DEM remarks
General
- Assembly documentation
We should check with people responsible for assembling boards what
kind of documentation do they expect. Alternatively we can open an
EDMS project and see what files are stored in xxx-assy.zip
archives.
This probably would require a converter or an export plugin in
KiCad. KiCad should offer export to one of the formats accepted by
CircuitCam. See also the DEM documentation
convention.
TODO: Check Tom's assembly drawings generator script.
- Support for long pad names/pin numbers
Required for Altium library import.
- Automated Altium library conversion
The conversion process currently consists of two steps: running two
Altium scripts (footprint conversion and symbol templates
generation) and symbol library generation (using the database
information and symbol templates).
It is easy to automate the symbol library generation, but running
Altium scripts requires launching the software and a few clicks. Due
to that, the library conversion process still involves a human and
conversion is done upon a request.
Eeschema
- Good quality BOM generator
The current user interface is terrible. It requires to choose a file
that provides an xsltproc plugin (if you know where to look for
one). As far as I know, it can generate only .csv files.
A good candidate to fix the problem is Oliver Walters component
table
viewer.
Drop XSLT, switch to Python plugins? Be sure they are automatically
detected, so all the user has to do is to pick the output format and
settings.
- Default fields for new components
Currently there are a few default fields (name, value, footprint),
so for each new component others have to be added manually (e.g.
datasheet link, mounted, tolerance).
These fields should be used by the BOM generator.
A possible solution is to import .csv files with a list of pins and
their properties. There are external
tools that already exploit this
approach.
- Editable pin table
Schematic library editor currently lists pins in read-only mode. It
should be modified to enable changing the properties values.
- Copy/paste (between sheets, possibly via system clipboard)
Especially for drawings. One can export a drawing and import it to a
schematic sheet, but is very cumbersome.
- Display field names
Now only the values are displayed, so for boolean type fields it is
not clear what does it mean (e.g. "No" vs "Mounted: No").
- Update component field values
There are cases when symbol libraries fields change (e.g. Obsolete
field), but there is no way to reflect the change in already placed
component.
Pcbnew
- STEPs
Import and export. It might be already doable with KiCad, I need
to check. Perhaps it requires a few hackish tricks that could be
replaced with a nice UI.
STEPs can be easily assigned to footprints and are correctly
displayed by 3D viewer. Pcbnew has also successfully exported a STEP
model for the FMC nanoFIP board.
- Selecting layers when importing DXF files Right now KiCad imports
all DXF layers, which is not always convenient. Adding a listbox to
select layers would significantly improve the importer
functionality.
- Selecting anchor for imported DXF files
Pcbnew place the imported DXF graphics according to the option
selected in the import dialog and do not move it. For manual
placement mode, there should be another radio button.
The imported graphics should be dragged by the DXF origin. It is
especially important when a few DXF files are imported, as there are
cases when the final output is not aligned, or the alignment is hard
to achieve.
- Export multiple layers to a single DXF file
- DRC
KiCad and Altium DRC capabilities are two different worlds at the
moment. Unfortunately, it might be a long process to introduce more
complex DRC rules in KiCad.
TODO: Make the list of the most important rules to implemented
first.
- Enable snapping to characteristic points for the measurement tool
It is hard to accurately measure distance relying solely on vision.
Snapping could be enabled for other tools as well (e.g. drawing).
- Object Inspector
Modifying a single property for a number of items is a tedious task
that could be alleviated with this tool.
- Improved dimensioning tools
It is a large package that would need a proper specification.
Generally speaking, it would be great to have dimension lines
associated with certain points, so the dimensions are automatically
updated when the associated point coordinate changes.
Update: Tom is already working on this.
- High contrast mode for footprint editor
- Reset grid & auxiliary origin
- Enable 'append board' function when pcbnew runs in project mode
- Additional general purpose mechanical layers in pcbnew
- Enable plotting a selected layer to all output files
PCB designs often contain a small frame with additional informations
about the board (e.g. layers) that could be included in all output
files, if it is drawn on a dedicated layer.
- Export board to a single DXF file using multiple layers.
- Tool to place an information about the board stack-up and used
drills.
Bugs (to be confirmed and posted on the bug tracker)
- Create array does not work correctly when lowercase letters are used
for requested range
- 'Invisible' texts should disappear not only after unchecking 'Hidden
text' checkbox in the Render tab, but also after disabling the
original layer visibility.
- When saving a footprint with a different name, the 'Value' field is
not updated.