I have tried several ways to do this and I have not been able to achieve it, not even with Inkscape and not freecad.
Any ideas?
KiCad itself isnât a good tool for this. I wonder why you âhave not been able to achieve it, not even with Inkscape and not freecadâ. Choose a CAD which can do 2D and learn to use it. FreeCAD sketch should be good, and some other workbenches should work, too. This doesnât even look very difficult if you have dimensions. Mostly some arcs, some straight lines and rounded corners.
I straighten it in GIMP first, then imported to KiCAD and draw outline quickly.
5 mins jobs so far, but needs a bit of cleaning.
It is a bit of a problematic shape for KiCad because it has no intersection snapping or trim function. Both of which are trivial in both FreeCad and Inkscape. Does not mean it can not be drawn in kicad just now you have the hard part left.
Agree. Freecad would do better job for that. But not having this shape in KiCAD with center, etc. you can quickly replicate it with arcs and lines as it will snap to the existing shapes.
There you go.
.kicad_pcb is what Iâve managed to draw using KiCAD only.
.FCStd is a quick sketch in FreeCAD.
You need to scale it properly (the coin is not enough), so the FreeCAD file may be the best for you.
Then export it as DXF and import to KiCAD.
pcb-outline.FCStd (458.9 KB)
test01.kicad_pcb (674.0 KB)
A split selection function should be possible to write with the python environment
5+ years ago I have designed PCB âlike thisâ with KiCad V5 by importing its shape made with LibreCAD.
I just updated iMovie software and tested it by making Video that may helpâŚ
Did not care about exact geometry/dimensions but, you should be able to glean enough to do it from a Photograph⌠I used a thrown-together PCB for this, then:
⢠Loaded it using KIcadâs PCB Add-Image tool
⢠Scaled it from a Known dimension (the Length of Teensy4.0)
⢠Added some Reference lines indicating Diameter
⢠etcâŚ
Youâll get the ideaâŚ
Of course, the better approach is to draw it in FreeCAD/other⌠as mentionedâŚ
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Look what just appeared on my LinkedIn feed:
You have a link to Git repo with original KiCAD files there. You can use Edge.Cut layer from there which will be exactly the same as original.
PS. Read the license to make sure you comply with it.
PS2. @BlackCoffee - seems like the scaling is different. The PCB is much smaller.
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The videoâs dimensions have nothing to do with the dimensions of the OPâs referenced part - Iâm showing how to Scale [something - my image] from knowing what some itemâs true dimensions are.
The Result of my scaling (for my Image) produces a final dimension of the Teensy4.0 as 35.6mm (within a few Pixels of real hardware on my desk)
Zooming-into OPâs image, I see the Chip is STM32G474 and the Spec showâs itâs dim to be 10mm. Thus, a User can scale a Flat image of the item (but,OPâs image is not Flat with respect to the screen.
OK, Thatâs fine. I didnât realize you used your own image for that.
I see from your website that you use Solidworks, simply design the shape in Solidworks, export it as a DXF and import the DXF into KiCad to the Edge.Cuts layer (from PCB Editor, File > Import > Graphics) . . . DONE !
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Doesnât matter what Software is used to draw it (and, it can be drawn in Kicad) but, draw it using the actual dimâs at the Linkedin postâŚ
Screenshot below
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Just for info and people that have Affinity Designer available, they just released a DXF export function and it really works great, this quick&dirty design based on the previous example was made with it, I know it is NOT open-source but it is not expensive either and really works (and they donât force you to pay , every year, a arm & a leg like Adobe or Autocad), I had it installed for other reasons but now I can use it for my board outlines as I know how to work with it.
