Create (fill in) the actual board

Thanks again @jos… I figured out how to enlarge the tracks… I went from 0.25 to 0.4, which is what you see in my image. How wide would you suggest?

How do I make the tracks flow better?

How do I increase the Pad size on the vias?

I also figured out how to change the additional Screen Printing, well to be actual screen printing by changing the layer.

Is there a way to freehand rotate parts? I would like to orient them towards the center

Thanks to @jos’s suggestion about cleaning up the lines, I played around with it and refined it completely. The copper is 0.6mm wide and everything is aligned (albeit imperfectly) around the center of the ring. I still haven’t figured out how to make the terminal soldering pads for power larger, so any help there would be appreciated. I definitely like the look!!!

Do they need to be larger than the choices listed?

You can click on the pad and edit it or just make a custom one for your library.

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@hermit and @Rene_Poschl, you’ve hit the nail on the head. Thanks so much. I went over to the HackerSpace this afternoon to be tutored a bit, but he was using KiCAD 4, not 5. It was a bit confusing, to say the least, but I learned a lot. Skipping the Schematic was not a good thing.

One thing we could not figure out, was how to link a footprint to a symbol. It’s so easy to do it under Schema in 4, but I just can’t figure it out in 5. Any clues???

Oh yeah, here’s a pic of “after”

Actually, I think I just found it.

Nice job. Well done :+1:

  • If you get rid of those two Ref** markers it would be even nicer. Uncheck the ‘show’ check box in the pin’s properties settings.
  • To perfect it even more drag that +5V pin with the G command so it ends up at 90⁰ to the circle itself. Just draw a free line as a guide perhaps on the Dwgs.User layer from dead centre of the circle into position. Then align the pin with its track parallel to it.
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Hey, nice job!
How did you manage to do those circular copper tracks?

Thanks!

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I simply drew concentric circles on the F-Cu layer. It doesn’t recognize them as tracks though which is kinda sad. This is my first attempt to design a PCB, so it’s been a bit of a learning curve. I used a “stand alone” instance of PCB new twice, before I learned I had to start KiCad and work from the schematic on.

This was my last attempt and I have submitted it to be made.

It can be done nicely roundish too.

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Well your post would be much more useful if you tell the user how instead of simply showing off what you did.

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NetDOc already did it and changed it back. It’s not that hard Rene. It’s simple a matter of working out some basic angles and just keep arrange things. Frei nach Schnauze und pi mal Auge.

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@NetDOc used a circular feature on the copper layer which is not supported by DRC.

So here an old post that can be used as a guide Curved tracks / free form drawing and of course Rounded Tracks Reloaded ... again: RF Tools for KiCad

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That’s correct. DRC does not like this kind of design.

A trick to connect e.g. the pin header is to move the circle temporarily to a different layer. Lay out tracks. Move circle back to the intended layer. For simple projects like that it’s not an issue.

I would not do that with more complex designs though.

I’m trying to back track a bit on a design: how do you remove the copper flood?

I don’t remove the copper. I just click on the “Do not show filled areas in zones” button. After redoing my tracks I refill the zone and select again “Show filled areas in zones”.

If you want to remove the copper forever, delete the zone. But I don’t think you want so.

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You can also find Unfill options from the zone’s context menu.

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