I have successfully generated a 2x2 array of sub PCBs, but KC has generated a new ratsnest that wants to link corresponding components between all the subs. I watched a YouTube video on the subject, and a similar new ratsnest appeared in the video of the example . Unfortunately the video did not show how to remove the unwanted ratsnest.
There is no way to do (at least in KiCad V8 and earlier, but probably the same in KiCadV9). There is no panelization feature built into KiCad. If you want to do panelization, then I recommend you do this as a separate project, and keep the original project intact. For the panel, you can disable the ratsnest, as it does not work for panels. There are also a few side projects around KiCad that can aid with panelization. For example, have a look at KiKit.
That’s not completely true. While KiCad doesn’t seem to have a slick way of panelizing, the Array feature available from a standalone instance of PCBNew does a fair job. There are even mousebite footprints available in the libraries.Today I completed a 2x2 panelized job using only Kicad. I just had to ignore the new ratsnest that was generated.
Are you sure about that?
I’ll rephrase:
There is no explicit support for panelizing in KiCad. You can create a panel, but you will have to use some tricks, probably disable DRC / ratsnest lines. KiCad’s default libraries also do not have mousebites. But it’s easy to make a library or a script with mousebites or other features that help with panelizing. So yes, you can draw a panel in KiCad, but no, there is no built in support of features that make panelizing easy.
Have you tried Kikit yet?
The Kikit plugin (Installable via the P&C Manager) is a tool that helps with panelzing. But it’s a tool created by another party and not part of the default KiCad installation.