For anyone else interested, I found this tutorial really useful for learning to create a schematic and lay out a PCB with Kicad, then export it for manufacturing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5phi3nT8OU.
I created a set of small boards and had them SMT-assembled for <$100 shipped. Tools and services for hobbyists have come a long way in the past decade or so.
I'd second that unless you really just want to make a PCB from a simple breadboard design with simple parts once and never do it again. But the few hours learning Kicad will be much more rewarding.
Do you know of a tutorial on how to do assembly with KiCAD/JLCPCB? I've designed a few PCBs and tried to do assembly once, but IIRC my biggest problem was figuring out which parts they had that I could use and how to send them the info.
I have a youtube tutorial for making a PCB using KiCad (5.0) called "Getting To Blinky". It has helped some people design their first PCB. This will be a separate exercise from learning about actual electronics, but will help you get a PCB made: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVhWh3AsXQs&list=PLy2022BX6E...
Are there good beginner resources on working with kicad out there? I haven't really found much but maybe I'm just failing at my search terms because I'm not as familiar with the field as I should be.
Esp. really beginner "baby's first circuit board design" and also "making minor modifications to someone else's board".
Phil's Lab on YouTube has great PCB design tutorials that cover how to think about layout and design, how to use Kicad, and even how to turn your design into a real product.
I recently learned KiCad and did some basic boards with it. It was a breeze; didn't run into any crashes, bugs, or major difficulties. I learned Eagle a few years ago, and from my vague memory I remember Eagle being a bit less obvious to use. KiCad felt straightforward in every way except maybe drawing the board cuts.
(I did run into one paper cut. The PCB DRC didn't flag unconnected nets; there's a second button next to Run DRC that checks for unconnected nets. :/ Cost me an hour wondering why my 5V rail wasn't working... )
Was also my first time using one of those cheap, small-run assembly houses. Absolutely incredible. My project was a tweak of an existing product (an RGB LED driver), and I was able to get my boards made and assembled for less than the retail product, even at a volume of 5 and with nicer parts. Crazy.
Thanks for posting this. I'm planning to start work on my first ever PCB tomorrow and I'll try learning this instead of KiCAD and see if I need to switch or not.
Awesome to hear of new people getting into PCBs! It's wonderful how accessible PCB design has become, and I think KiCad plays a major role in that. If you're the kind of person who can read to learn stuff, I highly recommend this old powerpoint presentation:
It describes the manufacturing process in pretty good detail. The reason the design rules feel like such a wall is that these design rules are completely based upon the manufacturing processes themselves (thus different manufacturers will have different rules). As you go through that presentation, you'll probably have to search or ask about many of the terms you don't recognize, but that'll just help you learn even more! Next, check out the design rules for a popular fabricator. For example, here's one:
I used KiCad[0] PCB design software and followed a lot of Youtube tutorials. This[1] one was the best tutorial I found, it seems pretty trivial at first glance but touches on all the parts of the process.
I use OSH Park for the actual PCB production[2], they're pretty cheap and good quality boards but be prepared for a bit of a wait. There's also a good price comparison site[3] for alternate suppliers.
I took his class and really enjoyed it. By the end of it you'll be confident with KiCAD and likely be working on your own collection of parts and footprints (e.g. https://github.com/pepaslabs/KiCADParts). He also gives beginners good insight into how to read datasheets, how to select parts on digikey, etc. Making boards like this will be easy for you: https://github.com/pepaslabs/ProgrammableLM317
Edit: Also, supporting any of his efforts makes you feel good, considering all he has contributed to the EE hobbyist community (contextualelectronics.com, kicad.info, the Amp Hour podcast, etc.). He and Dave Jones (EEVBlog) are the superstars of the hobbyist community.
I used KiCad 5 design some PCBs which are being shipped to me now. I've never done this before, and it was a fantastic experience after I went through a few tutorials on how to actually use it. I look forward to using KiCad 6!
So I recently picked up kicad for some hobby project and made my first boards. I did exactly as you said "watched some tutorials" and I still think that making PCBs is easier than I thought it would be. Kicad definitely has rough edges and I have zero experience with altium but I'm still getting things done so I'm not sure your advice holds.
[0]https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLy2022BX6Eso532xqrUxD...
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