I looked around for an Arduino Nano 33 BLE KiCad footprint so I can solder this new Arduino directly to my PCB, but also keeping the holes in case I want to mount it over pins in some test boards, but couldn’t find any.
So I made one, not sure if I used the best strategy, if some KiCad expert can take a look at it please let me know if its ok or can be done better. Its in my KiCad github public repository, the file named Arduino_Nano_pads.kicad_mod, to use it please import it to a KiCad footprint library and associate it with the existing KiCad Arduino Nano symbol. And if you like it you can use it.
To do this, I would have to go get your footprint, and add it to some library, maybe create a dummy project first, add the library to the project, not very difficult but it easily sucks up 10 minutes. You make it easier on others if you do this work, put the footprint in a simple project, zip up the project and post it here. Then having a look is just downloading and opening the project.
Combining a SMT and THT pad is OK in KiCad, as long as they have the same pad numbers. You do have to think about the stencil. The holes can easily suck up all your solder, and this makes this method difficult for automated assembly. For manual soldering it does not matter much, as you see what you’re doing, inspecting and correcting at the same time.
Also, printing your footprint on paper is a quick way to do some verification checks:
It is also not just about the hoops to jump through.
By taking the initiative to do as much as you can yourself, you also invite others to give just that little extra push to help you get further.
humm… just started using KiCad latest version 6, not sure if I can make a project with local libraries etc so that I can zip it and other people can use it right away… creating a new project and importing a footprint is quite easy and fast… anyway its working for me and I’m just giving this away to anyone that needs it, if I get comments back on it it’ll be great… if not, well…
