OK, I am new and trying to learn KiCAD. I have made PCBs for decades, dating back to the 1960s and have used other PCB software as well as cut and paste techniques but this will be my first KiCAD project. I hope it will be a long and happy association.
Perhaps I am overthinking things, but I don’t want to start my first project twice. After some reading I learned that there can be hierarchical schematics. There would be a Root Sheet and then additional sheets below/within that. That sounds logical and is a great feature. My first project, while not highly complex, will need two PCBs: one a power supply and the other the working circuit. And the working circuit PCB, of which there will be about 6 or 8 copies in the device, will be assembled in two different versions for different outputs. The PCB, the foil pattern will be identical, just the chips will be different.
So I have three questions and at least two seem to need answers BEFORE I even start:
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Should I begin with the Root Sheet and create some kind of blocks inside it for the other PCBs? Or should I start with the individual PCBs (power supply and working circuit) and later combine them into a Root Sheet created at that time?
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Since the working PCBs will have identical foil paths and component footprints, can I just copy the first schematic into a second window and rename the different parts? Of course, saving it by a different name.
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Will I be able to run the the Ngspice simulation on the complete circuit? Or just on the individual schematic of the working PCB? This is not as important as the other two questions, but an answer may help me to optimize my design process.
Perhaps there is a tutorial or video on this. A link would be nice.
Thanks in advance for any help on these matters.
Paul A.