KiCad Like a Pro 2nd edition
- 17 hours on-demand video
- 6 articles
- Full lifetime access
- Access on mobile and TV
- Certificate of Completion
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- Printed Circuit Board design using KiCad
- Single, double, and multi-layer board design
- The PCB design process
- The schematic design process
- The layout design process
- How to create a schematic design
- How to associate schematic symbols to footprints
- How to create the layout of a PCB
- PCB basic concepts, such as edge cuts, copper fills, mounting holes, soldermask, silkscreen, traces etc.
- A detailed knowledge of the KiCad CAD application (its apps, configuration, toolbars, menus, project files etc.)
- Project-based learning through four projects to ensure mastery of the topics taught
Please beware of changes in how the grid works, effective in Kicad 5.1 and newer releases.
In more recent versions of KiCad, the way that the grid works has changed.
There is a separation of how the grid looks, and how it "snaps" when you draw a line or move a component on the sheet.
How it looks
To change the way that the grid looks, go to Preferences --> Preferences. In the Preferences window, click on Display Options, under Eeschema. Here, you can change the grid line thickness ("Grid thickness"), and the minimum grid spacing ("Min grid spacing".
The exact same options are available for Pcbnew.
Note that the setting controls the minimum grid spacing. What you actually see in the sheet depends on your current zoom level.
How it snaps
To control the size of the grid for the purpose of "snapping" wires, lines, text, symbols, etc, use the context menu.
Click anywhere in the sheet, then select "Grid" and the click on the grid size that you want. This sets the snapping size of the grid, but not the way that the grid looks.
- A Linux, Windows or Mac OS computer
- An Internet connection
- A growth mindset
- Patience
This course is updated for KiCad 5.1 - January 2020
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Welcome to KiCad Like a Pro, 2nd edition, from Tech Explorations, a course that can help you learn how to design custom Printed Circuit Boards using KiCad version 5.1.
KiCad is an open source and free tool that you can use to design your own PCBs. It is perhaps the world’s most popular (and, in my opinion, the best) computer-aided design tool for making printed circuit boards.
It's the perfect tool for electronics engineers and hobbyists alike.
PCBs are, perhaps, the most undervalued component of modern electronics. We use PCBs to hold in place and interconnect the various components that make virtually all electronic devices work.
This course will teach you how to use KiCad.
It takes a practical approach to learning. All of the learning takes place in the form of projects of incremental difficulty.
Whether you are a hobbyist or an electronics engineer, this book will help you become productive quickly, and start designing your own boards.
The only prerequisites are a computer, an Internet connection, and the willingness to learn.
By the end of the course, you'll be able to use KiCad to design and manufacture multi-layer PCBs with highly integrated components and a professional-looking finish.
The course contains four projects that give many opportunities to learn and practice all of KiCad's important features.
Apart from the projects, the course contains full sections dedicated to PCB and design principles and concepts. These ensure that you will master the fundamentals so that your PCB project are awesome.
The course includes repositories for each of the projects which you can download and edit on your computer.
If you are someone who is interested in designing PCBs using KiCad, or moving to KiCad from another CAD application, then this course is for you.
- Electronics hobbyists
- Engineers
- Users of other PCB CAD applications that wish to move to KiCad
- STEM students and teachers
