the material a few times to either follow up on something I didn't think I would ever use (i.e.rounded boards) and stuff I keep forgetting, assigning track widths to nets. Keeps me entertained.

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  • in reply to Jan Cumps

    Yeah a few days was all it took to come up to speed. The course went through three projects each with more complexity. I substituted my own projects after I completed the first one.

    I benefit from directed learning. Discovery learning, not so much. I play in my basement for much discovery learning, but not if i have a timeline or specific expectations.

    I enrolled in the course because I wanted to learn KiCad fast. I looked for other resources and didn't feel I would accomplish the objective fast. I had used Fritzing and kept being disappointed. I also wanted reference material. The course provided an e-book and video material. I think after the first day I was branching out on my own and invested in my own projects.

    I've gone back to the material a few times to either follow up on something I didn't think I would ever use (i.e.rounded boards) and stuff I keep forgetting, assigning track widths to nets. Keeps me entertained.

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