Hi. New KiCad user, trying to use the Arduino Mega shield footprint “Arduino_Mega2560_R3_Shield” installed using the KiCad plugin and content manager.
The shield footprint has holes in the correct positions, and I will be adding stackable female header connectors in those positions. However when I place the footprint for a header, e.g. Connector_PinSocket_2.54mm:PinSocket_1x08_P2.54mm_Vertical, on top of the holes on the sheild footprint I get lots of DRC errors e.g.
[hole_near_hole]: Drilled holes too close together (board setup constraints min 0.2495 mm; actual 0.0000 mm)
Rule: board setup constraints; Severity: error
@(173.4747 mm, 61.3943 mm): PTH pad 8 [Net-(A1-D14/TX3)] of J3
@(173.4557 mm, 61.3708 mm): PTH pad D14 [Net-(A1-D14/TX3)] of A1
Unsurprising as both footprints of course have holes in the same positions.
How are you supposed to do this? I suspect I have a basic misunderstanding of something here …
Just tried that - a connector does appear in the 3D view but dangling off the edge of the board and I don’t know how to reposition it since doesn’t seem to appear in the footprint editor.
One reason for wanting to add the connector was so that the PCB editor can take it into account when calculating clearances etc as it is bigger than the just the holes. Would this just be adding it to the 3D view?
This is what it looks like (and you can see the lack of connectors in this shield)
Many thanks BlackCoffee. I’ll try the project template RaptorUK suggested first - I wasn’t aware of those but might be more suitable than a footprint since after all a shield is itself a board rather than something you place on a board.
And yes will check against the actual hardware as well before sending it off …
As I said, it was a long time ago… I just opened the Kicad Mega template and overlaid my Footprint/Step and they now match well enough (minor variations and I made mine with geometry for Clone brands I have…) The important aspect’s (for me) are the Pin/Connector and mount-hole locations.
The template solution you suggested worked well (though that said I’m crossing fingers until I get the boards back). I think a shield is more like a board than it is a footprint, so this approach is generally more likely not to run into difficulties.
