Open Pcb File Kicad
In this tutorial, we will tell you about the steps to generate BOM(Bill of Materials) and CPL(component placement list, as known as a Centroid file/Pick and place file) in KiCAD.
- Kicad Schematic To Pcb
- Kicad File Types
- Kicad Pcb Software
- Kicad Pcb Design Tutorial Pdf
- Kicad Flex Pcb
- Kicad Pcb Tutorial
Open the PCB file in KiCad and there’s your beautiful coil. Finally, make the remaining connections to the connector and you’re done! STEP files are 3D files. They only contain information about a 3D model and nothing about the electrical component. And for kiCad they are attached to a footprint. That being said to import a 3D model: Open the footprint you want to attach a 3D model. Open the footprint properties (Edit footprint properties) Tab 3 should be 3D settings.
Donate before January 15 to support KiCad EDA development and KiCad Services Corporation will match your contribution dollar for dollar up to $10,000 total. Your donation helps to build the KiCad community and ensures future feature development, supports bug fixes, community engagement and the growth of KiCad as the premier Open Source EDA solution. .kicadpcb - KiCad PCB Design Document. The KICADPCB document files are related to KiCad. KICADPCB file is a KiCad PCB Design Document. KiCad is an EDA software suite for the creation of professional schematics and printed circuit boards up to 16 layers. KiCad runs on Windows, Linux and Apple OS X and is released under the open-source GNU GPL.
Generating BOM Files
The BOM or Bill of Materials file tells the manufacturer which components is installed at which position. For example, PCBs have positions like C1,R1,T1 etc. printed on it. But the manufacturer should know what value capacitor or resistor is placed at that location. This information is present in the BOM file and is very important for assembly work. BOM file is a simple text file in comma separated form (csv) but you can also make it in MS Excel or other spreadsheet programs.
As you can see in the above BOM file, we have first column Comment where we should describe the parts in as much detail as possible, the most important being the value of part say 0.1uF but you should also include tolerance, maximum voltage and other information so that the production staffs can pick the best possible parts for your project. Next column is the Designator, that means on which position this part should be placed and soldered. The next one that is the Footprint or package is also very important because SMD parts come in various sizes(packages) so the assembly staffs should know which package would fit in your PCB. You should be aware of common SMT sizes like 1206,0805,0603 etc. The last column is LCSC part number, now this can really help you speed things up and get accurate results. JLCPCB has a large stock of parts (more than 30,000) and each part has a part number. You can use this part number to accurately identify the part you need. Simply check if the part you need is in stock at JLCPCBs part library and add them as LCSC
field value to KiCAD
To export the BOM from KiCAD you first have to go to Arturo's BOM export script, download the Zip and unpack it.
Afterwards you can click on Export BOM
and add the bom script to KiCAD (1). Change the command from %O
to %O.csv
(2) and click on Generate (3). This will generate the BOM needed for assembly.
Generating Pick and Place files
The CPL file has to be generated from the PCB editor, click on File
-> Fabrication output
-> Footprint position (.pos) file
and export the file with the following settings.
In order to be compliant with JLCSMT you have to edit the CPL/POS file with Excel or libreoffice Calc.
The folling changes are required:
Ref
to Designator
PosX
to Mid X
PosY
to Mid Y
Rot
to Rotation
Side
to Layer
Before, as exported from KiCAD: After modifying the header:
What is KiCad?
KiCad is a free, easy to download software that is used for electronic design automation (EDA) and computer aided design (CAD). While using this program, PCB design schematics can be realized from their electrical circuits. Within, there are tools that allow the creation of a bill of materials (BOM), artwork, 3D view of the PCB + components and gerber files. This documents purpose will be to guide Bittele’s clients through the step by step process specifically for generating the gerber files using KiCad. Similarly, a guide for exporting gerbers using another commonly used program (Eagle) can be found here.What are Gerber files?
Gerber files are the artwork of the layers that will be used to construct the board once it’s being fabricated. The industry standard file type used for manufacturing and assembling PCB’s are gerber file types. Therefore, they are easily recognized and processed by our manufacturing equipment.Generating Gerber Files
This guide assumes that you have finished designing your PCB within KiCad and are ready to export the gerber files.1) Select the ‘Plot’ button (located next to the printer icon).
This will open the plot window.The image above shows the many different layers that are used in this example project. In general, there are only 10 layers that are required for PCB fabrication and assembly (paste layers not required for fabrication only):
- Top Copper (Top) + Top Soldermask (F.Mask) + Top Silkscreen (F.SilkS) + Top Paste (F.Paste)
- Bottom Copper (Bottom) + Bottom Soldermask (B.Mask) + Bottom Silkscreen (B.SilkS) + Bottom Paste (B.Paste)
- Board outline (Edge.Cuts)
- Drill file (not shown in image above)
Kicad Schematic To Pcb
3) Under the messages window will show where the drill files have now been generated. Click on the close button to return to the previous window. Click on ‘Plot’ (beside Generate Drill File). The gerber files for the layers will be generated (shown once again under the messages window), then click ‘Close’.4) Once your gerber files have been generated, they can be reviewed to catch any potential errors before being sent to us for a PCB fabrication quote. Return to the main KiCad project window and click on the GerbView – Gerber viewer button (see image below):
5) On the window that pops up, click ‘File’ > ‘Load Gerber File’.
6) Select all of the layers shown and click ‘Open’.
7) In the same manner, click on ‘File’ > ‘Load EXCELLON Drill File’.
8) Select the drill file(s) and click ‘Open’.
Notice here that 2 drill files have been created. The first represents ‘plated drill holes’ while the second represents the ‘non-plated drill holes’. This will lead us to seeing 11 files instead of 10 files later.
9) Once all of your layers have been imported into GerbView, you can perform all your final checks (you can view each layer one by one and so on). Once you are satisfied that your design is correct, you will be ready to quote and order your boards.
Kicad File Types
10) Navigate to the directory on your computer where your KiCad project resides. Select and zip the following 11 files:
A list explaining each type of file can be seen below:
- *.drl - Drill file
- *.gbs - Gerber Bottom Soldermask
- *.gbp - Gerber Bottom Paste
- *.gbo - Gerber Bottom Silkscreen (Overlay)
- *.gbl - Gerber Bottom Layer
- *.Edge.Cuts.gm1 - Board Outline (Gerber Mechanical 1)
- *.gts - Gerber Top Soldermask
- *.gtp - Gerber Top Paste
- *.gto - Gerber Top Silkscreen (Overlay)
- *.drl - Drill file
- *.gtl - Gerber Top Layer
This guide’s aim has been to describe the procedure for generating Gerber files from KiCad as simply and completely as possible. If you still find yourself unclear on any part of the process, please do not hesitate to contact a member of the Bittele sales team by sending an email to sales@7pcb.com, or calling our Toronto office at 1-416-800-7540. We are happy to help with any of your queries.
Kicad Pcb Software
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