KiCad 7.0
kicad.org
KiCad 7.0
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Re: KiCad 7.0
#2A built in command line interface for exporting BOMs/netlists/gerbers is incredible. It's probably not going to be as powerful as Ki-Bot at first, but I'm going to try and integrate it into my GitHub actions asap.
And, the new dragging behavior is obviously what we should have had from the start. Going to make doing quick drawings much easier.
Re: KiCad 7.0
#3Kicad is excellent - I found 6.0 to be much improved and more useable than the version I had previously.
I just downloaded 7.0 and it already is a LOT snappier and happier with loading the symbol libraries.
I need to check if there have been any improvements in the auto-router integrations - it was pretty rough the last time I tried it out.
Re: KiCad 7.0
#4This feels like a major step forward, not for the software itself (although it probably is) but for the release schedule. KiCad 5 came out in 2018. KiCad 6 was long delayed and waterfalled and did not come out until late 2021/early 2022. And now only a year later we see KiCad 7. Seems like release engineering is coming more on lockdown which is super great news!
Re: KiCad 7.0
#5>Custom Fonts
Hell yeah. Finally schematics and PCBs with aesthetic text.
Re: KiCad 7.0
#6A built in command line interface for exporting BOMs/netlists/gerbers is incredible. It's probably not going to be as powerful as Ki-Bot at first, but I'm going to try and integrate it into my GitHub actions asap. And, the new dragging behavior is obviously what we should have had from the start. Going to make doing quick drawings much easier.
Yes! Pretty psyched about the `kicad-cli`. Software CI/CD feels miles ahead of of hardware CI/CD - stuff like this is awesome for pushing forward on that front
Re: KiCad 7.0
#7> Pack & Move Footprint Tool
This is the biggest usability improvement on the list. Computers are good at menial sorting, humans hate it.
For those not in the know: your nice, organised schematic gets turned into a randomly assorted pile of parts when you first open the PCB editor. Now imagine your board has over a hundred parts, including lots of duplicated copy+pasted bits.
My workarounds have been to:
1. Number the parts with special codes/prefixes to make manual untangling and grouping faster. 2. Import parts into the PCB editor as a draw the schematic. It's annoying extra work (the schematic undergoes lots of changes) and requires you to assign valid footprints from the start (so your work is constantly interrupted by having to draw missing ones OR your assign invalid ones and forget to fix them later).
Re: KiCad 7.0
#8I want to learn PCB design, mostly with ARM and ESP based designs. How would I learn basics? I know theory part but I really couldn't figure out why they determine which component and which value they have to use. I mean there are resistors, capacitors all over the place but I really want to learn reason behind it. Also I guess there are some basics related power, battery, UART, USB etc. Is there any source that covers all of these concepts?
Re: KiCad 7.0
#9I took the time to learn KiCad and I am glad I did. Not being familiar with comparable tools like Eagle, it was very non-intuitive to me. I resisted what I think of as a kind of forced workflow with tools like these. My sense though is that it is kind of the way the industry just is with perhaps CAD packages in general and with electronic/PCB CAD tools specifically.
Re: KiCad 7.0
#10I want to learn PCB design, mostly with ARM and ESP based designs. How would I learn basics? I know theory part but I really couldn't figure out why they determine which component and which value they have to use. I mean there are resistors, capacitors all over the place but I really want to learn reason behind it. Also I guess there are some basics related power, battery, UART, USB etc. Is there any source that cove…
Read the datasheets. They usually have recommended layouts and configurations.