KiCad

Infobox Software
name = KiCad
operating_system = Linux, Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X
developer = Jean-Pierre Charras
genre = EDA
license = GNU General Public License
website = [http://kicad.sourceforge.net KiCad home page]

KiCad is an open source software suite for EDA (Electronic Design Automation) - designing schematics of electronic circuits and printed circuit boards (PCB). KiCad is developed by Jean-Pierre Charras.

Parts

KiCad software is organized in five main parts:

* kicad - the project manager.
* eeschema - the schematic capture editor.
* cvpcb - the footprint selector for components used in the circuit design.
* pcbnew - the PCB layout program. It also has 3D View.
* gerbview - the Gerber (photoplotter documents) viewer.

Features

Compared to the others free software alternatives, KiCad solves all stages with the same interface: Schematic Capture, PCB layout, gerber generation/visualization and library editing.

KiCad is cross-platform and runs on Linux, Windows and Mac OS X. A lot of component libraries are available. Also migrating tools for components are available (from other EDA software tools). File formats are plain text and well documented, which is good for CVS or SVN and to make automated component generation scripts.

Multiple languages are supported, such as English, Portuguese, Spanish, Czech., Polish, French, German, and Russian.

External links

* [http://kicad.sourceforge.net KiCad international Wiki]
* [http://iut-tice.ujf-grenoble.fr/kicad/ KiCad author's home page]
* [http://kicadlib.org/ Collection of KICAD Libraries]
* [http://www.fritzing.org/development/market-overview CAD Tools Market Overview including KiCad]

Projects

* [http://1010.co.uk/scrying.html Small microcontroller in a 'Mystic' project]
* [http://blog.reprap.org/2006/09/i-finally-decided-to-take-little-time_01.html RepR
]