KiCAD is a free & open-source software suite for EDA. For a while now the layout engine of KiCAD has been more powerful than similar layout engines of some commercial EDA suites.
KiCAD is available for Windows, OSX and Linux – in binary and source code.

Apart from schematics captures and the layout editor KiCAD also offers a built-in 3D viewer that can be used to verify the layout and component placement.
There’s also support for hierarchic designs to help with design reuse.
For footprint creation KiCAD offers powerful wizards that can be used to create complex packages like BGA, QFN, QFP and several more in a few seconds.
When it comes to the layout editor KiCAD offers extremely convenient features like realtime-DRC, push & shove, length matching and a built-in transmission line calculator. Because of this KiCAD is particularly suitable for more complex designs with BGA chips and hi-speed signals.

Both the schematics as well as the layout are stored in easily readable text files. This allows for third-party scripts that can be used to easily modify the design. A simple text editor with search & replace can be used to modify coordinates, layers and a lot more.
The open data formats and the availability of the source code make KiCAD a future-proof choice when it comes to EDA software. Further development doesn’t rest on the shoulders of a single company but on a large international community. The nuclear research center CERN uses KiCAD for many of their own designs and continues to contribute new features again and again.

This workshop covers schematics capture and layouts using KiCAD.
Creating new symbols and footprints will also be explained. In the workshop, Mr Benedikt Heinz will also shine some light on the pros and cons when comparing KiCAD to other software like Eagle. In the workshop all participants will try KiCAD and all of the important features themselves. We will also create a tiny example project. Because of this you should bring a notebook.

Participation fee : 290€ (incl. VAT)
This participation fee includes the necessary material, seminar documentation, lunch and a participation certificate.

Seminar

05-Apr-2017

Register here

kiCAD

Eurocircuits Aachen GmbH

Peter-Debye-Str. 4, 52499 Baesweiler, Germany

Event date and time:

April 5th

9.00 AM – 4.30 PM

Who is Mr Benedikt Heinz ?

  • Studied in Augsburg, where he got a Graduate Degree in Computer Science.
  • During his studies he was a firmware / electronics developer.
  • Since more than 15 years, Mr Heinz focuses on microcontrollers (AVR, 8051, PIC, ARM).
  • Since about 9 years also on FPGAs.
  • After his studies, Mr Heinz worked at the Fraunhofer Institute in Garching. Topics there are : Embedded Systems Security, Side-channel attacks.
  • Since the beginning of 2015 he is active independently in the area of Digital design HW- / SW development with a stronger focus on hi-speed boards (DDR2 RAM, HDMI, SATA, PCI Express).
  • Also active as a developer of open-source tools for hi-speed designs.