Kicad Bad Dream

[LOUDthud]

I got a used desktop computer, downloaded and installed Kicad. This software is way too complicated and overkill for what I want to do. I don't need a schematic, netlist, 3D models or any of the rest of that crap. I just need to create the footprints I want and connect things up, then generate Gerber files. In general I want single layer boards with eyelets for I/O. Soldermask and silkscreen would be nice, but not really required as long as they don't build the boards upsidedown. I may add that stuff later if I get the bug to sell some boards. I'm trying to cram a small solid state amp into an oversized pedal box.

Can anyone point me in the right direction ?

Any vendors do a good job on single layer boards ?

[martin manning]

My suggestion is to persevere and learn how to make it work for you. Two-layer boards are a must IMO, you need that to create faux eyelets. A full definition will be needed to send an order to a board house.

There are a lot of tutorials out there. Here is a recent one (uses KiCad version 8) that seems to be getting positive comments:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFJRHFMOhQA

[erwin_ve]

I use Sprint Layout for pcb. In case I would have to start all over I suggest Kicad by the tutorial Martin posted. The reason for this is simple. Even a simple design can have faults when not connected to a schematic. I learned this the hard way when I used a known Fet design. Made a mistake; contact 40 clients for my design error and ship the corrected pcb all over the globe. Very expensive...

Erwin

[LOUDthud]

I started out copying single sided PCBs published in Popular Electronics in the late 60's when I was a teenager. I used model airplane paint on raw PCB material and etched with ferric chloride. In the late 70's I worked as a PCB designer for a large electronics firm that employed at least 100 designers. Many of the designers really couldn't read a schematic good enough to know what the function of the PCB they designed actually did. (This is who KIcad is aimed at.) We used tape and donuts on mylar. Most layouts were 4X at upto 34x44 inches. If the board needed to be larger than 8.5x11 inches, the layout was done at 2x. Many boards were multi-layer with 8 or more layers. So add all that up I've been designing PCBs for over 50 years !

Eyelets are hundreds of times stronger that any double sided PCB. Even if I designed a double sided board, I'd use eyelets (three different sizes) where any wire is connected to the circuit and especially on power transistors and radial lead caps. I've done sketches of the boards that I need PCBs of, sort of a combination of a layout and a schematic at 2x on grid paper. If there are any spacing violations that result in shorts, I have an Exacto knife.

[nuke]

It's worth the effort to learn how to use kiCad. The learning curve is steep, sometimes not the fastest way to get from A->B if you're not doing anything complicated. But, it does open the door to working better and faster if you need more than one of something, or need to pack things more densely than say an eyelet or turret board will allow, or use components intended for through-hole soldering, or heck, SMT builds.

I make eyelet boards up by hand, but I follow the same steps as if using EDA software like KiCad. Draw the schematic with a pencil and paper, turn that into a "net-list" handwritten on paper, which translates into what and how many things get stuffed in an eyelet. Then I sketch out component placements on paper. Then I drill the boards and stake eyelets.

Thing is, the process is the same, schematic, breakdown into a net-list, place components, draw in the traces, whether I'm making eyelet boards or a printed circuit board to be fab'ed.

I think the biggest PITA with all the EDA software is managing symbol and footprint libraries. I spend more time managing that than anything else.

[martin manning]

Many of the designers really couldn't read a schematic good enough to know what the function of the PCB they designed actually did. (This is who KIcad is aimed at.)

“Mission Statement
The goal of the KiCad project is to provide the best possible cross platform electronics design application for professional electronics designers. Every effort is made to hide the complexity of advanced design features so that KiCad remains approachable by new and inexperienced users, but when determining the direction of the project and the priority of new features, the needs of professional users take precedence.”

KiCad is pretty much a fully-capable EDA package with circuit simulation option using LTSpice.

[LOUDthud]

Most of my designs are single layer with eyelets for power transistors and any wires that go off board. I use turrets for most power resistors. Am I going to have to create components for any jumper wires required on a single layer design ? Am I going to have to create a new component every time the jumper changes length ?

This is my paper layout done 2x scale on 5 line per inch graph paper. I can build a prototype on .100 inch grid proto board. I like to use single sided proto board because I can simply remove any pads that would short out eyelets that are too close together.