KiCad on Bald Engineer

Eight KiCad 8 features I like

Mon, 26 Feb 2024 16:23:38 +0000

KiCad 8 just dropped. Here’s an AddOhms video covering eight must-try features! The February 2024 release brings a whole host of new stuff to the Schematic editor. However, the PCB editor, CLI, and Simulation tools also received attention. (There are something like 900 closed issues for the 8.0.0 Milestone!) Which of these is your favorite? In the video, I cover: Property Manager Panel (is now everywhere) A fix for Symbol pin or wire end off connection grid! Easily access alternate pin functions (on symbols with them) Pin Helpers save time Edit Power Symbols (instead of creating new library parts) Net Navigator and Search panels help with large schematics Improved custom polygon tools in PCB (Combined) Teardrop support and Length-Tuning improvements This AddOhms post covers my top 8 in more detail. Or, you could just watch the video!

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RP2040 Debug and Turn-On Tips

Wed, 31 Jan 2024 17:35:18 +0000

During the component shortage, I got to know Raspberry Pi’s RP2040 microcontroller. It is a dual-core Arm Cortex-M0+ with about 262 kilobytes of RAM. The feature I like most is the programmable IO pins. These are small state machines that run independently of the Arm cores. They allow for some clever tricks. For example, I used them extensively on the Mega IIe project. This video was supposed to be a project I thought of during the Mega IIe. I call it a state-mode logic analyzer. However, it took me several days to turn on and debug four boards. Time ran out, so I focused the video on debugging custom RP2040-based boards. These are all lessons I have learned from this project, plus about another dozen RP2040 boards I have built over the past couple of years.

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KiCad: Connect Polygon Lines

Thu, 09 Jun 2022 16:55:58 +0000

fix broken polygons in kicad In KiCad 6, using the Polygon tool makes square boards easy. Just select the Edge.Cuts layer, then the polygon tool, and draw a square. However, if you want custom shapes, then you need to connect multiple line segments together. If you are not careful, the segments will not connect and you might get one of two errors. The first comes when you run DRC.

How to Measure Ripple Voltage on a Switch-Mode Power Supply | Workbench Wednesdays #51

Tue, 01 Mar 2022 00:23:00 +0000

Measuring a switch-mode power supply (SMPS) with a DMM might show a stable voltage. But the same DC rail on an oscilloscope can show a completely different story! In this video, learn how to correctly set up an oscilloscope to characterize the noise an SMPS creates in a circuit.

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Introducing Bit Preserve

Wed, 12 Jun 2019 18:13:01 +0000

A project I work on in my spare time is creating a portable Apple II. Like many of my projects, one leads into another. I started out wanting to make a mobile Apple II, and now I’m working on a project called Bit Preserve. How did I get from one project to the next? Well, as I looked into how to make a portable Apple II, I realized a significant issue. The original Apple II logic board has almost 80 ICs. Being a design from 1975, they are all through-hole packages. The good news is that except for the ROM chips, they are all off-the-shelf components. But such a size means it might be impossible to turn it into something handheld. I almost abandoned the project. Then, I learned about a chip included in the Apple IIgs. The name of the ASIC is “MEGA II.” (Nothing to do with Arduino.) It is a chip that integrates all of those off-the-shelf chips into an 84 pin package.

6 things I learned about KiCad at KiCon 2019

Fri, 17 May 2019 18:26:00 +0000

In April 2019, hardware hackers, hobbyist, and engineers joined together for the first KiCon. A couple of people asked me, “why is there a conference for KiCad?” Some questioned if KiCad was significant enough software to warrant a conference. That question is valid. But KiCon is larger than the KiCad software. Even in its first iteration, KiCon evolved more into a meeting for people building electronics hardware from small scale hobbyist to professionally designed systems, than just a conference on a single piece of software. Some might call it a maker conference. I call it a hardware developer conference. The key that tied everyone together is the open source software behind our printed circuit boards.

Connect pins with KiCad Bus, Labels, and Global Labels

Wed, 21 Nov 2018 14:18:20 +0000

2020-04-04: This tutorial is based on KiCad 5. With KiCad 6, the bus feature works a little different (so I’m told.) When your schematic has a large number of related signals, it is helpful to group them. In its schematic editor, KiCad has a few tools to help. Your end-goal helps determine which tools to use. For example, do you need a KiCad bus or a label? In this post, I explore how you can define signals, group them, and reference them across schematic sheets.

Creating Custom KiCad Schematic Symbol in 5 Steps

Wed, 14 Nov 2018 14:21:23 +0000

A new project I have started working on involves the Apple IIgs. It was Apple’s last 16-bit (and 8-bit) computer. Inside are many application specific integrated circuits, or ASICs, that make the IIgs an extraordinary member of the Apple II family. One chip, in particular, is called the “MEGA-II.” This chip takes all of the individual logic chips from the original Apple II design and incorporates them into a single 84-pin PLCC.

DIY Arduino PCB Pryamiduino (Video)

Wed, 28 Feb 2018 14:00:03 +0000

Continuing the DIY Arduino tutorial series, this AddOhms episode shows how to create a PCB in KiCad. I make a joke that the original design was a rectangle, which I found boring and pointless. So instead, I designed a triangle to give the board 3 points. Get it? Puns! I am calling it the Pryamiduino. To be honest, I found not having a constraint to be a problem. By forcing a specific board size and shape, many decisions were more manageable.

DIY Arduino Schematic board and Checklist

Wed, 17 Jan 2018 14:00:18 +0000

One of the last significant steps in a project is designing the custom PCB. This stage means creating a DIY Arduino board that is custom to the application. Two examples of my past projects are BinBoo, a Binary Clock, and Open Vapors, my reflow oven controller. While working on a project for a friend, I got to thinking; it would be nice to have a checklist for circuit elements to include on a DIY Arduino board. In the early days, I forgot to add a filter cap to AREF, for example.

KiCad BOM: Don't Bomb your BOM!

Wed, 08 Jun 2016 13:00:27 +0000

A KiCad BOM is a list of all the parts your design is using. The term BOM, or bill-of-materials, is standard for supply chain management and does not just apply to electronics. KiCad’s eeschema has a BOM export feature. Unfortunately as of Version 4.0, this feature is still somewhat lacking. Given the limitations, here are some tips to take your KiCad BOM from Schematic to Mouser. Spending a few extra minutes while capturing (drawing) your schematic thinking about your KiCad BOM can save you a ton of time later on. Moreover, as you build up a database of parts, these extra minutes turn into seconds. Here are a couple of ways to describe your parts, especially passive components, better while drawing schematics in KiCad.

Getting PCBs from KiCad to X-Carve

Wed, 09 Dec 2015 16:00:27 +0000

The last time I looked at using an X-Carve for Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs), I created a demo board with EAGLE. Since then, I have learned more about using KiCad, the open source electronics CAD suite. While not a step-by-step tutorial, here is my rough KiCad to X-Carve PCB workflow. These are just the high-level steps, the tools necessary, and the settings I’ve discovered for each—so far. Eventually, I will make this a more detailed KiCad to X-Carve PCB tutorial, so make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed for updates.

Five ways to make a schematic (quickly)

Wed, 29 Apr 2015 14:00:37 +0000

Engineers make a schematic to explain their circuits. One time I was looking for a non-tourist pub in Japan. I asked someone for help. She said, “I’m sorry, but I do not speak good English. I will bring my friend, and she will draw you a map.” (Exact quote!) The map her friend drew, gave directions to a bar with a “Neon Yellow Sing.” She meant “sign.”