New "Create Footprint Array" Menu Option

I’m running the latest build of KiCad and there is an interesting new Menu option that pops up when I Right-Click on a footprint called “Create Footprint Array”. However, I don’t see any documentation on this feature in the pcbnew.pdf documentation file.

It appears that this function is not used as a “Distribute Object” function like in other Cad packages where you select the objects and evenly distribute them along an axis. Instead, it seems that the selected footprint will be copied and a new set of footprints be created in an array.

What I wanted to do was to place the five existing DB25 connectors from the NetList on the board at an even spacing. It doesn’t appear that I can use this to do that so I was curious as to how this feature is intended to be used.

Does anyone have any documentation or information available on this new feature?

Why not use the “Align/distribute” option then?

Madworm,

I’ve looked all over and I don’t see a “Align/distribute” option in pcbnew. Again, I’m running the latest build and I can’t find such an option. Where do I find this? Is there some special mode I need to have enabled or some Preference that I need to select to make this appear?

(Sorry. Total KiCAD Newbie.)

Context menu + openGL mode.

Hi,
Just out of curiosity: I tried the create array tool, which has a circular distribution version, including part rotation (which is pretty cool). If I wanted to make, say a circular LED panel with concentric LEDs circles, I would gladly use this tool to place the LEDs.
But is there a way for keeping the link to the schematic in this mode? Is there a better way to do such a thing?

1 Like