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KiCad 4.0.0 is Out

kicad-pcb.org

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Re: KiCad 4.0.0 is Out

#31

Post by elijahparker »

StavrosK wrote: post #16

Does anyone have a good resource for learning to design PCBs? I have a breadboard with some sensors that I want to make a PCB out of, just so the wires are tidy, but I watched an Eagle tutorial and it looked like there are tens of easy to make mistakes that will ruin your board. I'm not sure if that's true, but if it is, does anyone know of a resource that will at least teach me how to make this simple PCB avoiding t…

It's not really a tutorial, but there are some nice tips here: http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/technical-articles/practical...

For a prototype PCB fab, http://www.oshpark.com is my favorite.

Re: KiCad 4.0.0 is Out

#32

Post by reportingsjr »

blackguardx wrote: post #15
nuand wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would anyone use Altium, KiCad, or Eagle if they had access to OrCAD, Allegro, or PADS? Having used all of those tools, I can say that KiCad and Eagle will remain relegated to the low layer count, and at most moderately populated PCBs. Altium still has issues with large designs, but it's got its advantages, it's very easy to work with industrial designers within the Altium ecosystem. Altium also supports some decent…

I think your Altium experience might be a little stale. Microvias in Altium are really easy since at least three or four years ago. It also supports basic SPICE simulation, but I've never used it. I use external SPICE and RF tools for most of my simulation needs. I've had good success designing RF boards in Altium and the only reason I would want to use Mentor Graphics would be if I had some massive digital design wi…

KiCad also has support for microvias and blind/buried vias in this release. There are a few high speed design tools (trace length tuning and differential pair routing) that were added and I expect more RF support will come in the next release or two.

Re: KiCad 4.0.0 is Out

#33

Post by analog31 »

StavrosK wrote: post #16

Does anyone have a good resource for learning to design PCBs? I have a breadboard with some sensors that I want to make a PCB out of, just so the wires are tidy, but I watched an Eagle tutorial and it looked like there are tens of easy to make mistakes that will ruin your board. I'm not sure if that's true, but if it is, does anyone know of a resource that will at least teach me how to make this simple PCB avoiding t…

Good advice here. I haven't used KiCad yet, though this thread might finally spur me to try it. I've been using a super simple program called FreePCB for really simple analog stuff that can be routed by hand.

The thing that gets sent to the board fab is a set of files in "Gerber" format. So, the Gerbers are your last chance to confirm that the boards will be what you want. I suggest using a Gerber viewing program and look carefully at all of the files to make sure that they agree with your conception of what you expect the board to look like.

Finally, whatever fab house you choose, read all of their instructions and design rules, both to confirm that your board has a chance of being made, and because it's educational.

I've been happy with www.pcbfabrication.com for several runs of boards. I know people who go to a different house for every order, shopping around for the best price, but that just adds one more level of effort and worry for me. So I'm loyal to a good supplier.

Re: KiCad 4.0.0 is Out

#35

Post by bsilvereagle »

wicker wrote: post #23
mafuyu wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The hobbyist community has been switching over to KiCAD, to the point where I believe KiCAD has a significant majority over Eagle in OSHPark orders. A lot of people switched with the new Eagle licensing model, which they put on hold due to backlash.

I'm on support at OSH Park and we're still seeing a sizable majority of Eagle boards, but KiCad is definitely on the rise. I've got the impression that a lot of folks have been turned off by having to get the daily builds, so I'm incredibly excited to see the stable release. I'm expecting we'll see KiCad come to parity with Eagle over the next year or two. We're also working on being able to take .kicad_pcb files dir…

Do you see a lot of cloud based boards (Upverter, Altium's cloud component, etc) coming through?

Re: KiCad 4.0.0 is Out

#36

Post by wicker »

bsilvereagle wrote: post #35
wicker wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm on support at OSH Park and we're still seeing a sizable majority of Eagle boards, but KiCad is definitely on the rise. I've got the impression that a lot of folks have been turned off by having to get the daily builds, so I'm incredibly excited to see the stable release. I'm expecting we'll see KiCad come to parity with Eagle over the next year or two. We're also working on being able to take .kicad_pcb files dir…

Do you see a lot of cloud based boards (Upverter, Altium's cloud component, etc) coming through?

We do! They're way behind Eagle and KiCad, but they're a fair and growing number. Our current challenge is to keep expanding our ability to automatically detect the default gerber naming scheme so it doesn't matter which CAD package you're using. I know we've recently really nailed down the Altium variants (Designer, CircuitMaker) but I'm less sure about Upverter.

One of the downsides of accepting gerber files is that a lot of folks rename to match our suggested naming pattern to be sure the files work, so it can be tough to determine which CAD package was originally used. Plus, we still get gerbers from some rare ones like TraxMaker 2000 or Ranger 3.

Re: KiCad 4.0.0 is Out

#37

Post by bartekko »

StavrosK wrote: post #16

Does anyone have a good resource for learning to design PCBs? I have a breadboard with some sensors that I want to make a PCB out of, just so the wires are tidy, but I watched an Eagle tutorial and it looked like there are tens of easy to make mistakes that will ruin your board. I'm not sure if that's true, but if it is, does anyone know of a resource that will at least teach me how to make this simple PCB avoiding t…

This is a pretty good and quick read from Dave at the eevblog: http://www.smitselectronics.com/assets/files/Library/PCB%20D...

Re: KiCad 4.0.0 is Out

#38

Post by mrob »

b1gtuna wrote: post #8

Would anyone use Kicad/Eagle these days if he/she has access to Altium Designer?

As somebody doing this as a hobby, I'm not willing to sacrifice software Freedom for possible workflow efficiency improvements. Even if I was designing commercially I'd be reluctant to subject myself to the vendor lock-in of proprietary software. And for the kinds of boards I make, KiCad is more than powerful enough, especially with the new push/shove router.

Re: KiCad 4.0.0 is Out

#39

Post by jwr »

b1gtuna wrote: post #8

Would anyone use Kicad/Eagle these days if he/she has access to Altium Designer?

In a word: yes. "Has access to" needs to be defined. Is it at work? At school? Your own purchase?

I like to think long-term and be independent. I'd hate losing access to an essential tool because I change jobs or finish school.

If I purchase something myself, I also think long-term. What if I progress to larger or more complex designs (EAGLE becomes expensive quickly)? What if I don't want to pay upgrade fees?

So yes, there are legitimate reasons to use KiCad even if you "have access" to a more mature commercial package. I don't think there are any reasons to use EAGLE, though.

Re: KiCad 4.0.0 is Out

#40

Post by andyjohnson0 »

TD-Linux wrote: post #14
andyjohnson0 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you comment on the situation with component libraries for kicad? How does it compare to Eagle? I've recently tried Fritzing but keep finding that some components aren't available. Defining my own is kind of tedious.

I generally end up using an online tool [1] for high pin count parts. It's not the best though, someday I will write something better. BTW, in most professional contexts, parts are all created by the engineer - vendor part libraries are pretty rare. I know Altium is trying to change that, maybe soon we will see something similar happen with KiCAD. [1] http://kicad.rohrbacher.net/quicklib.php

Thanks for the link: very useful!
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