I want to create a pcb for a WordClock. The Clock is running and working. But I dont want to solder all the LEDs one by one. I wish i had a pcb with some custom format/size, eleven rows for 11 strips of 11 leds. Also a an easy level shifter from aliexpress should be connected. Maybe a power jack for the 5V power supply. My problem i dont find the right footprints, i dont know how to create the solder pads for the ws2812 led strips nad search for some help. It would be great via Teams or Discord with some screensharing. I´m from germany and it would be great in german
Hope to find some help for a hour.
There should be a FAQ telling how to do personal libraries. Then you should look through KiCad footprints to search one close to your needs, copy it into your library and modify.
Creating/modifying symbols and footprints are generally much simpler tasks then designing PCB.
I think that reading Getting Started manual should be helpful.
When I look at the WS2812 in KiCad’s default libraries, then it already shows a default footprint, and it looks correct (or at least plausible). You should always verify this yourself if you actually want to use it.
Or do you want to cut a long led strip into short sections, and then put those sections on a PCB?
I would probably just glue the LED strips to a piece of plywood, or put them in a 3D printed frame and then just solder wires between them. It’s quick to do, and for a one-off the soldering is less work then creating a PCB.
But if you do want to make a PCB… Creating new footprints is not very difficult The user interface for the footprint editor is pretty consistent with the other editors in KiCad, but there is a bit of a learning curve. I’d say just start experimenting, try to read the manual or find some tutorials, and then ask here when you get stuck and have some specific questions about some detail.
I want a strip of 11 leds in row. 11 rows among themselves and ever row i had to solder. My goal is too get a pcd with the a wemos d1 mini a level shifter for the ws2812 signal pin and a backplane pcd where I only had to solder the led 11 led strips iwth ever strip of 11 leds. The size and the position must be correct and my work will step down from 4,5 hours yesterday to maxmium of one hour. I have to create 4 more clocks and thats the reason why I want to create this pcb
It should be look like that. It is missing a connector vor a 5V DC Power Suppy and the level shifter I dont find the parts in KiCad I dont know who to create the layout for the pcb. I think it is too much to learn for single projekt. And my school english is more then 30 years old… I think it is failed for me. Thank you for your replays.
@johannespfister ich hoffe meine Antwort auf deine Nachricht hat dich erreicht, ich hab sonst keine Ahnung wie ich dir Antworten kann Deswegen hier die Info das ich dir zurĂĽck geschrieben habe.
At the moment there is a hotly debated discussion about forum rules going on behind the scenes. It started because of Johannes’s use of German while answering questions (even to people who do not understand German at all) while he asks questions in English when he wants help himself.
The consensus seems to be to allow non-english, especially for newcomers, or for people who have difficulty with translations, but to discourage non-english. Partially because it is a burden for moderators who have to check messages for spam. But also because use of different languages degrades the usability of this forum for users. From people just reading a forum topic and not understanding some of the answers, to search functions that do not work. You can expect some “official” guidelines about this to become available shortly (a few weeks).
Johannes has been receiving several PM’s and apparently did not see fit to react or change his behavior. I’m not sure about his exact status, but I think he got banned for 2 weeks because of it.
If here is some german ppl, that will create that design together with me, I would pay for his/her time.I don’t want to spend so much time learning this.
It is really not very difficult to learn to make custom footprints. The footprint editor has a very similar look and feel to the other programs in KiCad. I see it a lot on this forum that people are afraid of starting to design a footprint (or modify an existing one). There is indeed a bit of a learning curve, but it’s not too hard, and there are plenty of people (from all kinds of nationalities) that are willing to help with advise if you do get stuck.
There is also another simple option. These LED strips are not designed to be PCB mountable, and that makes designing a footprint, and soldering the led strip to the footprint a bit cumbersome. You can use simple standard single in line headers for the electrical connections, place them on a convenient place on the PCB, and then solder short wires between the LED strips and these headers.
Like I said, I`m from germany and dont want to try explain everything in english. My school english is 30 years ago…
And for next why u cant exept that I dont want to spent time to learn it. Somebody else can do it in maybe an hour and it is done. Why should I spent much more time for a single project. please stop this kind of discussion.
Your English is plenty good enough to make yourself understandable on this forum, (but I do not know how much effort it costs you to read and interpret (translate?) the messages. Your English is better then My German, even though I’m a neighbor from the Netherlands.
I am thinking about taking this up myself (For a donation to KiCad). The most difficult (and time consuming part) will be the specifications of what you want made. (And indeed communcation is important here, and speaking the same language helps.)
But whoever does the job. It starts with setting up some detailed specifications of what the job is about. Getting this communication done is very likely more difficult then the project itself. Designing the PCB is probably just a few hours, but there is a significant risk that when you see the PCB, you will say “No, that is not what I had in mind, I want this and that changed”. And those things suck up many hours of time.
I think it is:
A relatively big PCB, on which 11 sections of LED strip are mounted. (Horizontal or vertical, spacing?)
Some other circuitry (you already have a project, zip it up and post if if you dare).
What do these LED strips look like? (Make a photograph, together with a ruler for size comparison. Also take the picture from “far” away and then zoom in. This reduces (barrel) distortion and makes the picture more accurate. Also make sure lighting is adequate.
I assume you outsource PCB manufacturing. Do you also want to outsource SMT placement?
Also, what do you want to have done by someone else? Do you want them to do the whole project, Or do you just want to have a solution for the LED strips and a first draft of the PCB and then finish it yourself?
Or do you want to outsource the whole project and have someone send PCB’s (or final assembled and tested product) to you?
If you outsource SMT placement, you don’t have to fiddle with LED strips at all, but can have them soldered directly onto the PCB.
