I have a project that I want to have different PCB layouts. Same schematic but PCB will be different. Some components will be larger and need more space for heat sinks and some things will just be moved a little. What I want to do is duplicate the project but not the PCB part. I want to generate and place components and tracks as if it is a new project but based on the same schematic. I’m also adding mounting holes on the PCB so that I can put the PCB in a case.
What is the easiest way to do this? Can I just delete the PCB file? Should I just open the PCB file and remove everything? Is there a better way to do this? I would like to do this the right way. Searches didn’t turn up a answer plus Kicad is a moving target right now. Lots of improvements and new features.
I misread you question, gave an incorrect reply and then deleted it. Sorry for any confusion.
Kicad works as One Schematic, one PCB, so multiple different PCBs are a problem for the one schematic.
Probably the easiest solution is to have multiple projects, all with the same schematic but different PCBs.
Method I just used to experiment was:
Create new empty project.
Open old project and copy the whole schematic.
Close old project and reopen new project.
Paste whole schematic into new project.
Change appropriate footprints in the symbols on the new project.
Use Tools > Update PCB to start again with a new PCB or Copy/paste the PCB as was done with the schematic then Update to change the footprints.
And after all this typing, yes, as @paulvdh comments, File > Save as to a new project.
If you intend to revise the base schematic you could take advantage of hierarchical sheets. Put your schematic in one and then share it across different projects each with its own root sheet. This takes a bit of planning though.
It appears there is more than one way to do this but the ‘save as’ is what I went went. I then deleted the .pcb file from the new project. I had to tell KiCad to send the info to the PCB part again tho. I wasn’t surprised since I deleted the info.
I also noticed that at some point during upgrades, it lost all my footprints that refer back to a schematic symbol. I checked other projects and they are lost as well. Now I get to rework those too.
Other project? Lost footprints?
In KiCad V5 there were dependencies on external libraries, but from V6 and onward a KiCad project is pretty much self contained. (Except for 3D models).
Your projects should not have been broken, and no rework should have been needed. Maybe there is some error in your workflow, maybe it’s some kind of bug, but there is not enough info to draw any conclusion of even give any sort of advise.
I haven’t touched Kicad except during each major version change where I open, click save so it can update the project and then close. When I wanted to work on this current project and make some changes, some of the schematic symbols wasn’t right and I think every footprint was gone. The biggest thing I noticed, the names of the footprints had changed and it couldn’t find the old ones. I just had to dig until I could find the new name. Sometimes that is difficult because several can have names that are very close but very different parts. I may print this and double check before I try to make any boards. I may have selected the wrong one by mistake.
Either way, I’ll work it through. Kicad has changed so much, I feel like I’m almost starting over after not really using it for a couple years. Lots of added features.
