The layout is the physical representation of the circuit. The “drawings” we create in this segment will be translated into actual printed circuit boards (PCBs). This is the crux of what KiCad does. We are able to hook up “wires” between various elements on the PCBs that we design.
Layout can be very open-ended and beginners are prone to make mistakes because it seems like anything should be possible on a PCB. KiCad has different checks and safeguards so you only do what a PCB house is capable of producing. This leads to additional frustration, since these checks are not intuitive. We’ll attempt to explain them.
Some of the topics covered in this lesson:
- How to hook various components together, including using both sides of a PCB.
- How to export the files you create to a PCB manufacturer.
Click below to view the “topics” for this lesson.