KiCad, May 2016

We usually give a presentation at Bay Area Maker Faire and the New York Maker Faire every year about KiCad, where it is, and where it's going. This presentation was given at the Bay Area Maker Faire in May 2016.

Transcript

1. Wayne and Layne Bay Area Maker Faire 2016
2. KiCad is an open source electronics design tool.
3. You can use KiCad to make circuit schematics
5. and you can layout printed circuit boards.
7. You can then order PCBs
10. or even make them yourself!
12. KiCad is pretty good and is getting better every day.
13. • History • KiCad 4.0 • What’s next? • Who are we? • How can you get started? • How can you help out?
14. • History • KiCad 4.0 • What’s next? • Who are we? • How can you get started? • How can you help out?
15. Who are we? Adam Wolf @adamwwolf
16. We’ve been using KiCad to make electronics since 2009
17. and posting on the developer’s list since 2010.
18. May 2011
19. February 2015
20. • History • KiCad 4.0 • What’s next? • Who are we? • How can you get started? • How can you help out?
21. 24 years of history in under 1 minute • 1992: Jean-Pierre Charras • 2007: JP, Dick Hollenbeck, Wayne Stambaugh • 2012: CERN • 2014: Wayne becomes project lead • 2015: KiCad 4.0 released
22. KiCad 4.0 released Nov 29th 2016 Pcbnew revamp Footprint revamp New website Nightly builds for Windows, Mac, Linux
23. Symbols and Footprints Symbol and Footprint Maintainers team Extensive “built in” set of schematic symbols and footprints Github plugin Good importers (Eagle, geda, Altium)
24. Python Scripting command line gerber/drill export via stitching creation wizards extend from outside KiCad extend from inside KiCad
25. Interactive Router Thanks, CERN! Push and Shove https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCG4daPvuVI
26. Differential pair routing and length matching https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chejn7dqpfQ
27. Let’s build KiCad every day and make it available for users! Get nightly builds at http://www.kicad-pcb.org
28. nitrousnrg in #kicad
30. • History • KiCad 4.0 • What’s next? • Who are we? • How can you get started? • How can you help out?
31. Mechanical CAD You can now associate MCAD models with KiCad elements, not just “visual models” OCE/3D Plugin supports alignment, fine-tuning StepUp tool DXF Outline Export tool
32. 3rd Party Tools OSHPark: You can now upload .kicad_pcb files! StepUp: KiCad / STEP DXF Importer: get outlines of boards into CAD KiField: bulk edit fields KiCost: interactive cost spreadsheets
33. KiCost Gathers cost information about your project, and makes an interactive spreadsheet to prices at different quantities
34. Housekeeping Detangling dependency building from KiCad building C++11 Removing a bunch of old, dead code (Builds in CLion!)
35. Upcoming work for 5.0 GALify Eeschema New Eeschema file format Board update revamp Gate/pin swap? Roadmap: http://ci.kicad-pcb.org/job/kicad-doxygen/ws/Documentation/doxygen/html/v5_road_map.html
36. • History • KiCad 4.0 • What’s next? • Who are we? • How can you get started? • How can you help out?
37. Getting Started 1. Download KiCad at http://kicad-pcb.org 2. Find tutorials at http://kicad-pcb.org, Google, Contextual Electronics “Getting to Blinky 4.0” 3. Ask questions at #kicad on Freenode, Kicad User mailing list, https://forum.kicad.info
38. • History • KiCad 4.0 • What’s next? • Who are we? • How can you get started? • How can you help out?
39. Ways to Help • Learn it, use it, teach others and talk about it • Report bugs as best as you can • Schematic symbols and footprints • Translations
40. Harder Ways to Help • Do you know packaging on Windows, OS X, any Linux (or want to learn?) • Do you want to work on the web “stuff”? • Do you know Python? • Do you know C++, wxWidgets?
41. Harder Ways to Help • Do you know packaging on Windows, OS X, any Linux? • Do you want to work on the web “stuff”? • Do you know Python? • Do you know C++, wxWidgets? Everyone wants to do this one, and we can always use more help, but consider working on the other parts!
42. KiCad is pretty good and is getting better every day.