Author Topic: The Living PCB Design Thread  (Read 382436 times)

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Offline komar007

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The Living PCB Design Thread
« on: Sun, 22 September 2013, 12:23:48 »
Let's get it started. I'd like to make this a community-written knowledge base about designing PCBs


Share anything you know about designing electronics: software, tutorials, theory, etc.


Short dictionary

Schematic design
  • pin - a dash on the schematic which represents an electrical connector in a component, which can be connected to a different pin
  • net - a line representing an electrical connection between 2 or more pins
  • bus - a thicker line representing a logical group of nets
  • label - a name for a net, in EDA software, 2 nets with the same label will usually be treated as connected together, though various types of labels exist in various software (global, hierarchical, sheet labels, etc
  • ... add more by replying to this thread!
PCB design
  • PCB (Printed Circuit Board) - a sheet of sturdy laminate (usually FR-4) with electrical connections made of copper, which are used to conduct current between different components on the board
  • pad - 1. a hole in the PCB surrounded with a copper ring used to mount THT components by putting a pin inside the hole and soldering it to the ring; 2. a shape (usually rectangular) made of copper used to solder pins of SMD components
  • THT (Through-Hole Technology) - a technique of mounting components based on inserting the pins into holes and usually soldering them on the other side of the board than the one of the component
  • PTH (Plated Through Hole) - a pad on both sides of the PCB with the cylindrical surface between them plated with metal
  • SMT (Surface-Mount Technology) - a technique of mounting components based on soldering their pins onto the surface of the board, on the same side as the component
  • SMD (Surface Mounted Devices) - devices soldered using SMT
  • ... add more by replying to this thread!
Free EDA software:
  • KiCad (http://www.kicad-pcb.org)
  • Eagle (free for up to 100 x 80 mm boards, 2 layers, one schematic sheet)
  • ... write a post to add more, if you've used it and and you like it!
KiCad
KiCad consists of 2 basic components: eeschema and pcbnew. Eeschema is used to design the schematic which defines how the components are connected. Pcbnew allows you to transform the schematic into the PCB layout.
The basic workflow looks like this:
  • The schematic is designed in eeschema. During this process it might be necessary to design schematic parts for components for which the eeschema parts are not available.
  • The schematic is exported to a netlist (a file which describes which pins are connected together).
  • A helper program called Cvpcb is used to assign footprints (modules in KiCad's terminology) to components. Footprints are the graphical representation of physical components. They contain the exact positions of pads, so that after making the board, the components will fit it.
  • The netlist is imported to Pcbnew, parts are moved to their positions and wires are routed between pins.
  • The missing footprints are designed inside Pcbnew's module editor.
  • Steps 1-5 are repeated until the design is satisfactory. Every change in the schematic is reflected properly in the PCB editor which keeps track of changes by comparing the PCB contents with the new version of netlist.
Eagle
... anybody wants to write a short description?
« Last Edit: Tue, 24 June 2014, 10:47:26 by komar007 »
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Offline komar007

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #1 on: Sun, 22 September 2013, 12:24:01 »
Using KiCad

Tutorials
Tips & Tricks
Using Eagle

Books
« Last Edit: Tue, 14 October 2014, 09:33:45 by komar007 »
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Offline komar007

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #2 on: Sun, 22 September 2013, 12:24:29 »
Geekhack.org parts library for KiCad


We have a github organization! Check it out: https://github.com/geekhack-org
There is one repository there, so far: https://github.com/geekhack-org/kicad-library
If you want to be an admin and need write access, let me know!
For regular contributors: please fork the repository on github, make your commits and send a pull request.
« Last Edit: Sun, 06 October 2013, 10:52:25 by komar007 »
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Offline komar007

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #3 on: Sun, 22 September 2013, 12:24:42 »
General electronics design materials

« Last Edit: Fri, 27 June 2014, 15:53:43 by komar007 »
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Offline mkawa

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #4 on: Sun, 22 September 2013, 12:25:07 »
yay! thanks komar!

to all the brilliant friends who have left us, and all the students who climb on their shoulders.

Offline TheFlyingRaccoon

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #5 on: Sun, 22 September 2013, 12:26:14 »
Thanks for writing this up Komar! I really need to start learning how to design my own PCBs...
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Offline Photekq

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #6 on: Sun, 22 September 2013, 12:44:55 »
Great! :thumb:
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Offline bueller

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #7 on: Sun, 22 September 2013, 12:47:19 »
Subscribed. Need to get some PCB designing skills under my belt if I'm ever going to get a 65%  :)
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Offline MOZ

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #8 on: Sun, 22 September 2013, 20:54:09 »
Thank you so much.

The next logical step for me is to learn PCB designing.

Offline wcass

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #9 on: Thu, 03 October 2013, 23:50:48 »
I started learning PCB design a few months ago. I tried out the free versions of Eagle, KiCAD, DesignSpark PCB, and DipTrace.

Eagle seems to be best known one and has been around the longest, but i liked it the least. The UI is not very intuitive but they seem to have the most complete component library. Still it did not have a diode array that i needed for my design. The free version of Eagle is limited to 2 layers and PCB size (4" x 3.2") - too small for what I need. There "hobbyist" and "standard" licenses are size limited too (4" x 6.3) so if you wanted to build a keyboard then you would need the "professional" version - $1640 for Layout+Schematic+Autorouter. I moved on quickly.
 
KiCAD did not feel like it had as big a library, but was more intuitive than Eagle. It feels like it was 3 separate apps stitched together rather than a tightly integrated PCB design package. It did not have the Atmel chip that i wanted to use, but i was able to find it in a library that someone else created and published (sparkfun or adafruit IIRC). I was not able to find a library with my diode array in it, but it was pretty easy to build the footprint. KiCAD is free with no limitations.

The DesignSpark PCB user interface was nice and seemed to me to have the tightest integration. Not quite as intuitive as DipTrace, but more than Eagle. Library size similar to KiCAD. Free with no limitations.

DipTrace was the most intuitive for me. It had the smallest component library, but building components was easy and i hear that it can import components from Eagle libraries. The free version of DipTrace is limited too, but not by PCB size, but by number of signal layers (2 excluding ground and power) and pins (300) so some keyboard designs will work and some will not. Licensed versions are available for higher layer and pin counts, but i don't expect a "hobbyist" would be going above 500 pins ($145) unless they are working on a full sized board with diodes and LEDs on every key.

Offline mkawa

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #10 on: Fri, 04 October 2013, 05:15:01 »
doesn't designspark tie you to their fab? expressPCB also has a free piece of design software, but it ties you to their fab. kicad sort of is what it is. it's a weirdly architected, very buggy layout and netlist editor. eagle is the industry standard but has a correspondingly high price tag. even the individual student professional version is 820$.

however, the audio folks have been using eagle anyway for quite a while. there are a couple tricks. first, design onto multiple boards. yes, this is difficult for a keyboard layout, but keyboard layouts are mostly cut and paste, and no one said you had to put the keyboard matrix and the controller on the same board. second, the pricing is set up to get you to buy a number of seats. i am open to banding together under the geekhackers banner to standardize on eagle. at 10 licenses of layout + schem (autorouting = bleh), we're looking at about 340$ per seat. have you seen the pricing on solidworks lately? this is pretty reasonable comparatively.

the really big benefit of eagle is not necessarily how flashy or user friendly it is but just that it's extremely standard, which makes collaboration on a board easier. otherwise, kicad is probably the way to go. diptrace, if it seems to work as well as eagle and is more intuitive to build and use than kicad, hits that same price tier at half the users.


to all the brilliant friends who have left us, and all the students who climb on their shoulders.

Offline MOZ

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #11 on: Fri, 04 October 2013, 05:34:34 »
If we all are going to work on one platform, even if kicad we can build our own library together and that is what really matters, no?

Offline bpiphany

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #12 on: Fri, 04 October 2013, 07:55:34 »
I find KiCAD to be a great "product", the developer version is even better. It's great that everything is ascii-files. You can script things if you want to, and do tweaks to footprints with a simple text editor. I have run across a few bugs but I think they have all been taken care of by now. You can submit bugs when you find them https://launchpad.net/kicad. Some times they are handled very promptly, other times they seem to never be "fixed". And you could always contribute by fixing them yourself...

Keyboard PCBs aren't very complex, really. More advanced electronics could perhaps need more advanced tools, I don't know, I haven't been there yet. You want gerber files in the end (anything else is just unacceptable) and the closer to gerbers I am to start with (read text files) the happier I am =)

And you should create your own footprints (or at least check them very carefully) following the specs on the exact parts you intend to use anyway.

Offline Dubsgalore

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #13 on: Fri, 04 October 2013, 10:14:58 »
This is really great, just seeing this now, hopefully will be a great useful resource

Offline komar007

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #14 on: Fri, 04 October 2013, 11:46:20 »
It looks like KiCad is missing some good tutorial focused on producing a real thing from the schematic to production.
It really isn't bad piece of software, just unfinished and a bit buggy. It doesn't have some useful features that the expensive programs have, but it certainly does cope pretty well.
As every EDA program, it requires a lot of practice and understanding first, but because of the the way the design process looks, the software can't just let us draw things in a nice and intuitive way. KiCad just requires a bit more of these things than other software because of it's poor integration between the components.
But if you look at how switching between schematic and board is done, it really has everything you need without builtin version control, diffs and binary files. It just requires a little knowledge of the formats it uses and the way things are implemented.
The last drawback is actually a feature for hackers. The files are very easy to edit manually or with scripts in some cases where the software just doesn't cope (yet).

One of the important steps to use any cheap EDA software easily is to understand that you will eventually have to design your own schematic components and footprints. With the number of different packages these days, you'll always at least have to prepare your own footprints, unless the vendor has done that for you (and if they have, it's usually Altium only).
Because the footprint and component drawing capability is pretty sensible in KiCad, the sooner you get used to it, the better.
The second step would be to always put all the libraries and modules to your project's directory instead of relying on the builtin library to make sure your project can be easily opened somewhere else.
« Last Edit: Fri, 04 October 2013, 11:47:52 by komar007 »
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Offline mkawa

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #15 on: Fri, 04 October 2013, 13:19:52 »
i think the most important thing is building up a component library and standardizing on one EDA package. i consider komar and bpiph's work in kicad to be sunk time, and yes, ascii files are a good backdoor to have, but keep in remind the reason why kicad exposes them to you (everyone uses text files to describe netlists and layout) is because it knows you're going to need to write a bunch of scripts and fix its bugs yourself.

to all the brilliant friends who have left us, and all the students who climb on their shoulders.

Offline MOZ

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #16 on: Fri, 04 October 2013, 13:29:45 »
I am surprised regack hasn't posted here thus far.

regack and I have been working on a couple of PCB designs, not just software end but hardware as well to develop and open-source keyboard controller, which could be directly plugged into any keyboard PCB with a specific connector, this would allow you to reuse your controller for newer projects and also as a replacement for the Teensy for DIY keyboards. The current footprint is about 60% of the Teensy so it can be mounted between keys as well.

Besides this we are working on a multi USB-head breakout board to convert any non-detachable keyboard to a detachable one.

Did I mention the "usb-hub" style board to allow multiple keyboard PCBs to be connected to one board and thus only utilise only one USB port and house all the PCBs into one board, thus allowing for a modular keyboard.

Offline bpiphany

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #17 on: Fri, 04 October 2013, 14:41:48 »
KiCAD is powerful enough for what we need, easy enough to learn, and hackable enough to do fun stuff. And it is very cheap ;)

Offline komar007

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #18 on: Fri, 04 October 2013, 15:23:40 »
I think there's no need to decide for a single program for all of us, unless we want to actually buy some licenses.
Because I'm totally into KiCad, I can share the libraries I've already made (I just need to clean up the mess) - especially cherry switches, stabilizers, etc. and we can try to put together a geekhack component repository for KiCad.
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Offline JPG

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #19 on: Fri, 04 October 2013, 15:28:02 »
I think there's no need to decide for a single program for all of us, unless we want to actually buy some licenses.
Because I'm totally into KiCad, I can share the libraries I've already made (I just need to clean up the mess) - especially cherry switches, stabilizers, etc. and we can try to put together a geekhack component repository for KiCad.

This would help a lot of people trying to mess with things!
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Offline jdcarpe

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #20 on: Fri, 04 October 2013, 16:03:05 »
Because I'm totally into KiCad, I can share the libraries I've already made (I just need to clean up the mess) - especially cherry switches, stabilizers, etc. and we can try to put together a geekhack component repository for KiCad.

Yes, please this. I am trying to get started, but it seems overwhelming. If I had the component libraries, it would be much more accessible, I think.
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Offline mkawa

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #21 on: Fri, 04 October 2013, 17:13:36 »
I am surprised regack hasn't posted here thus far.

regack and I have been working on a couple of PCB designs, not just software end but hardware as well to develop and open-source keyboard controller, which could be directly plugged into any keyboard PCB with a specific connector, this would allow you to reuse your controller for newer projects and also as a replacement for the Teensy for DIY keyboards. The current footprint is about 60% of the Teensy so it can be mounted between keys as well.

Besides this we are working on a multi USB-head breakout board to convert any non-detachable keyboard to a detachable one.

Did I mention the "usb-hub" style board to allow multiple keyboard PCBs to be connected to one board and thus only utilise only one USB port and house all the PCBs into one board, thus allowing for a modular keyboard.
MOZ, you guys are working in kicad, correct?

if everyone posting in this thread works in kicad, then frankly i think it's decided ;)

to all the brilliant friends who have left us, and all the students who climb on their shoulders.

Offline MOZ

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #22 on: Fri, 04 October 2013, 20:16:14 »
I am surprised regack hasn't posted here thus far.

regack and I have been working on a couple of PCB designs, not just software end but hardware as well to develop and open-source keyboard controller, which could be directly plugged into any keyboard PCB with a specific connector, this would allow you to reuse your controller for newer projects and also as a replacement for the Teensy for DIY keyboards. The current footprint is about 60% of the Teensy so it can be mounted between keys as well.

Besides this we are working on a multi USB-head breakout board to convert any non-detachable keyboard to a detachable one.

Did I mention the "usb-hub" style board to allow multiple keyboard PCBs to be connected to one board and thus only utilise only one USB port and house all the PCBs into one board, thus allowing for a modular keyboard.
MOZ, you guys are working in kicad, correct?

if everyone posting in this thread works in kicad, then frankly i think it's decided ;)

Yup. KiCAD. Honestly, it is regack who is making the PCB, I just help with brainstorming and providing a different perspective on things and learn as much as possible from him. :D

Offline komar007

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #23 on: Sat, 05 October 2013, 11:46:13 »
Okay, so here's the initial KiCad component repository: https://github.com/geekhack-org/kicad-library
It's as basic as it can be, but I'll fill it with what I have and I hope there will be other contributors too.
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Offline MOZ

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #24 on: Sat, 05 October 2013, 19:35:15 »
Thanks a lot komar!

Offline OldDataHands

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #25 on: Sat, 05 October 2013, 22:48:21 »
no love at all for gEDA's PCB ? it does the business!

Offline agodinhost

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #26 on: Wed, 09 October 2013, 13:56:18 »
I did used Eagle a lot and it's a super tool. Sadly it does have some serious limitations in the free edition (only in the free edition).

KiCad usability sucks (I MEAN IT!) but it's the best open source tool out there (and no, the developers will not change it to make it more windows friendly).

Regarding libraries: Anything you do for eagle can be used in kicad. There is a tool to convert Eagle components to Kicad and it works very well. You can get all sparkfun components and use it in kicad without any problem.

Some usefull links (IMHO):
SparkFun-Eagle-Libraries
Dangerous Prototypes, Eagle library converted to KiCad (dangerous-prototypes-open-hardware)
Adafruit Eagle Library
Building one square I2C keyboard with those 1200 switches (thanks JDCarpe)
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Offline jalli

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #27 on: Sun, 24 November 2013, 10:11:52 »
As far as tutorials I found the EEVBlog review of Kicad to be the best "tutorial" around:
http://www.youtube.com/user/EEVblog/search?query=kicad

He also has a ton of good videos on PCB design, manufacturing, debugging, etc.

I would also vote for Kicad for my part, it's not the most intuitive and some of the nomenclature isn't correct but all in all I would say it does a pretty good job.
Antonia

Offline OldDataHands

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #28 on: Mon, 16 December 2013, 22:21:32 »
Can anyone describe a set of rules to create a proper set of pads for a solder bridge?



Hi Komar,

For your list at the top of this thread: PTH =  Plated Through Hole

Offline jalli

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #29 on: Mon, 16 December 2013, 22:46:40 »
I'm guessing you mean what I would call a "solder jumper", I think the terminology is kinda loosely defined.

I tend to just use standard jumper footprints, I have attached a standard one that I use as a kicad .mod file.* Jumper.mod (0.49 kB - downloaded 802 times.)

Can anyone describe a set of rules to create a proper set of pads for a solder bridge?
Antonia

Offline komar007

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #30 on: Tue, 17 December 2013, 04:01:37 »
For your list at the top of this thread: PTH =  Plated Through Hole
Thanks, added.
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Offline aref

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #31 on: Fri, 14 February 2014, 17:36:34 »
Nicely done. Thanks.

Offline Melvang

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #32 on: Mon, 17 February 2014, 22:29:52 »
Nice work here.  Do we have any confirmed good tutorials for KiCad?  I would love to bring a couple ideas to frutition.  One would be an board I can use for the PC side of my Brushed Behemoth. 

The other would be very simple PCB for one switch.  The purpose would be to use them on each switch for hand wired matrix without the headache of trying to solder diodes and wires directly to switch pins.  If we make the PCB .500"x.500" or .525"x.525" they should be able to fit through the holes in the plate. 
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Offline MOZ

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #33 on: Tue, 18 February 2014, 01:35:12 »
regack made a nice tutorial, it is up on his github: https://github.com/regack/depot/raw/master/basics/Kicad_Basics.pdf

He is a sneaky bastard :P

My components and modules library is pretty much done as well, so I will post that later today as well.

Offline Pacifist

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #34 on: Tue, 25 February 2014, 23:59:30 »
How long does it  take a newbie to design a 60% size PCB?

Offline SpAmRaY

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #35 on: Wed, 26 February 2014, 06:55:29 »
How long does it  take a newbie to design a 60% size PCB?

I'm not sure there is an answer to that question, it could be 1 day if your a genius or it could be forever if you don't' have a clue.

Offline BlueBär

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #36 on: Wed, 26 February 2014, 12:24:51 »
I'm trying to do something and found this small tutorial series: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLy2022BX6Esr6yxwDzhqYZyuuenJE2s5B
Can really recommend it.

Offline Melvang

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #37 on: Wed, 26 February 2014, 21:19:50 »
regack made a nice tutorial, it is up on his github: https://github.com/regack/depot/raw/master/basics/Kicad_Basics.pdf

He is a sneaky bastard :P

My components and modules library is pretty much done as well, so I will post that later today as well.

Well I clicked on the link and all I got was a gray screen with a light gray oval in the middle.
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Offline whiskytango

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #38 on: Wed, 26 February 2014, 21:25:54 »
regack made a nice tutorial, it is up on his github: https://github.com/regack/depot/raw/master/basics/Kicad_Basics.pdf

He is a sneaky bastard :P

My components and modules library is pretty much done as well, so I will post that later today as well.

Well I clicked on the link and all I got was a gray screen with a light gray oval in the middle.

same here. I even tried right clicking and save as, but then the pdf I downloaded was corrupt.
I stay busy with work and family these days, but I'm still around, lurking.

Offline Melvang

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #39 on: Wed, 26 February 2014, 21:28:57 »
regack made a nice tutorial, it is up on his github: https://github.com/regack/depot/raw/master/basics/Kicad_Basics.pdf

He is a sneaky bastard :P

My components and modules library is pretty much done as well, so I will post that later today as well.

Well I clicked on the link and all I got was a gray screen with a light gray oval in the middle.

same here. I even tried right clicking and save as, but then the pdf I downloaded was corrupt.

At least I'm not the only one.
OG Kishsaver, Razer Orbweaver clears and reds with blue LEDs, and Razer Naga Epic.   "Great minds crawl in the same sewer"  Uncle Rich

Offline MOZ

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #40 on: Wed, 26 February 2014, 22:05:27 »
Here: https://github.com/regack/depot

You'll have to download the zip

Offline whiskytango

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #41 on: Wed, 26 February 2014, 22:30:00 »
Here: https://github.com/regack/depot

You'll have to download the zip

MOZ, you are the man. I didn't realize you could do that. I am a self-professed github noob though. Thanks.
I stay busy with work and family these days, but I'm still around, lurking.

Offline Melvang

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #42 on: Wed, 26 February 2014, 22:38:32 »
Here: https://github.com/regack/depot

You'll have to download the zip

MOZ, you are the man. I didn't realize you could do that. I am a self-professed github noob though. Thanks.

Yeah, I am still trying to figure out how to download this zip file that I may not even be seeing.
OG Kishsaver, Razer Orbweaver clears and reds with blue LEDs, and Razer Naga Epic.   "Great minds crawl in the same sewer"  Uncle Rich

Offline MOZ

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #43 on: Wed, 26 February 2014, 22:39:55 »
Here: https://github.com/regack/depot

You'll have to download the zip

MOZ, you are the man. I didn't realize you could do that. I am a self-professed github noob though. Thanks.

Yeah, I am still trying to figure out how to download this zip file that I may not even be seeing.

Extreme right.

Offline whiskytango

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #44 on: Wed, 26 February 2014, 22:42:04 »
Here: https://github.com/regack/depot

You'll have to download the zip

MOZ, you are the man. I didn't realize you could do that. I am a self-professed github noob though. Thanks.

Yeah, I am still trying to figure out how to download this zip file that I may not even be seeing.

it took me a minute to find it too. look at the red circled area on right:

I stay busy with work and family these days, but I'm still around, lurking.

Offline Melvang

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #45 on: Wed, 26 February 2014, 22:46:16 »
Here: https://github.com/regack/depot

You'll have to download the zip

MOZ, you are the man. I didn't realize you could do that. I am a self-professed github noob though. Thanks.

Yeah, I am still trying to figure out how to download this zip file that I may not even be seeing.

it took me a minute to find it too. look at the red circled area on right:

Show Image


awesome thanks WT.
OG Kishsaver, Razer Orbweaver clears and reds with blue LEDs, and Razer Naga Epic.   "Great minds crawl in the same sewer"  Uncle Rich

Offline MOZ

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #46 on: Wed, 26 February 2014, 22:54:56 »
The package includes basic module and component libraries to get you started as well as some other random stuff.

Edit: Oh, and I forgot, I have ti upload the libraries, sorry for the delay, coming in a few hours

Offline MOZ

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #47 on: Thu, 27 February 2014, 10:03:04 »
Here is the library.

This should suffice for almost every application for keyboard designing.

Contains components for eeschema as well as modules for PCBnew (Both parts of KiCAD)

Offline Parak

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #48 on: Thu, 27 February 2014, 10:17:24 »
For production purposes, I believe the rule is to use a 0 ohm smd resistor part. Or somesuch.

Offline Melvang

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Re: The Living PCB Design Thread
« Reply #49 on: Thu, 27 February 2014, 22:41:37 »
So I was watching that youtube playlist from contextual electronics, and I am not sure if I am more confused or if I understand it better.  It seems like he does know what he is doing but didn't plan and rehearse the video series and keeps going 3 steps forward and 2 steps back to get ahead one step.  All I want to do is learn how to make a pcb for one switch with pads to solder wires to for making hand wired matrices easier to wire up.
OG Kishsaver, Razer Orbweaver clears and reds with blue LEDs, and Razer Naga Epic.   "Great minds crawl in the same sewer"  Uncle Rich