KiCad is an open source software suite for electronic design automation (EDA) - designing schematics of electronic circuits and printed circuit boards (PCB). It is similar to the popular EAGLE design software, but is completely free and has no restrictions on size and commercial use.

This workshop is an introduction to KiCad, where we will cover all steps of creating a PCB for a simple electronic circuit. It takes place in four evening sessions:

Week 1: Schematic capture and creating new parts

• Introduction to KiCad software
• Using eeschema to create a circuit schematic
• Creating new parts and part libraries

Week 2: Assigning nets and starting board layout

• Using cvpcb to assign footprints to components
• Using pcbnew to lay out the PCB and components

Week 3: Creating new footprints, more board layout

• Creating new footprint modules
• FreeRouting autorouter

Week 4: Finishing and verifying the board design

• Using gerbview to verify the Gerber files used for fabrication
• Resources for board fabrication

If you're interested in moving from breadboards to custom PCBs for your project, this workshop is for you.

Prerequisites

Knowledge of circuit basics (e.g. components, what they do, how they go together, reading schematics) is required. Our Intro to Electronics classes are good for this.

Materials

Each participant will be required to bring a laptop running the latest version of KiCad. KiCad is a free download and runs on Windows, Linux, and OS X (kind of). Mac users, please use either the Windows or Linux version in emulation if possible.