Hi Stephane, I like Kicad and have already done a 4layer board which went into production pretty much straight away, the re-spin was caused by circuitry optimisations but not by Kicad issues. However, I must admit that I did not use a single component without doing extensive changes to it. I am still missing things like a proper part name (instead of having to use its value as name), also missing things like a fenceguard layer (I did re-use the "glue" layer for this) and also editable pad-stacks would be great. And, of course, not to forget the silkscreen which sometimes overlaps the pads and often has no distance margin to the pads.
But for me Kicad is stil a valid solution. Yes, I have to spend more time in creating components and even PCB design takes longer. But commercial packages are neither perfect and much more expensive so it comes down to how much time you have got to spend and how much money would you be willing to spend towards a commercial solution. Cheers, Heiko --- In [email protected], "Stephrac74" <stephra...@...> wrote: > > Hi group, > > > > I've noticed that most of the library components have unusable silkscreens. > Most of the time, the lib silkscreen shows the component itself with pads > and so on instead of a simple square or so, and the silkscreen often covers > the pads which is amazing ! > > > > This is not usable for PCB industrialization. I've decided to don't use > anymore the Kicad libs and to redesign all my needed components ! This is a > major issue according to me and a major waste of time I have no time > anymore to change the software. > > > > Regarding the different limitations I'm facing for a professional use, I'm > starting having regrets to have chosen Kicad L This is a fantastic > software, and free, but the 2% of missing details makes this software not > usable for professional use according to me and requires a lot more time > even for an amateur use than an other software. > > > > Hoping it will be improved, but last release is already 1 year ago and the > wish list is so long that I have not added my comments. > > > > > > Best > > Stephane >
