Quick question, I recently imported a project into KiCAD and some of my net names on my netports where messed up. Mainly those on my power and gnd ports. The ports were imported correctly. I alos had to go back and clean up the schematic a bit and I think that also adjusted the net names too.
Anyways, I think that it is best to use and example. On my schematic, I have a GND symbol that has a value of EARTH_GND and the components are connected to that same net name.
On my layout, I look at the footprint associated with the component and instead of being connected to EARTH_GND, it is connected to the net name GND_POWER (the original net name).
So what is the recommended workflow for this situation? Do I need to add net labels to all of my GNDs or am I able to change something in the settings somewhere so that all of the GNDs with a particular symbol is able to be connected to the GND_POWER net list.
As a side note, I did click on the button to update the PCB according to the schematic and for that component (and others too) it just re-imported the footprint and did not update the net name or the connections.
It’s very difficult to grasp what you mean by just reading the explanation. It woul be easy if you would provide at least screenshots, maybe a zipped example project, and point out the problematic items.
In the first picture, I have pin 1 of S3 connected to GND_EARTH. But on the layout, that same pin for the foot print is labelled as GND.
How do I sync up the names between the layout and schematic? I want pin 1 on the schematic to be connected to the net called GND. What is the proper workflow? Do I need to add a label to the net in the schematic or should I just change value of the symbol?
I would guess you have connected GND and GND_EARTH together somewhere. One net can have only one name, and if there are conflicting names, one is chosen according to some rules.
I apologize. I took a closer look and there are nets in the layout that do not exist in the schematic. I believe that this is due to how I imported and how the import works. It considered the two (schematic and layout) as separate. I did have to clean up the schematic a bit cause the import was not perfect.
Anyways, I have decided to instead make the schematic the way I want with all of the net names and everything. Once there, I will update the layout accordingly.
Anyways, since I am changing my approach a bit, what is the best workflow for naming nets related to ground? Should I still put a label on it? Seems kinda redundant.
That is indeed the preferred way in KiCad. You can name nets in the PCB editor, but those names are not persistent, and likely get lost when the PCB gets updated.
(Safety) Earth has a special / distinct meaning in electrical installations, and to avoid confusion it is best to not abuse it for other purposes, and only use it for things that are directly connected to the GND / Earth terminal of mains voltage installations.
For “GND” (which is a local reference) you can use any of the standard “GND” symbols (GNDA, GNDD, 1,2,3, etc).
Any of the power symbols create a global net with the same name. They act as global labels, and therefore you do not have to (and should not) add extra labels to it. Each net in KiCad can only have one name, and if you connect labels (including power symbols) with different names together (which is allowed) then KiCad will pick one of the names (see the manual for the rules for choosing a name) and ERC will also create a message which of the names was chosen. If you want to connect such nets together, but keep their names, then you have to put a Nettie in between.
And last: New in KiCad V8 is that you can take a power symbol and edit it’s name in the schematic, and then this new name will become the net name. In older (V7 and earlier) versions, the net name was derived from the (hidden) pin name.
Thank you for your feedback. I am still getting used to KiCAD and switching over so I want to learn some of the best practices for the software early on. Also learning the ins and outs of the program.
I only started with v8 so I am aware of the power symbol renaming feature they have. A big +1 in my book. It works similarly to the last software that I was using so I am glad about that.
Thank you for clarifying regarding EARTH_GND. I will need to update my schematic accordingly. On my previous software, they didn’t give me many options for multiple GNDs if you want to do isolation so I had to use what I had and one of the symbols was Earth GND. But with KiCAD, it looks like have a lot more options to choose from so that is very good.
Because I generally prefer wires to labels for connections so the whole issue of naming nets doesn’t occupy me as I let KiCad label nets I haven’t. Even when I use labels and buses I’m satisfied with one label per net. With an interactive schematic and layout there’s less need to use labels compared to paper.
As for one GND, that’s all I need but maybe it’s because my designs are small.
