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Would You Be Interested in Roadtesting KiCad EDA?

rscasny

KiCad has a following on the element14 Community, so we figured it would be a good thing to roadtest. It's a little different than what we usually roadtest, so we have a few questions. KiCad is free, so we were wondering what the potential roadtesters would like to see in the roadtest kit. There was a suggestion for the roadtesters to design a Raspberry Pi HAT. But we could also use a Pi/Ardunio library or even someone's own design. 

I have some polls below. I'd appreciate you voting. Thanks.


  • I used Kicad EDA for so long now and have made some designs using it.

    My idea is to make a schematic design in EAGLE and then switch to Kicad for PCB layout. The reason is that EAGLE offers good schematic design features compared to Kicad while Kicad has good features in PCB layout design. Also, it is open source.

    It would be really interesting to do a roadtest and one which covers different aspects such as Schematic design, PCB layout, Simulation of the circuit with Spice, Antena impedance calculation etc. That way we can Roadtest Kicad in a more effective manner. And also check how the theoretical values match practical performance.

  • in reply to embeddedguy

    The EAGLE import into KiCad is really excellent. However, it might be difficult to do this as a regular workflow, since the import is really just for working with legacy projects.

    Maybe it's possible to adjust the defaults in KiCad and EAGLE to match more closely so that it could be a regular workflow, but I think that will be tricky.

    In any case, KiCad is really good for EAGLE enthusiasts who want to maintain legacy projects. 

    I've wanted to make some changes to an old EAGLE project, and instead of just editing the project in EAGLE, I imported it all into KiCad.

    The left side is EAGLE, the right side is the KiCad import. Looks really good (although I will need to make a few minor tweaks for cosmetic purposes):

    image

    The fonts are different to the ones that KiCad uses by default, so that will be a bit annoying when adding new KiCad parts which use more normal fonts. Anyway it's a cosmetic thing (I was able to resolve it by doing search-and-replace of the font size in the .kicad_sch file, using a text editor).

    Also the PCB gets imported too, and it looks spot-on. During the import, the Auto-Match Layers button should be clicked. It won't auto-match EAGLE tRestrict and bRestrict layers which is a bit odd, but it's easy to resolve; simply set  the tRestrict layer to map to KiCad layer User.1 and set bRestrict to User.2. This seems to work,although I have no idea why. It was simply trial-and-error and it works for me.

    image

  • in reply to cstanton

    Just how Charlieo21 said - had both offerings. Seems we all have our favorites - when I need parts I go to DigiKey first.

  • I guess it's time for me to try KiCad :D

    I've only ever created one PCB before, which was for the Raspberry Pi sprinkler system 7 years ago, and that was in EAGLE.

    Since then I've used EAGLE for some small circuits to help me figure out how/where to place parts and run wires, but I've never been motivated enough to wait for a PCB.

  • in reply to ntewinkel

    Hi Nico,

    I recommend (in a biased way): 

    It covers schematic, PCB, symbol, and footprint creation (plus output file generation, of course), all in under 50 minutes.

    The title states KiCad 6 but is also relevant for the latest KiCad 7. I should update the title, I guess.

  • in reply to shabaz
    shabaz said:
    I recommend (in a biased way)

    I hear that author is brilliant, and handsome too! Slight smile

    Thanks for the tutorial! I’ll check it out right now.

  • in reply to shabaz

    Seems I’ve been pronouncing “key-kad” wrong Thinking Laughing I was thinking “kai-kad” like the sound in chai tea .

    great video,  , makes it all a little less daunting.

    From my very limited exposure to EAGLE, it appears to have a similar feel.

    I’m sure it’ll take me some time to remember when to press which key Stuck out tongue closed eyes 

  • in reply to ggabe

    To be clear, we will not be using DigiKey. The element14 Community is owned by Premier Farnell, Premier Farnell owns Newark, element14 and Farnell, and Premier Farnell is owned by Avnet.

    As you're on the element14 Community that's why it's confusing why you'd mention DigiKey, it is less likely you would be chosen as a RoadTester on the element14 Community if you were also advertising a competitor to the company and we would not provide or award any prizes from competitors.

    Offering the option to have PCBs fabricated makes sense.

  • in reply to ggabe
    ggabe said:
    then would happily see OshPark.

    I would too, Drew Fustini who works for/with them used to work for the element14 Community Slight smile