Conversion from eagle to kicad, first real project

[TomTheDutchy]

Hi Everyone,
I have been tinkering around with Kicad for a while now and it’s time to do my first real project. I have a pcb designed in Eagle that i want to make with kicad. The pcb is used for testing batteries and there are a few things that i want to learn/ hope to get out of kicad.

1. duplicate parts of a layout.
   I have 12 identical circuits and want to learn if there is a way to make 1 circuit and copy this. I was hoping that if you first make a schematic of the circuit, then you lay it out in pcbnew, then in pcbnew you copy it, then you copy it it the schematic and when you update the netlist kicad would see the parts already there and not generate new ones. This didn’t work and it is not clear for me what the utility of copying components is in pcbnew if you cannot connect them to the schematic

2. learn how to handle the libraries. I’ve learnt how to make my own footprint library and component library, i can create my own parts. But when i look at github there is not really a footprint library and i found online that all the footprints you need are in the program. I use a pic18F45K50 TQFP and can’t find it anywhere, its a 44 pin microprocessor. Does anyone know where to find it?

I’ll be posting my progress here, right now i am building the schematic.

Hope someone can help!

[eelik]

@TomTheDutchy

But when i look at github there is not really a footprint library and i found online that all the footprints you need are in the program. I use a pic18F45K50 TQFP and can’t find it anywhere, its a 44 pin microprocessor. Does anyone know where to find it?

If you have installed KiCad normally it has the official library installed and you should find something relevant in Package_QFP library.

[eelik]

@TomTheDutchy

duplicate parts of a layout.

If I understand you correctly you want to replicate or repeat the board layout. There’s no native way to do it (yet) but here’s a good plugin which should work:

Replicate layout: Action plugin

Here is my first contribution to the Kicad. It is a Replicate layout action plugin, which replicates arrayed sheets. I tried running @mmccoo script , but could not get it working as pcbnew python API changed since then. So I rolled my own version, which is more procedurally oriented, as my coding skills are mainly in C. It can be used as an Action plugin or standalone. It also includes some basic testing in case the API changes again. Any comments are welcome but bear in mind that my response…

You need to use hierarchical sheets in schematic for that to work.

[TomTheDutchy]

Hi,
Thanks for the reply! I have downloaded the plugin and it is working in pcbnew. Now since i am just learning this i haven’t copied in eeschema al the parts because it would be a mess in pcbnew. I have placed the part i want to copy in a sheet and made a new sheet with the part that i want to copy the layout from, now when i click on the plugin it says that there is no module selected. Obviously i am doing something wrong, can you help me out?

Tester_A.zip (265.7 KB)

The schema isn’t finished yet but i wanted to learn this first before drawing everything out. Once i master copying parts in pcbnew i will make full use of this plugin.

[eelik]

The thread linked to above has instructions which I gave recently to another user. Read the end of the thread.

But you haven’t used hierarchical sheets correctly. The idea of the sheets is that you don’t copy the symbols, wires etc. Instead you enter the sheet (by opening the context menu of a newly created hierarchical sheet box or just double clicking) and draw once there. You also have to use hierarchical labels inside the sheet and import them to the box.

Then you could create another box but give it the file name from the original sheet box, but you can just copy or duplicate the box. Now they have different sheet name but identical file name and content. When you modify the content of either of them the both are changed. In this way you have only one place to make changes but several copies.

This is how it looks like.

Then, when you propagate the changes to the layout, you can open a context menu on a component of a hierarchical sheet and select “Select->Items In Same Hierarchical Sheet”. But for the plugin you just select one component which you use as the anchor.

[TomTheDutchy]

Hi,
It’s been a while and i have been messing around with my schematic. I have created multiple hierarchical layers so i dont have to duplicate as much. Is it possible to propagate the lay-out through the different hierarchies? This means that you first duplicate a one cell lay-out, This becomes a block with shift registers that you lay-out. This block is then duplicated etc. When i import my netlist now everything is shuffled again. Tester_A_forum.zip (72.7 KB)

@eelik

Then, when you propagate the changes to the layout, you can open a context menu on a component of a hierarchical sheet and select “Select->Items In Same Hierarchical Sheet

This part is not clear to me as to what you mean exactly. Thanks for the help!

[eelik]

@TomTheDutchy

Then, when you propagate the changes to the layout, you can open a context menu on a component of a hierarchical sheet and select “Select->Items In Same Hierarchical Sheet

This part is not clear to me as to what you mean exactly. Thanks for the help!

“Propagate”: In older style: write the netlist from eeschema, read it from pcbnew. In newer and better style: use “Tools->Update PCB From Schematic” from eeschema.

After the board has been updated, try selecting one footprint which belongs to some hierarchical sheet. Open the context menu and “Select” menu item, then “Items In Same Hierarchical Sheet”.

But this isn’t necessary for you, I just told it because you can see how pcbnew recognizes footprints from hierarchical sheets. The plugin uses that possibility implicitly but when you use the plugin you select only one footprint.