[kicad-users] Re: Default field allocations in component properties - let's define those field
apluscw wrote: Regarding KiCad, on more than one occasion I have questioned whether we made the right decision going with KiCad. We were burdened by the fact that we needed 3 seats and none of the professional packages were economically viable at that time. While I still have reservations, now that I am making a point to create every component in my own library before using things are flowing much, much better. There are still some bugs/features/strange behaviors that bother us, but it looks like it will be OK for schematic capture. Board layout, however, is a different matter. While we did an initial evaluation, it is still unproven in our eyes. If we outsourced the layout to someone who could do it in KiCad, then we would forever be able to tweak it if need be. I second what has been said above, by your description it looks like a long shot for KiCAD, people who specilise in that kind of work use EDA packages that can calculate noise/emissions etc. Price is not what you should be looking at when choosing EDA tools for work. That might sound odd coming from someone like me who looked at KiCAD when faced with a $1500 dollar bill for upgrading my commercial package to go over 700 pins. But my boards are much simpler, they are 2 layer and just have lots of interface stuff (connecters, fuseholders, relays etc that are modified to customer requirements. I miffed a bit at paying for a package that included spice emulation and upto 6 layers or whatever that I just did not need. In my line of work a more complicated package could slow me down rather than speed me up! I did however look at other low cost simple packages, to see if they better suited my needs, and KiCAD does compare favourably. The fact that it is OSS is a great bonus. I understand your analysis and do not necessarily disagree. Penny wise, dollar foolish. I do not like making the following statement in a public arena, but the only way to put things in the proper perspective is to know we were not making payroll. [#-o] Not unheard of for a small high tech company, but none the less very painful. Thankfully, things have improved. [:)] Schematic capture is OK as long as you maintain your own parts library in a manner that suits you. Since we are building up our library, work is starting to progress much more quickly. My biggest complaint in terms of functionality at the moment is that it can be very difficult sometimes to select a component. It keeps popping up the menu you get when you click on a blank space. Sometimes it is almost impossible to select a component or text. Maybe that has been addressed in RC2? We have a meeting today and I plan on discussing our board layout plans. I suspect we will outsource our main board and do the daughterboard ourselves with KiCad. My biggest reservation with outsourcing is the inevitable need to tweak the board later and being forced to rely on an outside party. If someone would do the board layout in a KiCad, FreePCB or another package that we might purchase at a reasonable price, then that would be ideal. We are not done with the design, but just checked and we are currently at about 300 components. Perhaps there are some pro packages that fall below that 700 part count one might recommend? We do have some experience with the freeware version of Eagle. Our tech worked with it some and really liked it. Regarding being OSS, it is a mixed blessing. In an active community you can get great support. On the other hand, developers work on a volunteer basis and may or may not be responsive to feedback. I have not been on the forum long enough to know who the main players are. Have people had good luck making suggestions and getting good responses? Thanks all for the feedback. apluscw
[kicad-users] Re: Default field allocations in component properties - let's define those field
HI ALL well KiCad will do the capture and the layout even ;) i am trying ot implement in on my work and sofar no major problems or bugs it is very very friendly and has all the basic and some advansed options that would a CAD package need i am not a Pro yet(still not an experienced) but think that Kicad is much better than some comersial CAD systems please correct me if wrong i work in Bulgaria and here the electronics is a few years in the past but i think that if u dont make anything very very spesial Kicad will do ;) what is the board complexity u work on (number of pins ,layers ,clockspeed )? send the netlist and .mod files thow i am not experienced enought yet i am a wolf in sheepskin ;) question is it more complex than the videoboard example in Kicad? will be glad to help u ;) Ironically, I have been in contact with Olimex in Bulgaria. I have a friend that works at another company and he had good experience with them. apluscw
[kicad-users] Re: Default field allocations in component properties - let's define those field
HI ALL well KiCad will do the capture and the layout even ;) i am trying ot implement in on my work and sofar no major problems or bugs it is very very friendly and has all the basic and some advansed options that would a CAD package need i am not a Pro yet(still not an experienced) but think that Kicad is much better than some comersial CAD systems please correct me if wrong i work in Bulgaria and here the electronics is a few years in the past but i think that if u dont make anything very very spesial Kicad will do ;) what is the board complexity u work on (number of pins ,layers ,clockspeed )? send the netlist and .mod files thow i am not experienced enought yet i am a wolf in sheepskin ;) question is it more complex than the videoboard example in Kicad? will be glad to help u ;) I finally took a look at the video card. We will have far more components and the board will be much larger, but our components will not be so fine pitched.
RE: [kicad-users] Re: Default field allocations in component properties - let's define those field
Hi Gents, The circuitry is rather simple. It's a low density board but has some pretty specific requirements regarding the magnetic output. Talk about a neophyte? If it's listed in the dictionary, it's my picture beside the word. So I don't know too much more than what I've already said. I'm really trying to hunt up someone interested, qualified, willing and local to support our engineers in ORCAD and PADS. Seems to be a scarcity for some reason, at least a short distance from Portland, Oregon. Still, hope springs eternal. If anyone is interested or knows someone who is, check out www.insitu.com. The web site shows what we do, where we are, etc. If anyone likes to ski, snowboard, windsurf, etc., this is the place to be. Jim From: kicad-users@yahoogroups.com [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Hristo Antonov Sent: Tuesday, January 16, 2007 2:59 AM To: kicad-users@yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [kicad-users] Re: Default field allocations in component properties - let's define those field what is the board complexity u work on (number of pins ,layers ,clockspeed )? send the netlist and .mod files thow i am not experienced enought yet i am a wolf in sheepskin ;) question is it more complex than the videoboard example in Kicad? will be glad to help u ;)
[kicad-users] Posting Guidelines
Can I just remind group members of the group posting guidelines pointed to in the group FAQ. In particular please note: 1. Please trim your posts 2. Please do not top post. Thanks Ian (Group Moderator)
Re: [kicad-users] Posting Guidelines
Pedro Martín wrote: Can I just remind group members of the group posting guidelines pointed to in the group FAQ. In particular please note: 1. Please trim your posts 2. Please do not top post. Thanks Ian (Group Moderator) I'm sorry. I'm one of the top posters. I have my program set to top post by default for my work. Pedro. No problem, just remember bottom posting is prefered here. Ian
Re: [kicad-users] Posting Guidelines
Can I just remind group members of the group posting guidelines pointed to in the group FAQ. In particular please note: 1. Please trim your posts 2. Please do not top post. Thanks Ian (Group Moderator) Perhaps you can enligten me. Why is it so important to bottom post? I find it very annoying to scroll to the bottom of every email to read the few lines that interest me. David
Re: [kicad-users] Posting Guidelines
Bottom posting is way old school, I hate scrolling. But what ever you want. Most webmal clients you have to force the bottom posting. Trimming is no problem, everything but my reply and quoted text. Yes Pedro, in most work enviroments you get yelled at (down the hall, over the cube wall) for bottom posting cause again people dont want to scan over what they just read a hour ago. Mark -
Re: [kicad-users] Posting Guidelines
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Perhaps you can enligten me. Why is it so important to bottom post? I find it very annoying to scroll to the bottom of every email to read the few lines that interest me. Because, in combination with a properly trimmed post you get the information in the right order e.g your questiion followed by my answer. Cheers ian
Re: [kicad-users] Posting Guidelines
Mark Everett wrote: Bottom posting is way old school, I hate scrolling. But what ever you want. Trimming is no problem, everything but my reply and quoted text. I hate scrolling too. The major cause of scrolling is failing to trim posts. I hate reading a top post then having to scroll down through the last half dozen posts to the bottom to find out what the hell it is about. The basic (sensible) rules are: trim your post so you only quote the relevant part of the previous post, then post your reply below it. That way, without scrolling, you can see the original point/question followed by the response on one screen. Ian
[kicad-users] 3D models
Is there any way to export the 3D model of the board? I want to be able to use it to design the enclosure and check for interference. I can’t seem to find the option anywhere. Can someone help? TIA - MarkW -- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.432 / Virus Database: 268.16.7/619 - Release Date: 07/01/2007 18:29 -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.432 / Virus Database: 268.16.12/630 - Release Date: 15/01/2007 20:28
Re: [kicad-users] Posting Guidelines
Mark Everett wrote: Bottom posting is way old school, I hate scrolling. But what ever you want. Most webmal clients you have to force the bottom posting. Trimming is no problem, everything but my reply and quoted text. Yes Pedro, in most work enviroments you get yelled at (down the hall, over the cube wall) for bottom posting cause again people dont want to scan over what they just read a hour ago. Mark - This message is off topic (not about kicad ) you should have replied off list. Please read the Kicad FAQ in the group files section before posting your question. Please post your bug reports here. They will be picked up by the creator of Kicad. Please contribute your symbols/modules to the library folder in the group files section. For building Kicad from source and other development questions visit the kicad-devel group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kicad-devel Yahoo! Groups Links -- !!! INCLUDE ALL TEXT IN TECHNICAL SUPPORT EMAIL REPLIES!!! !!!Send in plain-text mode - mail with attached GIFs will be rejected !!! Karl Schmidt EMail [EMAIL PROTECTED] Transtronics, Inc. WEB http://xtronics.com 3209 West 9th StreetPh (785) 841-3089 Lawrence, KS 66049 FAX (785) 841-0434 Misdirection is the key to being a good magician. Magicians tell you they are doing something while they do something quite different; much like politicians -- except we can afford magicians. -KPS
