If you want to document the harness you might look at https://github.com/wireviz/WireViz
which will produce outputs of wiring harnesses from a yaml file in a variety of output formats. Perhaps combining the KiCad-cli output with WireViz in a suitable graphics program will get you close to what you need.
Have you also looked at [Pinion? (Pinion — Nice-looking interactive diagrams for KiCAD PCBs)
There are several nice examples of what this can do on this site.
That pinion project link from John_Pateman also links to PcbDraw
I have not tried the project, but apparently it can create nice pictures in .SVG format. But SVG has never become popular on the 'net so I’ll repost the png that is on that github page.
I use Inventor and Fusion. My Inventor is an old version, when you could still buy it instead of subscribing. Version 16.
Fusion I pay for yearly, mostly for compatibility and converting files. I hate the cloud aspect of it.
I actually watched some 3D sketch tutorials last night and will work on twisted pairs via splines.
Cool plug ins! I’ll give them a look. Thanks for the replies.
There is no hurry on a forum like this. Lot’s of people are searching for answers weeks or months after a topic was written. For the next time, think about the idea of trying it out first, and then reporting back with your opinion. This adds more value for others reading this.
I’m not sure if this part has been answered but I get this error whenever I import a dxf or dwg from the guy who does the chassis design in Solidworks. He sends me pcb outlines to import and they NEVER work, same error as you get. My solution is to open the file in another CAD program (I use Quad CAM) and save as a different filename. When I import the new file it works.
No doubt something about there being differences in the dxf/dwg file structures in some way.
David
Your post made me to read the thread that I missed when it took place.
I don’t understand why OP is trying to draw his picture in Schematic. I would do it in PCB drawing a wires needed to be added manually at additional layer and you will have no problems with:
KiCad only supports .SVG and .DXF for graphics import.
.DXF files are quite a big mess, with a long history of incompatibilities and different versions. I guess that autodesk never wanted to make a file format that made it easy to exchange data with a program from their competitors. This file format has it’s root in 30+ year old software. Later it has become more standardised, but the old versions, and incompatible versions still exist. If you regularly have problems with .DXF import then filing a bug report, together with some simple example files (for example with a single line or circle) can help. Maybe KiCad is already tracking an issue for this. I guess though that KiCad just uses a pre-existing library for the DXF import, and filing a bug report directly to that project may be a better option.
I do not go back reading old threads with 40+ posts. It takes too much time for too little gain.
It was the original (first) post in the thread. I was just offering my solution to this part of his problem.
David
Yes you are correct, I should have checked before I replied.
I’ve considered lodging a bug report but the reality is that I have a workable solution and I’d rather they spend their time fixing issues that I dont have a solution for, or developing new functionality. There’s only so many hours in the day…
David
Thanks for ongoing suggestions!
DXF have been a headache. Especially when I’m trying to use the schematic editor for something it wasn’t designed to do. Hense the title of the thread, it’s soooo close to working for this and compiling more of my deliverable design into fewer files.
I did try making wiring diagrams in PCBnew as well. I always import the chassis outline to reference holes and part locations. And, I made footprints for all the amp parts. I hit some brick walls there too. Again, trying to do something it was designed to do.
My raster export resolution trouble seems to be due to my display settings. I’m maxed out for my monitor, but exported files are too blurry when I import into Corel. I haven’t found a workaround for that.
Exporting to STP (v 8.99) with screenprint and tracks then importing in Fusion, and changing colors of faces and components can lead to a nice result after lots of rendering. Often too inefficient for most projects.
I’m not sure there is a unified, easy solution for CAD, PCB and graphics (raster and vector). Each version of Kicad allows me to do more, we’ll get there.
Did you try the kicad-cli pcb render method yet?
I have not. I’ll try to get to that this weekend.
If you ever have a sample file of a DXF that won’t import, we could take a look at it.
