Connect arc (graphic arc) to electrical net for routing

[winny]

In my circular PCB design, I used arc segments from the Add graphic arc and changed to top copper layer. Can I somehow connect each of them to an electrical net for routing? I don’t find any such option.

If not, how do I route with arc segments?

[der.ule]

Arcs and curve tracks are a new feature that KiCAD will have in V6 (maybe at the end of this year or currently in the nighties, recommended for testing and debugging but not for important work)

Assuming that your are using v5.1.x, there are still a couple of things that you can do.

1. Leave it as it is, DRC will complain and you will see the rastnest, but the copper will connect the two point and the gerbers will reflect that.

2, 3, 4 …) Use a script/plugin:

Suggestion for generation of rectangular and circular board outlines

If you really want circles made of tracks you have several options (this is the “not so straightforward” part) You can “abuse” the rounding tracks plugin from @maui and @jsreynaud, you’ll need to layout a track in square form, the side should be the same size as the desired circle diameter (here 10mm) [image] Then, for each pair of sides, round the corner to the size of the radius of the circle (here 5mm) [image] Repeat a couple of times and you have a circle, select the whole circle trac…

The script/plugin selection will depend on the complexity of your tracks.

[winny]

I’m on Version: (5.1.9)-1, release build. Very impressed so far how easy it was to get started, add components and generate output. Much more so than FreeCAD. Is there some donation or can an EE with no programming skills contribute back to the KiCAD community somehow?

I’m ok with accepting DRC errors for my own hobby design like this, but the router does not allow me to overlap the track from the LED to the circular arc segment. Can I somehow make it connect anyway?

[der.ule]

Use another graphic line and transfer it to F.Cu, or run the track from your component until the closest point near the round track and use a graphic line for the small segment and move it to F.Cu.

On the website in the upper right corner there is a link to the donation page. Using the software and reporting bug is a great form of contribute, helping other user here in the forum, if you are only doing hobby stuff, you could start testing v5.99 nighties (future V6) to help weed out usability problems, bugs, confusing dialogs, etc. Just be aware of that projects created with v5.99 cannot be opened with v5.1.9 anymore.

Just join the community and have fun!

[paulvdh]

Using V5.99 and reporting back bugs is indeed a good way to contribute to the KiCad project. Having a need for arc formed tracks is also a strong reason to want to work in V5.99.

You can install V5.99 at the same time as V5.1.x (At least on Linux and windoze) just to try it out. (Make sure you preserve a backup of your project in V5.1.x format, in case you have troubles with V5.99).

For reporting bugs you need:

1. Create a Gitlab account.
2. Use V5.99 until you find something worth reporting.
3. Search the “Issues” on gitlab to check if the thing you found has already been posted by someone else (If so, you can add more information). https://gitlab.com/groups/kicad/-/issues
4. In KiCad-nightly: Help / Report Bug

The last step, opens a web browser, goes to gitlab, and opens a new issue from a template that also adds your full version info to the post (this version info is a hard requirement for bug reports). From there, add a description, and
maybe extra info such as a screenshot.

Note that the level of proficiency in writing posts on gitlab is higher then on the user forum. On the user forum you can ask away anything you like, but posts on gitlab are read by KiCad developers, and all the time the need to read and interpret posts lessens the time they have to actually work on fixing bugs and improving code. To get an idea of what those posts look like it’s a good practice to read a bunch of them before you post anything. You should do this anyway in searching for duplicates in the problem you think you found. If you put more effort in writing good bug reports, then they have to spend less time reading and interpreting it.

[winny]

if you are only doing hobby stuff, you could start testing v5.99 nighties (future V6) to help weed out usability problems, bugs, confusing dialogs, etc. Just be aware of that projects created with v5.99 cannot be opened with v5.1.9 anymore.

It’s boarderline between hobby and serious mass production. Suppose I’m happy with my layout save for the DRC errors caused by the method described above to connect my arcs, can I install nightly build alongside the stable release and test it in 5.99 or are there any caveats I should be aware of, besides not being able to go back?

[paulvdh]

Yes. KiCad stable and KiCad-nightly can both be installed at the same time. This was a common request and has been fixed some time ago (months, maybe years).

Is it a good idea to use a nightly build version?

Short answer: If you have to ask, you should probably stick to the stable release. What are nightly builds? As the name implies, nightly builds are generated every night from the current master branch of the source repository. They are meant to allow a wider audience to more easily test new features. What are the dangers when using nightly builds? Nightly builds like all software have bugs. Because they have new not yet widely tested features you must expect a higher number of bugs. This inclu…

When working with nightlies, I suggest to make at least a daily backup, and also before each “big” operation.
It can also help to backup the installation files of some different nightly versions. In that case, if you later install a “bad” nightly, you can un install it and revert to a backed up nightly. Serious bugs do happen in the nightlies, for example:

V5.99 Many Problems With a Prior V5.1.5 Design

In the end this sounds like one problem, not many. Of course misplaced items cause ERC errors. You haven’t answered if you can share the design or not. It would be easy to test; without it it’s impossible to tell what’s wrong if nobody else hasn’t had the same problem.

But they don’t happen often, and are also fixed quickly (often within a day).