Rev up your browsers, package managers, or whatever other tool you use to avail yourself of new software releases, because the KiCAD team have announced that barring any major bugs being found in the next few hours, tomorrow should see the release of version 9 of the open source EDA suite. Who knows, depending on where you are in the world that could have already happened when you read this.
Skimming through the long list of enhancements brought into this version there’s one thing that strikes us; how this is now a list of upgrades and tweaks to a stable piece of software rather than essential features bringing a rough and ready package towards usability. There was a time when using KiCAD was a frustrating experience of many quirks and interface annoyances, but successive versions have improved it beyond measure. We would pass comment that we wished all open source software was as polished, but the fact is that much of the commercial software in this arena is not as good as this.
So head on over and kick the tires on this new KiCAD release, assuming that it passes those final checks. We look forward to the community’s verdict on it.
Awesome that they’re still improving it.
I wonder if it can import other electronic CAD format files?
The main thing keeping me from using KiCAD is a library of stuff in the proprietary ‘service’ software.
https://docs.kicad.org/master/en/kicad/kicad.html#importing_a_project_from_another_eda_tool
Any know of any open-source tool available import/convert [proprietary] ExpressPCB files?
That would be interesting. The “ExpressPCB” program is a stipped down, but super easy to use program.
Very excited! Never thought v9 would be releasing so soon (I don’t keep up with the news)
FreeCad v1, KiCad v9, things are looking very good for the FOSS CAD ecosystem. Now all I need to do is finally learn to use the FEM bench to do sims…
KiCAD switched to a yearly release cycle starting with version 6.
Experience with Kicad 8 has learned me to wait until KiCad 9.0.2 will be released…..
Maybe keep your release kinks to yourself and let others just enjoy a new release for what it is:-)
Maybe take some advice from a gray-beard, and learn :)
Exacltly. We need less toxic positivity and more honesty.
its not limited to kicad. i would not touch nice rounded numbers of software with a 18 cm isolated screwdriver
Meanwhile every update to Altium introduces new bugs and annoyances, slows it down, and finds a new way to try and screw money out of you…
Coming from KiCAD and being forced to use Altium, all I can say is: you´re damn f…..g right.
I second that!
That’s pretty much commercial software in general anymore. Several programs I use for work went subscription only on the promise of better, faster development and fewer bugs, but all that materialized was yearly updates full of half baked bug riddled features that took another year to become actually useable.
I’m down to Adobe and Fusion 360. Once I drop them, I’ll try real hard to never pay for another software package as long as I live. I’m so fed up with corporate greed.
You’re in luck, FreeCAD 1.0.x is starting to look semi-usable…
Yup, third this comment. Isn’t Allegro a great user friendly tool! /s
I had purchased the full Altium suite many moons ago and let it lapse for just that reason, just couldn’t justify the ongoing paid bug fixes. I love KiCad and been using since v4, like me, it just keeps getting better with old age ;)
Either the time flows faster than I think, or realeases of KiCad have been accelerated… I hardly installed KiCad 8 , and some patches that a KiCad 9 is realease tomorrow…
That’s what happens when opensource project is not funded by monopoly money, like they often do…
Im amazed at the speed of which FOSS alternatives are progressing at the moment! It has allready reached the point where i am finding myself ditching my altium perpetual licence in favor of KiCad for about 90% of my projects! Keep up the amazing work!
Is there any FOSS alternative for doing the various simulations?
Signal/power integrity, thermal, EMC/EMI etc etc? I know KiCad can do spice circuit.
KiCad 9 can export 3d models of the copper layers, including the internals. Together with ElmerFEM and openEMS it is possible to do these simulations. It’s not user-friendly yet, but we’re getting closer to have usable tools! In its current state it takes quite some knowledge on the actual simulation techniques though.
Ive done some work in openEMS for antenna optimization,
https://github.com/fredriknk/openEMS_optimizer
Ive been making a 2.4ghz and a 825mhz antenna in it and it is works decent, but there i do trust the matlab antenna toolbox a bit more, as the FDTD solver is very senstive for meshing errors. Allso, it is not very parralelizable.
Out of curiosity, can you do this in Altium? I’ve been exporting from altium and importing into SIwave because all I’ve figured out how to do in Altium is pspice. From a simulation standpoint, I think kicad and altium are somewhat similar in capability, but maybe I’m wrong.
Below a link to: PDN Analyzer in Blender
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IkbbOHJVUE
Which uses:
https://blendermarket.com/products/electromag-nodes/docs
Blender is another example of an excellent Open Source project. Blender started as a software suite for making cartoons / animations, but a lot of other things can be animated too :) Blender also has a mechanical CAD plugin these days. Last time I checked (a few years ago) Blender had an annual budget of around USD 3M. That’s enough to hire a bunch of full time developers. Blender has a whole new learning curve on it’s own though. I put a few evenings into it, about 10 years ago and though it was difficult to get started, I could also see some of the pieces working together and quite liked that. The only reason I did not pursue it further was because my main (nearly only) interest is in mechanical CAD, and I need parametric drawing. That’s not something Blender could deliver back then, and now I’ve learned to work with FreeCAD.
Oh, nice, an equivalent to Altium’s output jobs!
It is starting to have more and more of the functions of Altium. I like that.
I’ve liked KiCad more than Eagle ever since i discovered KiCad, which was long time ago. It was never frustrating for me.
I’m still annoyed about how Eagle turned out. I haven’t done any circuit design in a while, but it’s annoying to have to relearn everything, and I haven’t done anything in KiCad besides some basic playing around in an old version (5? 6?)
At least with KiCad, I can assume that it’ll never be ripped away to force me to relearn something else, again.
Yes, I’m feeling this too. I put a vast amount of effort into Eagle “back in the day” and when it got ripped away, the learning curve of a new piece of software became another obstacle towards me actually going out and taking my projects beyond the breadboard. I did also have a licence for some commercial PCB design software, but at the time libraries for new parts were my big stumbling block so I stopped using that too.
Feels like it might be the push I need to get back to it…
Autorouting? I’m still hanging in with eagle but alas.
I was an early Protel buyer and did a lot of work with it. The handful of other fairly affordable tools were not up to the same productivity or nice UI. The purchase by Altium and the new versions put the pricing out of range IIRC. Since then I have made do with KiCAD and it has steadily improved and the current version fixed a lot of the awkwardness of switching from schematic to layout and back. And the Python plugins are pretty cool. I don’t think it can do what Altium can do today by a long shot, but the Altium learning curve is pretty complex. Using the Protel look and feel in KiCAD lets me feel like I know what I’m doing :-) Downloading KiCAD 9…..
Which version will provide me with the official pronunciation of “KiCAD”?
“KiCad (/ˈkiːˌkæd/ KEE-kad) is a free software suite for electronic design automation (EDA).”
It’s simple, if you’re from Europe, it’s K-eee-cad, if from the US/Canada – K-aye-cad :-). For other parts of the world – decide which pronounciation you like more :-)
Just think Swiss/German and the rest, were A is ah, E is long-a and I is long-e. KeyCAD. Maybe they say more like KeyCod depending on where you are.
I moved over to fusion 360 electronics, its a flavor, not a particularly good one, but pretty ok for having it all in a one stop shop for product design
By all means keep feeding Autodesk as their relentless maw gorges on innovative products and talented people and excretes expensive mediocrity. It’s a nice compliment to that $60/month Adobe plan, and that Tesla. Keep posting to X and put everything in the landfill. Those iPhones are so shiny and Amazon Prime is so darn convenient.
This is fine. Everything’s fine.
What happened to ‘be respectful’?
It’s a valid opinion. Chiding someone for prefering a commercial package is childish.
Fusion is powerful, and it IS compelling to have one package that ties your workflow together. Having Design, Simulation, and Manufacturing neatly integrated is something I find hard to substitute with other packages. The Design and Manufacturing components are also very powerful, stable, and easy to use. Nothing comes close in my opinion, for 3D Design and CNC. You can even get most of the features for free as a hobbyist.
That said, I personally found Fusion Electronics bucked the trend. When I tried it a couple of years ago, it crashed repeatedly, had a terrible UI (Basically Eagle, which I know some folks love, but I found clunky next to more modern alternatives), and AD seemed more interested in piling in more features and new bugs than fixing what they already had. It also felt like it didn’t belong in a 3D design package.
But it’s ok to like Fusion Electronics. If it works for you, ignore the childish scorn and get stuff done. Everyone is different.
“KiCad (nightly and V9) can now drag multiple tracks:”
Oh, HELL ya!!
I’ve been waiting for this for so long.
KiCad is incredible. I have spun up quite a bit of stuff on it. It works great.
I need only cnc similar Kirimoto gcode generator
KiCad seems intriguing for me, but trying to use it seems like I’m being forced into flawed dogma rules and assumptions they make. Things like not allowing different gates or design blocks in parts, or not being allowed to put more than one part in a library.
LOL, whut..?!?
Altium, is that you? :)
Just a little late nite trolling, right? (I hope!)
X-D
I have to admit I had to look up how you created sub-symbols too when I started using KiCAD, but Bing Copilot or ChatGPT is able to answer almost all of my questions. It is similar to a Cadence support engineer hotline contract for me.
The article is about a new release. Maybe an opinion like this belongs somewhere else. Maybe.
“not being allowed to put more than one part in a library”
lol, what? Every kicad library on my system has countless symbols or footprints in it.
Thank you KiCAD team!
The Python scripting and CLI interface is fantastic, especially in the AI programing era were one can make all sorts of automation in a snap.
Let’s show the team some love and send a thank you and donation their way <3
Kicad is biting the heals of the big commercial EDA packages now. They must be worried . That I could see nothing to get excited about in this latest release shows how far it has come in the last few years. All the low hanging fruit has already been picked, and they’re busy with the icing.
There are still things that I find a little frustrating, but that’s true of any package. And, hey, it’s free.
Looks like It’s an incremental update, nothing game changing.
I’m looking forward to “update schematic from PCB” one day, but its not today. Reverse engineering isn’t a core use case. So I guess I’ll have to be patient.
The last two times I updated my OS was because kicad no longer supported it, not this time by the looks of it…. hopefully.
That would also be useful for other things. Like gate- and pin-swap. Often when routing FPGAs and 74-series logic ICs the exact pin is not important. In a FPGA they are often fully the same within an I/O group. And on a 74-series logic IC like a dual 4-input AND gate the two gates could be swapped (or the inputs within a gate) to ease routing.
This feature has been on the whishlist for 10-12 years now. Maybe in another decade we’ll have useful stuff like that. ;-)
Eagle is still better since kicad has weird keys and also does not have the autoroute function that eagle has. So kicad still sux