KiCad

Almost every electronic device contains a green or blue board with components on it. This board is called a circuit board, and the fine lines on it are traces, that is, the connections between the components. Before such a board can be manufactured, someone has to design it on a computer. KiCad is a software package made exactly for this task. First, you draw the circuit as a diagram, and then arrange the components on the board. In the end, KiCad generates the files that allow a factory to actually manufacture the board. The program is free, and its source code, meaning the blueprint of the software itself, is publicly viewable.

Free software in an expensive industry

Professional programs for circuit board design have traditionally cost a lot of money. Depending on the provider, individual licenses can run several thousand euros per year. For large corporations, this is a minor matter, but for schools, start-ups, and hobbyists, it is a real hurdle. KiCad lowers this hurdle to zero.

This has changed the electronics scene. Anyone building their own measuring device, a robot, or an Internet-of-Things device today can get started right away. Many open hardware projects publish their designs directly as KiCad files. Others can then download them, modify them, and have them manufactured themselves, without having to buy software beforehand.

An important distinction: KiCad is not a simulation program for entire systems, nor a tool for designing computer chips. It operates at the level of the circuit board, not the inside of a microchip. Chip design is its own field with its own, very expensive software.

From schematic to manufacturing file

The design process runs in two main steps. First, you open the schematic editor and draw which components exist and how they are logically connected. The arrangement on paper doesn’t matter yet at this stage. All that counts is what is connected to what.

After that, the board editor takes over. Each component from the schematic is assigned a so-called footprint, that is, the pattern of solder pads that the actual component occupies on the board. You move these components into place and route the traces. Throughout this process, KiCad continuously checks whether the schematic is still being adhered to. If a connection is missing or two traces come too close together, a check flags the error.

Finally, the program exports manufacturing data. The common format is called Gerber and describes each copper and labeling layer individually. These files are uploaded to a board manufacturer, often in China or Europe. A simple board costs just a few euros this way and arrives in the mailbox in about two weeks. A look in three dimensions is also possible, since KiCad can display the finished board as a 3D model.

Who works with it

KiCad is most visible in the maker scene. Anyone browsing build instructions for electronics projects on platforms like GitHub will regularly come across KiCad project files. Universities and technology courses also use the program, because every student can install it at home.

At the same time, KiCad has long ceased to be a purely hobbyist tool. The project was started in 1992 and has been supported for years by the research center CERN in Geneva, which needs software for its own measuring devices. Companies like Google have contributed funding. Smaller electronics companies now use it for series production.

In tech news, the name usually appears in two contexts. First, in connection with new versions that catch up on features from expensive competing programs. Second, in the debate about open hardware, where KiCad serves as an example that free software is also taken seriously in industry.