Switch gamepad?

[daimo996]

Hello,
I try to realize a button like this:

I do not know the name that carries, nor how to do in kicad
Thank you for your help

[hackscribble]

Some ideas here …

Layout challenge: make this contact pad with KiCad?

I’d like to duplicate this pattern as a device: [image] The challenge is that the gold-colored meandering bit is not a conductive trace; it’s the non-conductive gap between the gray-colored conductive areas. For those who care, this is where the conductive pad of a rubber keypad makes contact on the PCB. I my head I picture this as two adjacent filled areas separated by a meandering “keep-out” line. How best to do this in KiCad? Also, there are 30-ish of these, so I’d like to make it a footp…

[Rene_Poschl]

In short, there are two options:

• svg2mod: External python tool to convert inkscape svg files to kicad footprints.
• or the kicad internal tool bitmap2component (converts raster image files to either a symbol or a footprint.) Limitation: only one layer per conversion.

[davidsrsb]

You cannot use Freerouting with exotic pad shapes by the way

[Rene_Poschl]

Just remembered a third option:
Overlapping rectangular smd (connector) pads. (Should work with DRC)

[bobc]

For button contacts, I find the contact wizard the easiest way

I haven’t tried those with Freerouting, I will look into that.

[daimo996]

Thank you for your answers.

In Footprint Wizard what to choose to have Button Contact?
Here is a screenshot of my window.

[DieKatzchen]

I would also like to know. I need exactly this, but I can’t find the button contact wizard, or any information about it either. Where can I get it?

[bobc]

Oh sorry, I forgot to attach the script!

contact_wizard.py (7.6 KB)

You need to copy that file to KiCad/share/kicad/scripting/plugins or whatever the equivalent is. You might need admin privileges to do that.

[RRPollack]

@bobc I downloaded your script. After a few tweaks to make it work with v5rc2 I got it to produce a nice footprint. Only problem is that it’s made up of 80 independent pads, and the DRC reports all but the two I routed tracks to as unconnected.

V5 has support for custom pad shapes, and I’ve been able to hand-create the footprints I need with that. Your wizard inspired me to create a wizard of my own, but it’ll be a while before I figure out the plug-in interface.

[Michael_Rodrigues]

The script was broken. Here’s a fixed version: https://gist.github.com/mikerodrigues/fc8552d54756699811d05f1b80893cc9

[paulvdh]

I just discovered there are some new footprint wizards in KiCad v6.0.6 (including one for “mutualcap touch button” but apart from that it’s unlikely that OP has any use for further comments in this 5 year old thread, and too many things in KiCad have changed in the time inbetween anyway (Including 2 mayor version updates!)

Therefore I make first use of my newly gained privilege to close this thread.