Before giving up on Kicad one last attempt: ERC misery

edr1924 · March 23, 2019, 3:16pm

Hi all, another Kicad newbie here which has just finished his first schematic in Kicad.

I made some pcb’s in Eagle and I share all my work as Open Source so why not use an Open Source editor? I like Kicad very much, it’s easy to learn, even making new components!

BUT were I never had any problems with ERC in Eagle, I have MANY in Kicad.

I’m not interested in ERC for my simple purpose but without it I cannot get a netlist with all the wires connected! I looked for many days/hours online and on this forum but at no avail…

I tried removing wires, removing and re-applying labels, moving the part to see if the wires are connected etc. all pins of the arduino and huzzah chip are made passive

-For the life of me I cannot figure out why for example the resistor next to the crystal is not connected according to the ERC??
-U3: pins 9 and 10 not connected??

PIN13 of the Arduino chip gives an error on the label part left on the schematic, 2 LED’s
on the netlist NONE of the arduino chip pins are mentioned?!!!

Why on earth is Kicad so complicated in this aspect???
pls HELP!!!

PDF file of the complete schematic, scroll a bit down…

ERC report (Sat 23 Mar 2019 03:52:55 PM CET, Encoding UTF8 )

***** Sheet /
ErrType(3): Pin connected to some others pins but no pin to drive it
@ (139,70 mm,165,10 mm): Pin 1 (Power input) of component #PWR013 is not driven (Net 1).
ErrType(4): Conflict problem between pins. Severity: warning
@ (27,94 mm,31,75 mm): Pin 2 (Passive) of component J3 is connected to
@ (39,37 mm,29,21 mm): pin 2 (Unspecified) of component SW1 (net 2).
ErrType(4): Conflict problem between pins. Severity: warning
@ (41,91 mm,29,21 mm): Pin 3 (Unspecified) of component SW1 is connected to
@ (49,53 mm,31,75 mm): pin 1 (Passive) of component U1 (net 3).
ErrType(2): Pin not connected (and no connect symbol found on this pin)
@ (160,02 mm,55,88 mm): Pin 1 (Passive) of component J7 is unconnected.
ErrType(2): Pin not connected (and no connect symbol found on this pin)
@ (160,02 mm,29,21 mm): Pin 1 (Passive) of component J6 is unconnected.
ErrType(2): Pin not connected (and no connect symbol found on this pin)
@ (223,52 mm,63,50 mm): Pin 1 (Passive) of component R13 is unconnected.
ErrType(3): Pin connected to some others pins but no pin to drive it
@ (223,52 mm,50,80 mm): Pin 1 (Power input) of component #PWR022 is not driven (Net 16).
ErrType(2): Pin not connected (and no connect symbol found on this pin)
@ (245,11 mm,120,65 mm): Pin 9 (Passive) of component U3 is unconnected.
ErrType(2): Pin not connected (and no connect symbol found on this pin)
@ (245,11 mm,123,19 mm): Pin 10 (Passive) of component U3 is unconnected.
ErrType(2): Pin not connected (and no connect symbol found on this pin)
@ (223,52 mm,71,12 mm): Pin 2 (Passive) of component R13 is unconnected.
ErrType(2): Pin not connected (and no connect symbol found on this pin)
@ (153,67 mm,111,76 mm): Pin 2 (Passive) of component R11 is unconnected.
ErrType(2): Pin not connected (and no connect symbol found on this pin)
@ (269,24 mm,113,03 mm): Pin 15 (Passive) of component U3 is unconnected.

** ERC messages: 12 Errors 0 Warnings 12

( { EESchema Netlist Version 1.1 created Sat 23 Mar 2019 04:15:23 PM CET }
( /5C3F5096 TRACO_TSR_1 U1 TSR_1-2450
( 1 Net-(SW1-Pad3) )
( 2 GND )
( 3 +5V )
)
( /5C3F5189 DIP8 U2 LM358
( 1 Net-(R5-Pad1) )
( 2 Net-(RV1-Pad2) )
( 3 Net-(J4-Pad2) )
( 4 GND )
( 5 Net-(J5-Pad2) )
( 6 Net-(RV2-Pad2) )
( 7 Net-(R6-Pad1) )
( 8 +5V )
)
( /5C4336C5 TO92 Q1 BC547
( 1 GND )
( 2 Net-(Q1-Pad2) )
( 3 D4 )
)
( /5C433908 AX3_1N R5 1K
( 1 Net-(R5-Pad1) )
( 2 Net-(D1-Pad2) )
)
( /5C4339C7 AX3_1N R9 10K
( 1 +5V )
( 2 D4 )
)
( /5C434B04 AX3_1N R3 10K
( 1 Net-(J4-Pad2) )
( 2 GND )
)
( /5C434C46 TRIM6 RV1 10K
( 1 +5V )
( 2 Net-(RV1-Pad2) )
( 3 GND )
)
( /5C4358A0 LED D1 LED
( 1 GND )
( 2 Net-(D1-Pad2) )
)
( /5C43CF73 SIP3 J6 Conn_01x03
( 1 ? )
( 2 +5V )
( 3 GND )
)
( /5C43D155 SIP2 J4 SFH_203FA
( 1 +5V )
( 2 Net-(J4-Pad2) )
)
( /5C43D338 SIP2 J1 LD271
( 1 GND )
( 2 Net-(J1-Pad2) )
)
( /5C466C0E AX3_1N R1 100R
( 1 +5V )
( 2 Net-(J1-Pad2) )
)
( /5C47C71D TO92 Q2 BC547
( 1 GND )
( 2 Net-(Q2-Pad2) )
( 3 D5 )
)
( /5C47C723 AX3_1N R6 1K
( 1 Net-(R6-Pad1) )
( 2 Net-(D2-Pad2) )
)
( /5C47C729 AX3_1N R10 10K
( 1 +5V )
( 2 D5 )
)
( /5C47C72F AX3_1N R4 10K
( 1 Net-(J5-Pad2) )
( 2 GND )
)
( /5C47C735 TRIM6 RV2 10K
( 1 +5V )
( 2 Net-(RV2-Pad2) )
( 3 GND )
)
( /5C47C73B LED D2 LED
( 1 GND )
( 2 Net-(D2-Pad2) )
)
( /5C47C741 SIP2 J5 SFH_203FA
( 1 +5V )
( 2 Net-(J5-Pad2) )
)
( /5C47C747 SIP2 J2 LD271
( 1 GND )
( 2 Net-(J2-Pad2) )
)
( /5C47C782 AX3_1N R2 100R
( 1 +5V )
( 2 Net-(J2-Pad2) )
)
( /5C4AF604 SIP3 J7 Conn_01x03
( 1 ? )
( 2 +5V )
( 3 GND )
)
( /5C4C1139 AX3_1N R11 330R
( 1 Net-(D3-Pad2) )
( 2 ? )
)
( /5C4C121F LED D3 LED
( 1 Net-(D3-Pad1) )
( 2 Net-(D3-Pad2) )
)
( /5C4C12F1 LED D4 LED
( 1 GND )
( 2 Net-(D3-Pad1) )
)
( /5C83DAE4 AX3_1N R7 1K
( 1 Net-(Q1-Pad2) )
( 2 Net-(R5-Pad1) )
)
( /5C85F165 AX3_1N R8 1K
( 1 Net-(Q2-Pad2) )
( 2 Net-(R6-Pad1) )
)
( /8860D03359D6C4F2 CRYSTAL Y1 16Mhz
)
( /AEA5A7CDB449287E SIP2 C4 22pF
)
( /299244AFFCCC165D SIP2 C5 22pF
)
( /F8B16F2E15F46D77 SIP2 C7 100nF
)
( /18AF332D375CDECD SIP2 C6 100nF
)
( /CED7FF33D2D7F3C7 SIP6 J8 FTDI
)
( /5FFCE8047D0E483A SIP2 C3 100nF
)
( /4C475A1A20478EC3 AX2_1 D6 1N4148
)
( /A14A5B86E176B0C6 SIP2 C9 100nF
)
( /78D7580EE5CD39C6 SIP2 C1 330nF
)
( /5CA79936 AX3_1N R12 330R
( 1 Net-(D5-Pad2) )
( 2 +5V )
)
( /5CA7993D LED D5 LED
( 1 GND )
( 2 Net-(D5-Pad2) )
)
( /5CAC62A8 8266_HUZZAH U3 8266_HUZZAH
( 1 GND )
( 2 ? )
( 3 ? )
( 4 ? )
( 5 ? )
( 6 ? )
( 7 ? )
( 8 ? )
( 9 ? )
( 10 ? )
( 11 ? )
( 12 ? )
( 13 ? )
( 14 ? )
( 15 ? )
( 16 ? )
( 17 ? )
( 18 +5V )
( 19 ? )
( 20 GND )
)
( /5CBA8964 SIP3 SW1 ON/OFF
( 1 ? )
( 2 Net-(J3-Pad2) )
( 3 Net-(SW1-Pad3) )
)
( /B89026D3F9562130 DIP28N A1 ARDUINO_UNO_R3_DIP
)
( /5CC7DB54 TACT_01 SW4 RESET
( 1 GND )
( 2 GND )
( 3 Net-(R14-Pad2) )
( 4 Net-(R14-Pad2) )
)
( /5CADE7B1 SIP2 C8 100nF
)
( /5CB47DC6 AX3_1N R14 10K
( 1 +5V )
( 2 Net-(R14-Pad2) )
)
( /5CBB1C5B SCREW_TERMINAL_2_5x5 J3 Power_IN
( 1 GND )
( 2 Net-(J3-Pad2) )
)
( /5CC6CF60 TACT_01 SW2 OPEN/CLOSE
( 1 GND )
( 2 GND )
( 3 D7 )
( 4 D7 )
)
( /5CC6D12B TACT_01 SW3 OPEN/CLOSE
( 1 GND )
( 2 GND )
( 3 D8 )
( 4 D8 )
)
( /5CBCFC05 AX3_1N R13 10K
( 1 ? )
( 2 ? )
)
)
*

edr1924 · March 23, 2019, 3:21pm

PS: cannot attach a PDF of the complete schamatic as a new user.

Russ · March 23, 2019, 3:43pm

You are not alone. That error has bitten me too!
That error is explained in great detail here:
ERC error “ErrType(3): Pin connected to some others pins but no pin to drive it”

Seth_h · March 23, 2019, 3:48pm

You should be able to post files now. Can you attach your schematic file?

paulvdh · March 23, 2019, 4:08pm

There is no need to post the schematic.

If you look at the PNG screenshot in the first post you see that the components are not aligned with the dots of the grid.

Eeschema is completely dependent on endpoints of wires aligning perfectly with the attachment points of the pins on the symbols. and currently the only easy way to ensure this at the moment is to ALWAYS use a coarse grid in EEschema and place all symbols and wires on the grid.
A grid of 50mill (which is the default) works good.

All the symbols in KiCad’s libs are aligned on this grid, and if you have custom symbols with off grid pin spacing the only way to be able to work decently with it is to re-design your custom symbols with all the pin attachment points on grid.

This is a well known limitiation of KiCad, and I’ve heard some rumours this will probably get fixed in KiCad V6, but as long as you always use a coarse grid you will not be hindered by this limitation.

If you’re not aware of this it causes endless headaches.
Another recent thread about this limitation is:
https://forum.kicad.info/t/struggling-with-schematic-layout-editor/15842/3

Rene_Poschl · March 23, 2019, 4:42pm

I am not so sure about that. To me it looks like everything is connected.

I however guess that there are either some global labels missing a counterpart or they are not shown in the screenshots. (I do not see a second RESET, TX or RX label and ERC seems to point to the fact that these might not exist.)

All other errors are either wrongly defined pin types (unspeciifed type is not a good idea in general) or missing a power output pin to drive the net (Meaning missing the pwr_flag symbol.)

Efcis · March 23, 2019, 5:05pm

It looks like several labels are rotated (probably to indicate “Inbound” vs “Outbound”), but their connections are missing, because it must be done on the “arrow part” of the label.

paulvdh · March 23, 2019, 5:12pm

(Most?) Stuff looks like it is indeed connected, but when you look at this partial screenshot of OP’s screenshot you see it’s not aligned on the grid, wich is a very common cause of lots of headaches.

But if OP posts his schematic this is easy to confirm if alignment has anything to do with his issue, or to examine further what the acutal problem is.

edr1924 · March 23, 2019, 5:13pm

Thank you for your comment!

All the parts are on a 50mil grid so no problems there.
Also the label connection can be on both sides of the label as seen here:

edr1924 · March 23, 2019, 5:20pm

Very important to know, thank you!

But in my case the grid was set and not changed at 50 mil…

QUESTION: why are the labels Tx and Rx for example giving an error?
( all pins are passive.)

detail 1: error on the 8266 board:

detail 2: no error on the other end, the atmega processor:

Rene_Poschl · March 23, 2019, 5:23pm

If you use the highlight net tool, does it show you the two labels as connected?
If not then something is wrong with your labels.

Again giving us the files would make this a lot easier for us. It is clearly not the case that you are not willing or allowed to share them because you freely share screenshots, so i am really confused as to why you hesitate here.

edr1924 · March 23, 2019, 5:24pm

Yes I have to ad some pwr flag symbols but my main headache are the strange straightforward connections via a label which give an error.
I tried moving the labels etc to check the connections as said in the OP.

connecting with a wire does work of course.

edr1924 · March 23, 2019, 5:26pm

Sorry but I don’t hesitate, I gave the open source link with the PDF???
As said, I do share all my work so other can profit.

What file do you need?

edr1924 · March 23, 2019, 5:27pm

Yes the highlight tool indicates a connection, I checked this so many times.

edr1924 · March 23, 2019, 5:29pm

Can it be I have the 5.02 version, is it a bug…

attached the files:

MouseOleum IR board SHIELD.sch (1.1 MB)

Seth_h · March 23, 2019, 5:43pm

Thank you. Please also attach the cache file.

edr1924 · March 23, 2019, 5:44pm

oh sorry, ok, busy grabbing the lot…

Rene_Poschl · March 23, 2019, 5:47pm

Of course it can be a bug.

To determine this with certainty we really need the kicad files. (pdf simply does not cut it if you want to analyze a possible problem with the software.)

edr1924 · March 23, 2019, 5:48pm

@Seth_h

I attached the complete Kicad directory and the custom symbols I made and need for Veecad…
Thank you very much.

In the meantime, I’m busy testing the same connection via labels on an empty schematic…MouseOleum IR board SHIELD.zip (1.6 MB)

Seth_h · March 23, 2019, 6:07pm

Thank you. This is a bug. What kind of bug, I’m not sure yet but we’ll fix it. There are a few quirks here (power flags) that should be fixed but the connection missing for U3, pins 9/10 looks wrong to me. Would you be willing to post the project into a bug report at https://bugs.launchpad.net/kicad and we can address it.