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As much as I love open source... I tried using KiCAD to design a PCB and have it assembled, but ultimately switched to EasyEDA – not because their app is better

As much as I love open source... I tried using KiCAD to design a PCB and have it assembled, but ultimately switched to EasyEDA – not because their app is better (it really isn't), but because of their smooth integrations. EasyEDA is connected to a huge library of components (LCSC.com) with footprints and 3D shapes and everything, and built-in integration with their manufacturing service (JLCPCB.com) which uses those same LCSC components. I'm sure you can design your PCB with KiCAD and have the result manufactured and assembled with JLCPCB, but having looked at the tutorials to make that happen, it's not a smooth process at all. I know little about these apps to suggest a solution, but making that easier / smoother / more obvious would go a long way to help hobbyists like me. Now with KiCAD 6 there is a new plugin https://github.com/Bouni/kicad-jlcpcb-tools https://github.com/Bouni/kicad-jlcpcb-tools but I haven't used it yet. Eventually when it matures it will probably save a lot of annoyance.

meatmanek 5y ago
Generating gerber and drill files for manufacturing is pretty straightforward in Kicad, but getting boards assembled with JLCPCB is a lot more annoying --- you need to associate LCSC (JLCPCB's supplier/sister company) part numbers with each component, and generate pick and place files. And inevitably you won't be able to get certain components from JLCPCB so you'll end up buying those separately and hand-soldering them anyway, so it can feel like it isn't worth all the hassle. For simple one-off boards it's easiest to do that association in the JLCPCB order flow instead of in Kicad. I agree, it's a lot less slick than the EasyEDA/JLCPCB integration, so for people just getting started with PCB design I would definitely recommend EasyEDA over Kicad.
- stavros 5y ago
  If they save me ten resistors/caps per board, that's already worth it.
stavros 5y ago
Here's my KiBot config: https://gitlab.com/stavros/esp32-cnc/-/blob/master/project.kibot.yaml https://gitlab.com/stavros/esp32-cnc/-/blob/master/project.k... It will automatically check your design and generate Gerbers and drill files for you. It will also generate a JLCPCB-compatible BOM that you can upload. All you need to do is add a field on each part called "JLC" in eeschema containing the LCSC part number.
floatboth 5y ago
Meanwhile I'm carefully importing KiCad symbols and footprints (and polishing them and contributing to the community library) into a much less popular, newer open source EDA tool… because it's just that good: https://horizon-eda.org https://horizon-eda.org

meatmanek 5y ago

Generating gerber and drill files for manufacturing is pretty straightforward in Kicad, but getting boards assembled with JLCPCB is a lot more annoying --- you need to associate LCSC (JLCPCB's supplier/sister company) part numbers with each component, and generate pick and place files. And inevitably you won't be able to get certain components from JLCPCB so you'll end up buying those separately and hand-soldering them anyway, so it can feel like it isn't worth all the hassle. For simple one-off boards it's easiest to do that association in the JLCPCB order flow instead of in Kicad. I agree, it's a lot less slick than the EasyEDA/JLCPCB integration, so for people just getting started with PCB design I would definitely recommend EasyEDA over Kicad.

stavros 5y ago
If they save me ten resistors/caps per board, that's already worth it.

stavros 5y ago

Here's my KiBot config: https://gitlab.com/stavros/esp32-cnc/-/blob/master/project.kibot.yaml https://gitlab.com/stavros/esp32-cnc/-/blob/master/project.k... It will automatically check your design and generate Gerbers and drill files for you. It will also generate a JLCPCB-compatible BOM that you can upload. All you need to do is add a field on each part called "JLC" in eeschema containing the LCSC part number.

floatboth 5y ago

Meanwhile I'm carefully importing KiCad symbols and footprints (and polishing them and contributing to the community library) into a much less popular, newer open source EDA tool… because it's just that good: https://horizon-eda.org https://horizon-eda.org