PCB Design with KiCAD Workshop
by
SR1
Abbe Center of Photonics
Take your electronic circuits from messy breadboards to professional, production-ready hardware. This hands-on KiCad PCB Design for Prototyping workshop guides you through the complete workflow of designing custom printed circuit boards using the industry-standard, open-source software KiCad.
Whether you're developing custom sensor boards, IoT hardware, or sleek enclosures with integrated electronics for a pitch presentation, this session equips you with the skills to turn schematic ideas into manufacturable physical boards.
What you’ll learn:
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Schematic Capture: Building logical circuit diagrams, selecting standard components, and creating clean wire connections.
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Symbol & Footprint Mapping: Understanding how electronic components map to real-world surface-mount (SMD) and through-hole (THT) footprints.
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PCB Layout & Routing: Placing components strategically and routing copper traces while considering trace width, ground planes, and physical board constraints.
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Design Rule Checking (DRC): Verifying circuit integrity to catch electrical shorts, clearance issues, and manufacturing errors before production.
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Gerber Export & Fab Prep: Generating production-ready manufacturing files (Gerber/BOM/CPL) to order low-cost prototypes from quick-turn PCB fabricators.