Can anybody think of a way to make a filled area out of a imported DXF?
I want to make an area where there is no solder mask in the shape of an imported DXF.
I know that I could use the bmp to footprint thing as a workaround…but would be so much nicer to just fill the imported vector.
You would need a DXF to kicad_mod/pcb converter…
I just looked at a DXF file but can’t easily see the coordinates though.
Question, why is the keep-out-area defined as a DXF in the first place?
I need/want to use a dxf (or svg) simply because i need complex shapes that I won’t be able to draw directly in kicad.
I tried this: http://mondalaci.github.io/dxf2svg2kicad/#_
It works very well for importing vectors to be used as lines/outlines, but there is no possibility to fill the enclosed area.
Have you had a look at the file (.kicad_pcb) once you imported the dxf/svg and searched for a way to modify the lines in there into coordinates for the keep-out-area?
You need a keep out area in the file as well naturally to see how it’s built up from coordinates etc.
one option is to import your dxf shape in pcb footprint editor and export it as a module .kicad_mod
then open it in text editor and collect the point modifying it from fp_line / fp_arc in polygon
to see how a polygon is done in kicad just create a new board and place a fill zone, save the board and open it in text editor
then convert your point to the fill zone structure and assign it’s net to the net node you need
if everything went fine if you re-open your board you will have a fill zone with the shape of your dxf
that is a quite annoying way to do it… but it could be script-able in python …
at the moment this is the only way I know to have a polyline in kicad from a dxf shape …