3 ms·

making PCBs is probably easier than you think, it doesn't take that long to learn the basics or to lay out a simple board

jnovek 4y ago
I’m a hobbyist and I’ve tried to pick up kicad but found it absolutely overwhelming. Any tips on how to get started?
- mitthrowaway2 4y ago
  I found Horizon EDA more intuitive. The developer is also really responsive. https://horizon-eda.readthedocs.io/en/latest/ https://horizon-eda.readthedocs.io/en/latest/
- sitzkrieg 4y ago
  check out the kicad tutorial series from digikey, thats pretty good https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vaCVh2SAZY4 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vaCVh2SAZY4
- contingencies 4y ago
  (1) Find someone you can pester with questions. (2) Understand the basic workflow. (3) Start by copying and modifying existing designs. (4) Build solutions using functional modules, and version these. (5) Bench test everything. (6) Be aware of startup and edge conditions when designing. (7) Take notes on all design changes or prospective changes, hypotheses and findings. This process will greatly accelerate your learning. This is easier if you have LXI-capable equipment and can capture test information easily. https://github.com/lxi-tools/lxi-tools https://github.com/lxi-tools/lxi-tools
- koofdoof 4y ago
  I found the Getting to Blinky series to be very easy to follow: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLy2022BX6EspFAKBCgRuEuzapuz_4aJCn https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLy2022BX6EspFAKBCgRuEuzap...
- elihu 4y ago
  I'm also a hobbyist. It's daunting, but there are a lot of good videos on Youtube. I think the most frustrating thing is just trying to find the correct symbol and footprint for the part you want. Sometimes they're hard to find because you have to understand Kicad's organization scheme. Sometimes what you want isn't there at all so you have to make your own symbol or footprint or both. (Which, to be fair, is reasonably easy to do.) Exporting a Kicad project's gerbers and drill files to JLPCB is surprisingly easy, but to use their pick and place service is more work. (I just ordered an assembled board for the first time, and had to manually reposition all the parts in their web interface because the position file put all the parts offset way off to one side and with the wrong rotation. Not sure if I did something wrong or there's just a bug.) I think Kicad just takes a long time to learn. There are a lot of very powerful features that you might not know about at first. Kicad also expects you to do things in a particular way, and if you don't it tends to cause problems. Kicad 7 is out now, but I haven't tried it yet.

jnovek 4y ago

I’m a hobbyist and I’ve tried to pick up kicad but found it absolutely overwhelming. Any tips on how to get started?

mitthrowaway2 4y ago
I found Horizon EDA more intuitive. The developer is also really responsive. https://horizon-eda.readthedocs.io/en/latest/ https://horizon-eda.readthedocs.io/en/latest/
sitzkrieg 4y ago
check out the kicad tutorial series from digikey, thats pretty good https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vaCVh2SAZY4 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vaCVh2SAZY4
contingencies 4y ago
(1) Find someone you can pester with questions. (2) Understand the basic workflow. (3) Start by copying and modifying existing designs. (4) Build solutions using functional modules, and version these. (5) Bench test everything. (6) Be aware of startup and edge conditions when designing. (7) Take notes on all design changes or prospective changes, hypotheses and findings. This process will greatly accelerate your learning. This is easier if you have LXI-capable equipment and can capture test information easily. https://github.com/lxi-tools/lxi-tools https://github.com/lxi-tools/lxi-tools
koofdoof 4y ago
I found the Getting to Blinky series to be very easy to follow: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLy2022BX6EspFAKBCgRuEuzapuz_4aJCn https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLy2022BX6EspFAKBCgRuEuzap...
elihu 4y ago
I'm also a hobbyist. It's daunting, but there are a lot of good videos on Youtube. I think the most frustrating thing is just trying to find the correct symbol and footprint for the part you want. Sometimes they're hard to find because you have to understand Kicad's organization scheme. Sometimes what you want isn't there at all so you have to make your own symbol or footprint or both. (Which, to be fair, is reasonably easy to do.) Exporting a Kicad project's gerbers and drill files to JLPCB is surprisingly easy, but to use their pick and place service is more work. (I just ordered an assembled board for the first time, and had to manually reposition all the parts in their web interface because the position file put all the parts offset way off to one side and with the wrong rotation. Not sure if I did something wrong or there's just a bug.) I think Kicad just takes a long time to learn. There are a lot of very powerful features that you might not know about at first. Kicad also expects you to do things in a particular way, and if you don't it tends to cause problems. Kicad 7 is out now, but I haven't tried it yet.