Pcbnew

Pcbnew is a powerful printed circuit board software tool available for the Linux, Microsoft Windows and Apple OS X operating systems. Pcbnew is used in association with the schematic capture program Eeschema to create printed circuit boards.

Pcbnew manages libraries of footprints. Each footprint is a drawing of the physical component including its land pattern (the layout of pads on the circuit board). The required footprints are automatically loaded during the reading of the Netlist. Any changes to footprint selection or annotation can be changed in the schematic and updated in pcbnew by regenerating the netlist and reading it in pcbnew again.

Pcbnew provides a design rules check (DRC) tool which prevents track and pad clearance issues as well as preventing nets from being connected that aren’t connected in the netlist/schematic. When using the interactive router it continuously runs the design rules check and will help automatically route individual traces.

Pcbnew provides a rats nest display, a hairline connecting the pads of footprints which are connected on the schematic. These connections move dynamically as track and footprint movements are made.

Pcbnew has a simple but effective autorouter to assist in the production of the circuit board. An Export/Import in SPECCTRA dsn format allows the use of more advanced auto-routers.

Pcbnew provides options specifically provided for the production of ultra high frequency microwave circuits (such as pads of trapezoidal and complex form, automatic layout of coils on the printed circuit, etc).

The smallest unit in pcbnew is 1 nanometer. All dimensions are stored as integer nanometers.

Pcbnew can generate up to 32 layers of copper, 14 technical layers (silk screen, solder mask, component adhesive, solder paste and edge cuts) plus 4 auxiliary layers (drawings and comments) and manages in real time the hairline indication (rats nest) of missing tracks.

The display of the PCB elements (tracks, pads, text, drawings…) is customizable:

For complex circuits, the display of layers, zones, and components can be hidden in a selective way for clarity on screen. Nets of traces can be highlighted to provide high contrast as well.

Footprints can be rotated to any angle, with a resolution of 0.1 degree.

Pcbnew includes a Footprint Editor that allows editing of individual footprints that have been on a pcb or editing a footprint in a library.

The Footprint Editor provides many time saving tools such as:

Footprint pads have a variety of properties that can be adjusted. The pads can be round, rectangular, oval or trapezoidal. For through-hole parts drills can be offset inside the pad and be round or a slot. Individual pads can also be rotated and have unique soldermask, net, or paste clearance. Pads can also have a solid connection or a thermal relief connection for easier manufacturing. Any combination of unique pads can be placed within a footprint.

Pcbnew easily generates all the documents necessary for production:

Due to the degree of control necessary it is highly suggested to use a 3-button mouse with pcbnew. Many features such as panning and zooming require a 3-button mouse.

In the new release of KiCad, pcbnew has seen wide sweeping changes from developers at CERN. This includes features such as a new renderer (OpenGL and Cairo view modes), an interative push and shove router, differential and meander trace routing and tuning, a reworked Footprint Editor, and many other features. Please note that most of these new features only exist in the new OpenGL and Cairo view modes.

The installation procedure is described in the KiCad documentation.

A default configuration file kicad.pro is provided in kicad/share/template. This file is used as the initial configuration for all new projects.

This configuration file can be modified to change the libraries to be loaded.

To do this:

You can have access to the library list initialization from the Preferences menu:

The image below shows the dialog which allows you to set the footprint library list:

You can use this to add all the libraries that contain the footprints required for your project. You should also remove unused libraries from new projects to prevent footprint name clashes. Please note, there is an issue with the footprint library list when duplicate footprint names exist in more than one library. When this occurs, the footprint will be loaded from the first library found in the list. If this is an issue (you cannot load the footprint you want), either change the library list order using the "Up" and "Down" buttons in the dialog above or give the footprint a unique name using the footprint editor.

As of release 4.0, Pcbnew uses the new footprint library table implementation to manage footprint libraries. The information in the previous section is no longer valid. The library table manager is accessible by:

The image below shows the footprint library table editing dialog which can be opened by invoking the "Footprint Libraries Manager" entry from the "Preferences" menu.

The footprint library table is used to map a footprint library of any supported library type to a library nickname. This nickname is used to look up footprints instead of the previous method which depended on library search path ordering. This allows Pcbnew to access footprints with the same name in different libraries by ensuring that the correct footprint is loaded from the appropriate library. It also allows Pcbnew to support loading libraries from different PCB editors such as Eagle and gEDA.

In Pcbnew it is possible to execute commands using various means:

The screenshot below illustrates some of the possible accesses to these operations:

During element layout the cursor moves on a grid. The grid can be turned on or off using the icon on the left toolbar.

Any of the pre-defined grid sizes, or a User Defined grid, can be chosen using the pop-up window, or the drop-down selector on the toolbar at the top of the screen. The size of the User Defined grid is set using the menu bar option Dimensions → User Grid Size.

The zoom level can be changed using any of the following methods:

The cursor coordinates are displayed in inches or millimetres as selected using the In or mm icons on the left hand side toolbar.

Whichever unit is selected Pcbnew always works to a precision of 1/10,000 of inch.

The status bar at the bottom of the screen gives:

In addition the relative position of the cursor can be displayed using its polar co-ordinates (ray + angle). This can be turned on and off using the icon in the left hand side toolbar.

Many commands are accessible directly with the keyboard. Selection can be either upper or lower case. Most hot keys are shown in menus. Some hot keys that do not appear are:

Operations to move, invert (mirror), copy, rotate and delete a block are all available from the pop-up menu. In addition, the view can zoom to that described by the block.

The framework of the block is traced by moving the mouse while holding down the left mouse button. The operation is executed when the button is released.

By holding down one of the keys Shift or Ctrl, both Shift and Ctrl together, or Alt, while the block is drawn the operation invert, rotate, delete or copy is automatically selected as shown in the table below:

When a block command is made, a dialog window is displayed, and items involved in this command can be chosen.

Any of the commands above can be cancelled via the same pop-up menu or by pressing the Escape key (Esc).

Units used to display dimensions values are inch and mm. The desired unit can be selected by pressing the icon located in left toolbar: However one can enter the unit used to define a value, when entering a new value.

Accepted units are:

The rules are:

The top menu bar provides access to the files (loading and saving), configuration options, printing, plotting and the help files.

This toolbar gives access to the principal functions of Pcbnew.

This toolbar gives access to the editing tool to change the PCB shown in Pcbnew.

The left hand-side toolbar provides display and control options that affect Pcbnew’s interface.

A right-click of the mouse opens a pop-up window. Its contents depends on the element pointed at by the cursor.

This gives immediate access to:

The screenshots below show what the pop-up windows looks like.

There are 3 modes when using pop-up menus. In the pop-up menus, these modes add or remove some specific commands.

Generally speaking, a schematic sheet is linked to its printed circuit board by means of the netlist file, which is normally generated by the schematic editor used to make the schematic. Pcbnew accepts netlist files made with Eeschema or Orcad PCB 2. The netlist file, generated from the schematic is usually missing the footprints that correspond to the various components. Consequently an intermediate stage is necessary. During this intermediate process the association of components with footprints is performed. In KiCad, CvPcb is used to create this association and a file named *.cmp is produced. CvPcb also updates the netlist file using this information.

CvPcb can also output a "stuff file" *.stf which can be back annotated into the schematic file as the F2 field for each component, saving the task of re-assigning footprints in each schematic edit pass. In Eeschema copying a component will also copy the footprint assignment and set the reference designator as unassigned for later auto-incremental annotation.

Pcbnew reads the modified netlist file .net and, if it exists, the .cmp file. In the event of a footprint being changed directly in Pcbnew the .cmp file is automatically updated avoiding the requirement to run CvPcb again.

Refer to the figure of "Getting Started in KiCad" manual in the section KiCad Workflow that illustrates the work-flow of KiCad and how intermediate files are obtained and used by the different software tools that comprise KiCad.

After having created your schematic in Eeschema:

Pcbnew will then load automatically all the necessary footprints. Footprints can now be placed manually or automatically on the board and tracks can be routed.

If the schematic is modified (after a printed circuit board has been generated), the following steps must be repeated:

Pcbnew will then load automatically any new footprints, add the new connections and remove redundant connections. This process is called forward annotation and is a very common procedure when a PCB is made and updated.

Some are associated in pairs, others not. When they appear as a pair this affects the behaviour of footprints. The elements making up a footprint (pads, drawing and text) appearing on a layer (solder or component), appear on the other complementary layer when the footprint is inverted (mirrored).

The technical layers are:

The selection of the active working layer can be done in several ways:

If the Add Tracks and Vias icon is selected on the right hand toolbar, the Pop-Up window provides the option to change the layer pair used for vias:

This selection opens a menu window which provides choice of the layers used for vias.

When a via is placed the working (active) layer is automatically switched to the alternate layer of the layer pair used for the vias.

One can also switch to an other active layer by hot keys, and if a track is in progress, a via will be inserted.

This mode is entered when the tool (in the left toolbar) is activated:

When using this mode, the active layer is displayed like in the normal mode, but all others layers are displayed in gray color.

There are two useful cases:

A menudo es necesario corregir una placa tras la correspondiente modificación del esquema.

Cambiar una huella (o algunas huellas idénticas) por otra huella es algo útil, y muy fácil de realizar:

Opciones para Cambiar Huella(s):

Debe elegir un nuevo nombre huella y uso:

Whilst moving footprints the footprint ratsnest (the net connections) can be displayed to assist the placement. To enable this the icon of the left toolbar must be activated.

Select the footprint with the right mouse button then choose the Move command from the menu. Move the footprint to the required position and place it with the left mouse button. If required the selected footprint can also be rotated, inverted or edited. Select Cancel from the menu (or press the Esc key) to abort.

Here you can see the display of the footprint ratsnest during a move:

The circuit once all the footprints are placed may be as shown:

Initially all footprints inherit the same orientation that they had in the library (normally 0).

If an alternative orientation is required for an individual footprint, or all footprints (for example all vertical) use the menu option AutoPlace/Orient All Footprints. This orientation can be selective (for example to relate only to the footprints whose reference starts with "IC".

Generally speaking, footprints can only be moved if they have not been "Fixed". This attribute can be turned on and off from the pop-up window (click right mouse button over footprint) whilst in Footprint Mode, or through the Edit Footprint Menu.

As stated in the last chapter, new footprints loaded during the reading of the netlist appear piled up at a single location on the board. Pcbnew allows an automatic distribution of the footprints to make manual selection and placement easier.

If there is a footprint under the cursor:

If there is nothing under the cursor:

In both cases the following commands are available:

The General options menu is available via the top toolbar link Preferences → General dialog.

The dialog looks like the following:

For the creation of tracks the necessary parameters are:

Pcbnew allows you to define different routing parameters for each net. Parameters are defined by a group of nets.

A netclass specifies:

Manual routing is often recommended, because it is the only method offering control over routing priorities. For example, it is preferable to start by routing power tracks, making them wide and short and keeping analog and digital supplies well separated. Later, sensitive signal tracks should be routed. Amongst other problems, automatic routing often requires many vias. However, automatic routing can offer a useful insight into the positioning of footprins. With experience, you will probably find that the automatic router is useful for quickly routing the obvious tracks, but the remaining tracks will best be routed by hand.

Pcbnew can display the full ratsnest, if the button is activated.

The button allows one to highlight a net (click to a pad or an existing track to highlight the corresponding net).

The DRC checks tracks in real time while creating them. One cannot create a track which does not match the DRC rules. It is possible to disable the DRC by clicking on the button. This is, however, not recommended, use it only in specific cases.

When clicking on a track or a pad, Pcbnew automatically selects the corresponding Netclass, and the track size and vias dimensions are derived from this netclass.

As previously seen, the Global Design Rules editor has a tool to insert extra tracks and vias sizes.

Before using the Interactive Router, please set up these two things:

To activate the router tool press the Interactive Router button or the X key. The cursor will turn into a cross and the tool name, will appear in the status bar.

To start a track, click on any item (a pad, track or a via) or press the X key again hovering the mouse over that item. The new track will use the net of the starting item. Clicking or pressing X on empty PCB space starts a track with no net assigned.

Move the mouse to define shape of the track. The router will try to follow the mouse trail, hugging unmovable obstacles (such as pads) and shoving colliding traces/vias, depending on the mode. Retreating the mouse cursor will cause the shoved items to spring back to their former locations.

Clicking on a pad/track/via in the same net finishes routing. Clicking in empty space fixes the segments routed so far and continues routing the trace.

In order to stop routing and undo all changes (shoved items, etc.), simply press Esc.

Pressing V or selecting Place Through Via from the context menu while routing a track attaches a via at the end of the trace being routed. Pressing V again disables via placement. Clicking in any spot establishes the via and continues routing.

Pressing / or selecting Switch Track Posture from the context menu toggles the direction of the initial track segment between straight or diagonal.

There are several ways to pre-select a track width/via size or to change it during routing:

The router can drag track segments, corners and vias. To drag an item, click on it with Ctrl key pressed, hover the mouse and press G or select Drag Track/Via from the context menu. Finish dragging by clicking again or abort by pressing Esc.

The router behavior be configured by pressing E or selecting Routing Options from the context menu while in the Track mode. It opens a window like the one below:

The options are:

Pad (and track) connections to filled copper areas are checked by the DRC engine. A zone must be filled (not just created) to connect pads. Pcbnew currently uses track segments or polygons to fill copper areas.

Each option has its advantages and its disadvantages, the main disadvantage being increased screen redraw time on slower machines. The final result is however the same.

For calculation time reasons, the zone filling is not recreated after each change, but only:

Copper zones must be filled or refilled after changes in tracks or pads are made. Copper zones (usually ground and power planes) are usually attached to a net.

In order to create a copper zone you should:

Pcbnew tries to fill all zones in one piece, and usually, there will be no unconnected copper blocks. It can happen that some areas remain unfilled. Zones having no net are not cleaned and can have insulated areas.

When you fill an area, you must choose:

A zone must already exist. To add a cutout area (a non-filled area inside the zone):

An outline can be modified by:

If polygons are overlapping they will be combined.

To do that, right-click on a corner or on an edge, then select the proper command.

Here is a corner (from a cutout) that has been moved:

Here is the final result:

Polygons are combined.

When right-clicking on an outline, and using Edit Zone Params the Zone params Dialog box will open. Initial parameters can be inputted . If the zone is already filled, refilling it will be necessary.

When the board is finished, one must fill or refill all zones. To do this:

After editing a schematic, you can change the name of any net. For instance VCC can be changed to +5V.

When a global DRC control is made Pcbnew checks if the zone net name exists, and displays an error if not.

Manually editing the zone parameters will be necessary to change the old name to the new one.

Select the tool

The active layer should be a copper layer.

After clicking on the starting point of a new keepout area, the dialog box is opened:

One can select disallowed items:

When a track or a via is inside a keepout which does not allow it, a DRC error will be raised.

For copper zones, the area inside a keepout with no copper pour will be not filled. A keep-out area is a like a zone, so editing its outline is analogous to copper zone editing.

The generation of the necessary files for the production of your printed circuit board includes the following preparatory steps.

Here is an example showing all of these elements, except ground planes, which have been omitted for better visibility:

A color key for the 4 copper layers has also been included:

Before generating the output files, a global DRC test is very strongly recommended.

Zones are filled or refilled when starting a DRC. Press the button to launch the following DRC dialog:

Adjust the parameters accordingly and then press the "Start DRC" button.

This final check will prevent any unpleasant surprises.

Set the coordinates origin for the photo plot and drill files, one must place the auxiliary axis on this origin. Activate the icon . Move the auxiliary axis by left-clicking on the chosen location.

This is done via the Files/Plot menu option and invokes the following dialog:

Usually, the files are in the GERBER format. Nevertheless, it is possible to produce output in both HPGL and POSTSCRIPT formats. When Postscript format is selected, this dialog will appear.

In these formats, a fine scale adjust can be used to compensate for the plotter accuracy and to have a true scale of 1 for the output:

Mask clearance values can be set globally for the solder mask layers and the solder paste layers. These clearances can be set at the following levels.

And Pcbnew uses by priority order.

The creation of a drill file xxxx.drl following the EXCELLON standard is always necessary.

One can also produce an optional drill report, and an optional drill map.

The generation of these files is controlled via:

The Drill tools dialog box will be the following:

For setting the coordinate origin, the following dialog box is used:

To produce wiring documentation files, the component and copper silkscreen layers can be traced. Usually, just the component-side silkscreen markings are sufficient for wiring a PCB. If the copper-side silkscreen is used, the text it contains should be mirrored in order to be readable.

This option is accessed via the Postprocess/Create Cmp file menu option. However, no file will be generated unless at least one footprint has the Normal+Insert attribute activated (see Editing Footprints). One or two files will be produced, depending upon whether insertable components are present on one or both sides of the PCB. A dialogue box will display the names of the file(s) created.

The options described below (part of the Files/Plot dialogue) allow for fine-grained control of the tracing process. They are particularly useful when printing the silkscreen markings for wiring documentation.

The available options are:

Pcbnew can simultaneously maintain several libraries. Thus, when a footprint is loaded, all libraries that appear in the library list are searched until the first instance of the footprint is found. In what follows, note that the active library is the library selected within the Footprint Editor, the program will now be described

Footprint Editor enables the creation and the editing of footprints:

Footprint Editor allows the maintenance of the active library as well by:

It is also possible to create new libraries.

The library extension is .mod.

The Footprint Editor can be accessed in two different ways:

In this case, the active footprint of the board will be loaded automatically in Footprint Editor, enabling immediate editing or archiving.

By calling Footprint Editor the following window will appear:

From this toolbar, the following functions are available:

The creation of a new library is done via the button , in this case the file is created by default in the library directory or via the button , in which case the file is created by default in your working directory.

A file-choosing dialog allows the name of the library to be specified and its directory to be changed. In both cases, the library will contain the footprint being edited.

The action of saving a footprint (thereby modifying the file of the active library) is performed using this button . If a footprint of the same name already exists, it will be replaced. Since you will depend upon the accuracy of the library footprints, it is worth double-checking the footprint before saving.

It is recommended to edit either the reference or value field text to the name of the footprint as identified in the library.

You may also wish to delete the source footprint.

It is possible to copy all of the footprints of a given board design to the active library. These footprints will keep their current library names. This command has two uses:

It is strongly recommended to document the footprints you create, in order to enable rapid and error-free searching.

For example, who is able to remember all of the multiple pin-out variants of a TO92 package? The Footprint Properties dialog offers a simple solution to this problem.

This dialog accepts:

The description is displayed with the component list in Cvpcb and, in Pcbnew, it is used in the footprint selection dialogs.

The keywords enable searches to be restricted to those footprints corresponding to particular keywords.

When directly loading a footprint (the icon of the right-hand Pcbnew toolbar), keywords may be entered in the dialog box. Thus, entering the text =CONN will cause the display of the list of footprints whose keyword lists contain the word CONN.

It is recommended to create libraries indirectly, by creating one or more auxiliary circuit boards that constitute the source of (part of) the library, as follows: Create a circuit board in A4 format, in order to be able to print easily to scale (scale = 1).

Create the footprints that the library will contain on this circuit board. The library itself will be created with the File/Archive footprints/Create footprint archive command.

The "true source" of the library will thus be the auxiliary circuit board, and it is on this circuit that any subsequent alterations of footprints will be made. Naturally, several circuit boards can be saved in the same library.

It is generally a good idea to make different libraries for different kinds of components (connectors, discretes,…), since Pcbnew is able to search many libraries when loading footprints.

Here is an example of such a library source:

This technique has several advantages:

The list of footprint libraries in Pcbnew can be edited using the Footprint Libraries Manager. This allows you to add and remove footprint libraries by hand, and also allows you to invoke the Footprint Libraries Wizard by pressing the "Append With Wizard" button.

The Footprint Libraries Wizard can also be invoked through the Preferences menu, and can automatically add a library (detecting its type) from a file or from a Github URL. The URL for the official libraries is: https://github.com/KiCad

More details about footprint library tables and the Manager and Wizard can be found in the CvPcb Reference Manual in the section Footprint Library Tables.

The 3D shape libraries can be downloaded by 3D Shape Libraries Wizard. It can be invoked from the menu Preferences → 3D Shapes Libraries Downloader.

El Editor de Huellas es usado para crear y editar huellas de componentes. Esto incluye:

Una huella es la representación física (huella) del componente que va a ser insertado en la PCB y debe estar relacionada con el símbolo representado en el esquema. Cada huella incluye tres elementos diferentes:

Además, cierto número de parámetros adicionales deben definirse correctamente si se utiliza la función de auto-colocación. Lo mismo vale para la generación de archivos de auto-inserción.

El editor de huellas puede iniciarse de dos maneras:

Ejecutar el Editor de Huellas lanzará una nueva ventana parecida a esta:

El botón derecho del ratón despliega un menú que depende de que elemento se encuentre bajo el cursor.

El menú contextual para la edición de los parámetros en las huellas:

El menú contextual para la edición de pads:

El menú contextual para la edición de elementos gráficos:

Esta ventana puede ejecutarse cuando el cursor esta sobre una huella haciendo clic con el botón derecho y eligiendo Editar con el Editor de Huellas

Esta ventana puede usarse para definir los principales parámetros de las huellas.

Puede crearse una nueva huella mediante el icono . Se solicitará el nombre de la nueva huella. Este será el nombre con el que la huella será identificada dentro de la biblioteca.

Este texto también sirve como el valor de la huella, y se sustituye en última instancia por su valor real (100uF_16V, 100_0.5W, …).

La nueva huella requiere:

Método alternativo.

Cuando una huella nueva es similar a una huella ya existente en una biblioteca o en una placa de circuito, puede seguir un método alternativo y mas rápido para crear la nueva huella así:

Una vez que se ha creado una huella, pueden añadirse pads, borrarse o modificarse. La modificación de los pads puede ser local, afectando solo al pad bajo e cursor, o global, afectando a todos los pads de la huella.

Existen al menos dos campos: referencia y valor

Sus parámetros (atributos, tamaño, ancho) deben definirse. Puede acceder a la ventana de configuración haciendo doble clic sobre el campo, o mediante la ventana de propiedades de la huella:

Si quiere explotar todas la posibilidades de la función de colocación automática es necesario que defina las orientaciones permitidas para la huella (ventana de Propiedades de Huella).

Normalmente, una rotación de 180 grados se permite para resistencias, condensadores sin polaridad y otros elementos simétricos.

Algunas huellas (transistores pequeños, por ejemplo) a menudo se permite rotarlas +/- 90 o 180 grados. De forma predeterminada, una nueva huella tendrá sus permisos de rotación ajustados a cero. Estos pueden ajustarse de acuerdo a las siguiente regla:

Un valor de 0 deshabilita la rotación, 10 permite una rotación completa, y cualquier valor intermedio representa una rotación limitada. Por ejemplo, una resistencia puede tener un permiso de 10 par rotar 180 grados (sin restricciones) y un permiso de 5 para una rotación de +/- 90 grados (permitido, pero no recomendado)

La ventana de atributos se muestra a continuación:

Es altamente recomendable documentar las nuevas huellas creadas, con el fin de facilitar su reutilización rápida y precisa. ¿Quien es capaz de recordar las múltiples variantes de pineado para una huella TO92?

La ventana de Propiedades de Huella ofrecen una manera simple y potente de generar la documentación.

Este menú permite:

La linea de comentario se muestra el la lista de componentes en CvPcb y en los menús de selección de huellas en Pcbnew. Las palabras clave pueden ser usadas para restringir búsquedas a aquellos componentes que contengan cierta palabra clave.

Por lo tanto, al utilizar el comando de carga de huellas (icono en la barra de herramientas derecha en Pcbnew), es posible escribir el texto =TO220 en la ventana para que Pcbnew muestre una lista de las huellas que posean la palabra clave TO220

Una huella puede tener asociada un fichero que contenga una representación en tres dimensiones del componente. Con el fin de asociar cada fichero con una huella, seleccione la pestaña de Opciones 3D. El panel de opciones se muestra a continuación:

Deben suministrarse los siguientes datos:

Los ajustes de escala permiten:

Si se ha especificado un archivo, es posible ver el componente en 3D.

El modelo 3D aparecerá automáticamente en la representación en 3D de la placa de circuito impreso.

El comando guardar (modificar el archivo en la biblioteca activa) se activa mediante el icono

Si existe una huella con el mismo nombre (una versión anterior), ésta será sobrescrita. Debido a que es importante poder tener confianza en las huellas presentes en la biblioteca, merece la pena revisar dos veces la huella en busca de errores antes de guardar.

Antes de guardar, también se recomienda cambiar la referencia o el valor de la huella para que sea igual al nombre de la huella en la biblioteca.

Si la huella editada proviene del diseño de la placa actual, el icono actualizará esta huella en la placa.

El duplicado es un método para clonar un elemento y recogerlo en la misma acción. Es muy parecido a copiar y pegar, pero le permite "esparcir" componentes sobre la PCB y le permite disponer manualmente los componentes utilizando la herramienta "Mover con exactitud" (ver más abajo) con más facilidad.

El duplicado se realiza mediante el uso de su tecla de acceso rapido (que de forma predeterminada es Ctrl-D) o la opción duplicar huella en el menú contextual. En el renderizado tipo legado, éstos aparecen como se muestra debajo, dependiendo del tipo de elemento:

La herramienta "Mover con exactitud" le permite mover un elemento (o grupo de elementos) una cantidad determinada, que puede introducirse en formato cartesiano o polar y que puede introducirse en cualquier unidad compatible. Esto es útil cuando de otro modo sería engorroso al tener que cambiar a un tamaño de rejilla diferente, o cuando una característica no está espaciada de acuerdo a la rejilla actual.

Para utilizar esta herramienta, seleccione los elementos que desea mover y luego utilice su tecla de acceso rápido (por defecto, Ctrl-M) o los elementos del menú contextual para lanzar la ventana. También puede invocar la ventana la tecla de acceso rápido al mover o duplicar objetos, que pueden hacer que sea fácil aplicar repetidamente un desplazamiento a múltiples componentes.

Mover con exactitud especificando un vector de movimiento cartesiano

Mover con exactitud especificando un vector de movimiento polar

image::images/Pcbnew_move_exact_polar.png [scaledwidth="45%"]

La casilla de selección le permite cambiar entre sistemas de coordenadas cartesianas y polares. Lo que esté actualmente en el formulario se convierte automáticamente al otro sistema de coordenadas.

Luego se introduce el vector de movimiento deseado. Puede utilizar las unidades indicadas en las etiquetas ("mm" en las imágenes de arriba) o puede especificar las unidades en la cantidad (por ejemplo, "1 in" para una pulgada, o "2 rad" para 2 radianes).

Al pulsar Aceptar se aplicará la translación a la selección, y Cancelar cerrará la ventana y los elementos no serán movidos. Si se pulsa Aceptar, el vector de movimiento se guardará y será cargado la próxima vez que se abra la ventana, lo que permite la aplicación repetida del mismo vector a varios objetos.

Tanto Pcbnew como el Editor de Huellas tienen asistentes para la creación de matrices de características y componentes, que pueden ser utilizados para diseñar fácilmente y con precisión elementos repetitivos sobre la PCB o en las huellas.

The scripting API reflects the internal object structure inside KiCad/pcbnew. BOARD is the main object, that has a set of properties and a set of MODULEs, and TRACKs/SEGVIAs, TEXTE_PCB, DIMENSION, DRAWSEGMENT. Then MODULEs have D_PADs, EDGEs, etc.

All the pcbnew API is provided from the "pcbnew" module in Python. GetBoard() method will return the current pcb open at editor, useful for commands written from the integrated scripting shell inside pcbnew or action plugins.

Board is the basic object in KiCad pcbnew, it’s the document.

BOARD contains a set of object lists that can be accessed using the following methods, they will return iterable lists that can be iterated using "for obj in list:"

The footprint wizards are a collection of python scripts that can be access via from the Footprint Editor. If you invoke the footprint dialog you select a given wizard that allows you to see the footprint rendered, and you have some parameters you can edit.

If the plugins are not properly distributed to your system package, you can find the latest versions in the KiCad source tree at launchpad.

They should be located in for example C:\Program Files\KiCad\bin\scripting\plugins.

On linux you can also keep your user plugins in $HOME/.kicad_plugins.