KiCad - EDA Tools

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My KiCad Utilities

Tutorials / Helps

• Suggestion: Print the program help files which are written as PDF books and bind them together into a book. 

• KiCad Howto

• KiCad Tutorial

• Copy a Schematic Block from one Page to Another

• KiCad FAQ

• KiCad Workflow Ideas
  

   

Libraries 

• KiCad File formats
• KiCad Libraries
• KiCad Part Builder
• Discover 30,000 Circuits
• Making new symbols and footprints
• KiCad Schematic Symbol Creator
• KiCad Libraries
• KiCad libraries imported from EAGLE  
• EAGLE to KiCad Converter program written in Python 
• KiCad Libraries - Lots of 3D models

• Archive KiCad Modules

• Pcbnew-->File-->Archive Footprints-->Create footprint archive

• KiLibMan - KiCad Library Manager - great program for annotating schematic symbols

Others

• OSH Park Design Rules
• "Standard" Drill Hole Sizes
  
• How to apply a completely re-annotated schematic to a board
•  Generating Gerber Files with KiCad - Had to do some of this to get it working for me.
• KiCAD Review (from a former EAGLE user)
• KiCad EDA Software Suite
• KiCad Developers Team Site 
• KiCad originators website 
• PCB Design Guide
• Eagle2KiCad conversion script
• Eagle 6 errors on Linux
• KiCad Module File Format
• KiCad Utilities
• KiCad release notes 

KiCAD and 3D Representations

• Meshconv
• Meshlab
• Wings3D
• Quick and dirty Wings3D object creation for KiCad
  
• Scaling the Wings3D output
• Before exporting, select All, and choose .Scale, and enter 0.3937007874. Its kind of same thing, but would let leave scaling as 1 in Kicad, which is kind of consistent. 
  

KiCAD Bug Fixes

KiCad Parts Lists Bugs

Unexpected End of File when reading modules into CvPCB

Problem

"Some files are invalid! ref-packages.mod (Unexpected end of file)"

Application: CvPcb
Version: (2011-aug-04)-testing (revision 3103)
Build: wxWidgets 2.8.11 (no debug,Unicode,compiler with C++ ABI 1002,GCC 4.5.2,wx containers,compatible with 2.6)
Platform: Linux 2.6.38-11-generic-pae i686, 32 bit, Little endian, wxGTK

Solution

The last line of the module file must be "$EndLIBRARY".

Manually edited all my libraries to add at "$EndLIBRARY" the end.

Undefined DRAW command #

Problem

"undefined DRAW command #" error when importing converted libraries form EAGLE?

It happens to the new versions of KiCad.

Solution

The eeschema library load does not allow for lines beginning with "#" between the DRAW and ENDRAW statements in the lib file.

I wrote a Python script to fix these files. Drag and drop them onto the program and it will save the old version and replace it with a new version.