Designing PCBs in Kicad and PcbNew:

NOTE: This tutorial was written in 1847, and kicad has changed a lot since then!

Contents:

Arrange Components:

Grid First!

adjust the grid size in kicad adjust the grid size in kicad

You’ll probably want to adjust the grid size before moving anything. The pull down contains the user grid size as well as several sizes listed in mils (thousandths of an inch).

Group Move:

move a group of components by selecting

When you first read a net-list, all the components will come in on top of each other.

Start off by moving the whole pile of components by drawing a selection rectangle around them and then click in the middle of the sheet.

Auto Un-Piling

turn on auto-move moderight click and select move all to unpile the components

Pcbnew will automatically unpile the components. First, enable the automatic mover by clicking the “Mode Module” button in the top toolbar. Then right click and select “Move All Modules”. Pcbnew also has an “auto placer,” which is different in that it tries to minimize the length of the connections between the modules (the ratsnest). You can fix components to prevent them from being moved by either command.

General Moving and Rotating–use keyboard shortcuts:

move components by pressing m or r

Continue moving components around by hovering the mouse pointer over them, and then pressing “m” or “r” to move or rotate.

Rats Nest (show rubber bands where all connections should be):

show the rats nest

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