Hello,
I am a new user of Kicad
I have installed the 5.1.5 version on Linux Mint and also on a windows 7 virtual machine (VMWARE).
I never see the toolbar button " automatic router"
Is it necessary to install a plugin ?
Can you help me ?
thanks
KiCad has no build in autorouter. (There was a bad one in the past but that got scraped because it was bad and no longer compatible with the program)
The only option i know off is to use freerouter. You can generally search the forum for this term. I think this might be a start Announcing kicad_freerouting-plugin (I have not followed the state of it)
Oh and for a bit of fun: https://contextualelectronics.com/product/never-trust-the-autorouter-t-shirt/ (Merch that supports KiCad development sold by the guy running this forum)
I have some experiences here: https://hackaday.io/page/6082-using-freerouting-with-kicad-5 I’ve used it on several 2-layer boards and it works fine.
I don’t use the plugin but do the export, route, import cycle manually. Maybe when the plugin matures.
As an aside, it’s placement that’s key. The quality of the routing depends on that. I spend more time finding the best locations for the components than the routing which takes comparatively little time to run.
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The same is true when manually routing. Placing the footprints is simply the key to doing a good layout. Be prepared to make multiple iterations.
So route it at least partially starting at the most important routes and look at the result. If you are unhappy rip it up again, find a better placement and repeat. (Similarly with auto router. Route it, play with router settings route it again, possibly play with footprint placement and route again, …)
Thanks for your answers.
A few month ago, i had installed Kicad on other PC , and it had the automatic rooter without specific installation.
actually, i used the manual router for my PCB, it’s good.
Thanks
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