Contents
How do you fill a zone in KiCad?
(Click the image to enlarge) Once you have closed the zone properties window, click once in each of the other three corners (in order) on the board outline. Then, to complete the final segment, double-click on the original corner to end the zone.
How do you fill another copper layer in KiCad?
To add the fill on the other side, the easiest way is to right-click on the existing board edge, select “Zone outline”, then go to “Zones”->”Duplicate Zone”. This brings up the zone properties box for the new zone, so select the other copper layer and press “OK”.
What are the settings for thermal reliefs in KiCad?
The “Thermal Reliefs” settings control the clearance around the ground pads (0.040″ here) and the width of the traces connecting from the fill to the ground pads (0.009″ here). We’ve found these settings to work pretty well for most of our projects.
What is the clearance setting on KiCad for solder?
This still provides a very good electrical connection for the ground pad, but makes it much easier to solder. The “Clearance” setting controls the general clearance between the filled area and pads/traces of other nets. The “Minimum width” setting controls the thinnest that the fill can be when flowing around other pads/traces.
To actually fill them with copper (at this point, virtual copper!), right-click anywhere inside the fill zones and click on “Fill or Refill All Zones”) from the contextual menu: To fill all zones, right click anywhere inside the zone and select “Fill or Refill All Zones”.
How do I fill the front copper layer in KiCad?
Choose the front copper layer (F.Cu): Move to the front copper layer. The fill zones tool is already selected, so we can go ahead to start the box for the copper fill in the front copper layer. Again, start by clicking on the top right corner of the PCB (this is not a requirement, only my preference).
How can I reduce the width of my edges in KiCad?
Double-click to end the drawing. If your edge lines are not very thin, we suggest reducing their width. Right-click on each line (you might have to zoom in to ensure that your mouse cursor is pointing at the yellow line itself) and select “Edit Drawing”.
Can you click on keyboard shortcuts in KiCad?
Yes, you can click on the equivalent buttons. However, the speed and efficiency of KiCad really shines when muscle memory kicks in so start memorizing. Here are the keyboard shortcuts in KiCad’s Eeschema that we will be using frequently in this tutorial:
How to create a power plane ( using zones )?
You can have zones of the same net in different layers which overlap and put a via there, the via will automatically be in the same net (that kind of connection with vias is called via stitching) In KiCad a layer cannot be set up as a power plane functionally.