Front-/Back-Layer User Drawing

Layout Footprints
1

Hello.

I am looking for a way to generate layers in my footprints that will behave the same as F.Fab / B.Fab, but are User layers.

Now if I add text to the Fab-Layers, it will mirror if I change on which layer (Front/Back) the component is placed to make sure that the text is correct on each of the layers.
If I add text to a User layer, the text will not mirror and.
Is there a way to create a front/back user layer in the footprint editor, so that I can add aditional text to my footprint that will not be on the Fab Layers, but is still changing if I place the component on the oppsite side?

Any help is very much appreciated.

3

You can not create new layers in the footprint editor. You have to make do with the layers that are present.

What KiCad version are you using? Apparently there is a new feature in KiCad V9 that works with Front and Back user layers, but I am still on KiCad V8 and have not used this yet.

4

Hello. I am using KiCad Version 9.0.2. Do you know where I can find information about Front/Back User layers?

5

These release notes have a (short) remark of:

Allowing grouping of user defined layers as front/back pairs

There is also a Post Vx thread with announcements of new features for each mayor KiCad version with features introduced in the nightlies, and which are (very likely) going to be implemented in the next mayor KiCad version.

6

Thank you very much. I found a solution after you mentioned the short remark in the release notes. I then found it in the Kicad Documentation

7

This solution is in the Board Setup

ksnip_20250707-200015
ksnip_20250707-200015998×612 67.5 KB

8

I approach V9 with great trepidation (I’m still in V8).
I have 2 questions:

  1. Do this part of Board setup is common for all Projects (is Environment setup) or specific to each PCB?

If it is specific than it is hard to imagine how you use such layer pairs in footprint editor.
So I assume this section is not specific.

  1. Do settings made here you see in footprint editor?

To be safe I plan to make experiments with V9 at separate PC before I will confirm that I am able to use V9.
I would not need these extra layer pairs if the ‘Plot footprint values’ and ‘Plot reference designators’ were not deleted from Plot dialog box.
But as they were deleted then I need new layer pairs common to all footprints and all projects.

I increasingly suspect that I will have to skip V9 hoping to have this problem someway solved in V10.

9

Hi @Piotr

This layer pair dialogue is only available in the PCB Editor. It is only available for the 9 User Layers.

The Footprint Editor is the same as Kicad 8. There are four User Layers and none can be paired.

10

As in my opinion paired layers have only rationale if used in footprint (just to flip with it) than I expect the idea is:

  • you have 4 User layers to be used with footprint,
  • in PCB you can pair these 4 layers with other four layers (in PCB you have more of them).

That way you can have 4 layers pairs but from each of them in footprint you can use only one.
Can you check if it works that way?
In footprints practically only F.Courtyard, F.Silkscreen, F.Paste, F.Mask, F.Fab are used even I can imagine B.Fab or B.Silkscreen being used.
So being limited to use only one layer from each User pair is not a serious limitation.

I need to plot:

  1. rectangle + pin1 marking + reference
  2. rectangle + pin1 marking + value

With these 2 checkboxes present in plot it could be done with one layer pair (I used Courtyard).
If 4 layers from footprint can be at PCB paired with other layers than it can be done by using 3 paired layers (with rectangle and pin1 marking at separate layer) or 2 paired layers (with rectangle + pin1 marking being defined twice).

In some PCB projects I have already used first 3 User layers. Now I expect I will have to move them to the end of User layers list.