How to merge 3 PCBs onto one sheet

[Bonsai]

Hi, I have 3 different PCBs I want to merge onto one PCB. I’ve done a search but no luck.

Also, If I want to duplicate a board on a sheet so I have two of the same next to each other, I get this error

Can someone point me in the right direction for these two questions?

Thanks
A

[bask185]

You can use the append board button. It is in the top left side of the screen. It goes hand in hand with schematic sheets. But a good workflow helps in preventing errors.

I recommend reading this post of mine. It explains in great detail how I append boards.

Best possible workflow

Fellow Kicad users, I wanted to show what my optimalized current flow looks like when starting projects from scratch. There were a few problems I had to solve once and for all. And I thought that it could not hurt to post my workflow here. Perhaps it may answer a question or two for somebody one day. The Problems to overcome rerouting the same things over and over again following the above, redoing silk text placement too big silk texts footprint links vendor ID codes corrected paths to 3D m…

You may want to re-annotate your 3 projects beforehand to avoid annotation overlaps. But it could also be solved after the merge.

About that error. I have it too alot, but this error occurs when I copy paste a mounting hole of which I deleted the silk REF text. IMO it is a huge payne, and I for one could live without this particular error. But I suppose it exists for an important reason.

Kind regards,

Bas

[2norderEDO]

This week I was working on a panel containing different versions of the same layout.

I did not have the time to learn how to use KiKit for multi-pcb panelization, so I was basically copy-pasting the boards in the panel, did not realize there was a board append button. It is a much elegant solution, since net names are preserved.

The only disadvantage is net names are duplicated across boards. Is there a way to automatically add prefixes or suffixes to the appended board nets, so nets are independent? That would be the perfect solution.

Regards,
2nOrderEDO

[Bonsai]

Thanks for your replies Bas and 2ndOrderEDO. I will try the append button

[bask185]

not that I know off. I would make the unique boards first, like you propably have already. Than run DRC and fix errors.

With same net names, it matters little whether you use copy paste or append board. I do recommend grouping each board to avoid losing a track or a via. Make the panel and don’t bother with the DRC.

And you can also just turn off airwires.

Regards,

Bas