Since I did not have a power source defined on the circuit, the checker complained with a message of "Pin connected to other pins, but not driven by any pin". I wasn't aware of this tool until I already started making the PCB and when I run it, it gave me two issues with my circuit regarding the symbols that I've used for the power input. KiCad comes with a tool called "Electrical Rules Checker" or ERC for short that can check your board for missing or invalid connections, or any other problems in terms of the set of rules defined for electrical connectivity. With all of the components in place on the schematic, there is one more important step that we need to take before we can jump into creating the PCB. ![]() The connection is then confirmed with another click and when 3 or more wires are connected at a single point, a larger dot appears.īased on their datasheet, the LEDs I'm using require a capacitor of at least 100nF next to each of them for voltage stability so I added them as well, and connected them between the 5V and ground lines. You first need to click at the start pin and start moving the wire with the mouse to the next connection point. To make connections between the components, I used the "Place Wire" tool from the right toolbar. I repeated the procedure 2 more times to add a total of 3 LEDs and I also added symbols for the 5V and ground inputs as well. ![]() In my case, I searched for the WS2812B RGB LEDs, also known as NeoPixel LEDs and by pressing on the OK button, the symbol is now selected and you can place it anywhere on the schematic canvas. In the top section of this window, we have a search bar from where we can find our components. To add a component or symbol as it is called inside KiCad, we select the "Place Symbol" tool from the toolbar on the right and after the initial load of the libraries, we get the "Choose Symbol" window. When the schematic is opened, we are greeted with a blank canvas and we can start adding our components to it. SCH file and upon first open, KiCad asks to configure the global symbols library.įor anyone using the program for the first time, going with the default to import the default libraries is recommended and I went with that. Since we need the schematic in order to create the PCB from it, I'm first opening the. The first file is the one containing the schematic of the project and the other one is the one containing the PCB. When we first start KiCad, we need to create a new project and that will create two files inside. That way we can all learn to be better and create better products. In the final design, I'll probably have a ton of mistakes that I might not even be aware of so please if you are a PCB designer or know more than me, use the comment section below to let me know of those mistakes. This will be my very first try at building something like this and I'm sharing this so I can encourage you to try it as well and demystify the process for beginners like me. ![]() īefore we continue, keep in mind that I'm not a PCB designer. You can join the 4th PCB design contest of PCBWay on the link below. PCBWay also offers sponsorships for students and hobbyists where you can get your projects built for free. They've already sponsored a few of my videos but this will be my first time making a custom PCB and ordering from them so we will see how the process goes. I'll cover the entire process from creating the schematic, all the way to ordering the PCB from PCBWay.Īs you might already know, PCBWay is a PCB manufacturing company in China, from where you can order PCBs for your projects. ![]() Today I will show how I created my very first custom PCB using KiCad.
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