I’m trying to follow tutorials about getting the autorouter working. A very recent youtube tutorial shows a yellow construction icon that launches freerouter, but this icon does not appear on my schematic editor.
I saw this thread:
But it made no sense. All I have under export is “to clipboard.”
Yes this convinient button has vanished. Part of the reason is that all this button ever did was export a dsn file and start freerouter. (Which is not part of kicad and most likely never will be.)
The dsn export can be found in the file menu of pcb_new. (In nightly the option is called Spectre DSN.) The exported file then needs to be given to freerouter. Freerouter then outputs another file that you then import into kicad. (I would guess it is again a DSN file)
Be aware that there are different branches of freerouter out there. Not all of them support the new things added by v5 (rounded rectangle pads are a troublesome example for the original no longer maintained branch. So you need to find one that is still maintained and has these new additions if you want to use any footprint using such pads. Which are quite a few now in the official library.)
Rene,
What version of freerouter do you recommend?
Do we need to install the latest version of LayoutEditor software and then get the freerouting.jar file out of it’s bin directory, rename it to freerouter.jar and then install it in the same KiCad folder under Windows Program Files directory? (I struggled to figure that out and I have version 1.3.1. Is that the one we should use?)
Thanks.
I do not use auto routers. So i am the wrong guy to ask.
And a bit of fun: https://contextualelectronics.com/product/never-trust-the-autorouter-t-shirt/
Wow. Does that mean you manually route every trace?
That’s sounds like a lot of work. If that’s what you do, then you must be a Pro at this stuff. 
I’m told Eagle has an autorouter that does a pretty darn good job at routing. Shouldn’t we (the general KiCad community) use the freerouting.jar router to do most of the work and then double check it with DRC and visual examination?
Again, I am a rookie at PCB’s and can’t afford some of the big $$$ for other packages. I just want to minimize the work necessary to design these PCB’s and routing seems to be the biggest task. Any advice you have (or anyone here) as to how I should best route the easiest and quickest way would be helpful.
Thanks.
Routing takes the least amount of time for me.
Most of the time when designing a pcb is spend at deciding which components to use. Reading lots of datasheets and checking distributor availability. Creating the library elements is another big task (symbol and footprint) and on the pcb side placing the parts such that routing is as easy and efficient as possible.
My last board was about 2 weeks for the concept and “research”, another week or so for the schematic, 2 or 3 days placing components and a day or so for routing. (one man day is 8 hours, one man week 40 hours. I did not spend full days on the project as i had other things to do as well which makes estimating times needed a lot harder.)
After that was done i did a second pass with what i learned. It took another day or so for finding new better placements and less then half a day for the second routing round.
I am happy to report that i got it first time right. (No EMC test however as it was for a prototype.)
In the end i think a autorouter can safe at most a fifths or so of the time needed. (assuming 100% is routed by it. So probably a lot less.)
I am convinced that the pcb will look a lot worse when using it and i learn a lot less from each pcb. (I might even get lacy and not invest that much time in finding better placements for components. Especially in the second round as i do not get the same level of experience as i do now.)
Maybe a bit of a disclaimer: I am a hopeless perfectionist. So the second pass is something most people might not do and would therefore lose less by using an autorouter. (Everybody committing to the official lib can attest to that. For better or worse.)
One of the reasons why i am so fast is the interactive router to be honest. Without it it takes a lot longer to route a board. (Before switched to kicad i used eagle 6. With it it took me longer to route a board then it took me to decide where which part should be placed.)
This topic was automatically closed 90 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.