Ripping up a section of a pcb, printing silk-screen on copper layer, ... - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: MaxFrister
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 08, 2017, 03:51:53 pm
content: After the latest Eagle indignities, I'm trying to migrate to Kicad. After many hours, I am closer to being able to use kicad for my work, but there are a few things I still can't figure out how to accomplish:1. Is there a way to delete tracks in a section of the board? In particular I'm looking for the equivalent of selecting a region (block) in Eagle and ripping up all tracks in that region.2. For home PCB manufacture, I can't make a silk-screen (easily), so I like to print the silk-screen layers in copper. Is there an easy way to merge the copper and silk-screen layers?3. In Escheme, is there an easy way to substitute one part for another. I found I wanted to replace a transistor throughout a design, and all I could find was to delete and add a new part (loosing value, etc.). Find and replace appears to only be about text.4. In Escheme can you move a connected block? I found that I can select a block and move it, but the tracks outside the region are cut.I've always hated Eagle's UI, but over time I'd found crude work-arounds for what I needed. Thanks for helping with the transition to Kicad.

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 08, 2017, 04:46:41 pm
content: If you drag a box around an area it will pop up a dialog for block operations, then you can select the checkboxes for the type of items you want to operate on, then select Delete Block.When you print the layout for etching, select Single Page and then check any layers you want on that page. Etching from a printed pattern doesn't know the difference between silkscreen and copper, it will etch whatever is printed.Not sure I understand #3, in the schematic it's just a schematic symbol, you can reassign it in cvpcb, otherwise I'm not aware of a method besides deleting and creating a new part.Try dragging rather than moving, that will leave wires connected, although if you're not careful they can get at weird angles that can be tricky to select with snap to grid enabled.

author: MaxFrister
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 08, 2017, 05:43:04 pm
content: 1. Yes! However, it only seems to work in the "default" canvass, not in the open GL canvass.2. Yes! I was trying to "plot" and not "print".3. Suppose you want to substitute NPN_BCE for NPN_EBC transistors on a schematic. (This seems like a footprint issue, but seems to require a schematic change).4. Yes! However, the default keyboard shortcut is "tab" and not "g" as it is on individual components.Thanks!!!!

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 08, 2017, 07:11:16 pm
content: I think the issue stems from the historical arrangement (which I've never been real fond of) where the schematic is drawn with generic symbols and then afterward associated with footprints to match the parts being used. In that case the schematic for an NPN transistor will be the same, the pins are named E, B and C, and then the footprint library you would associate it with would be something like NPN_EBC, NPN_BEC, etc.The version of KiCad I use is a few years old now so I don't know how things have evolved. One of these days I should jump up to a more recent version but I'm always a little apprehensive about upgrading something I already know how to use.

author: MaxFrister
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 08, 2017, 07:52:16 pm
content: I sort of like the distance between symbols and footprints; it allows me to work on something conceptually for a while before committing to physical parts. The NPN_BCE versus NPN_EBC symbols break that.You should at least try out the new push-shove router. It seems to work really well.