kicad-developers team mailing list archive

[Dick Hollenbeck <dick@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Thanks Richard.  This was interesting.

I see your work product as useful.  I am still thinking that the footprint management
process, which is applicable on the way to your organizational destination, can be improved.

They are two topics, and are not mutually exclusive in any way.

I've made my point quite concisely, belaboring it only dilutes it.   The EESCHEMA -> CVPCB
-> PCBNEW work flow design probably assumed too much about what was achievable in the way
of footprint libraries.

Chips are coming out so fast now, expecting perfect footprint libraries has proven to be
faulty.

EESCHEMA -> Make/Select Footprints -> PCBNEW is more like it.


Dick



> Oh, I forgot to mention that you need a full path for the sheets in the 
> hierarchy.  I tend to put every project in a different directory based 
> on type of project and company.  For some reason, if you add a sheet 
> from a different directory (directory A) that has sheets/schematics in 
> directory A, when you dive down into the main sheet (in Directory A) you 
> will see that the sheets within the sheets are pointing to a schematic 
> flat in your current project directory.  I'm guessing its not a bug, and 
> intentional.  All the same, you should use a full path on all your 
> sheets schematics within the lib structure so they point to the correct 
> place.
>
> Best,
> Richard
>
> On 12/12/2012 12:03 PM, Richard Howlett wrote:
>> I have a methodology for this issues.  I have a master schematic that 
>> I use as library (with hierarchy for resistors, capacitors, and about 
>> 8 other categories, and then more hierarchy for more focused 
>> selections) because I find that once I've looked up a part on Mouser 
>> or Digikey, put in all the attributes for the part and generate a new 
>> module/component I will likely use this part again.  I just add this 
>> as a sheet to what every project I'm working on and when I'm done, I 
>> delete it.  This way I can do all my prep up front (in the library 
>> schematic) after spice sims and all.  Then when I'm in schematics, I 
>> drop down the hierarchy select and save the part, pop back up and 
>> paste the part (now I have the part with all the attribute and correct 
>> footprint/module).  I would love a solution with a full on database 
>> with parts from Christmas past but I think Santa is not coming this 
>> year with bag of money for the developers to do it:)
>>
>> Hope that inspires.
>>
>> Richard
>>
>> On 12/11/2012 10:47 PM, Dick Hollenbeck wrote:
>>> On 12/11/2012 10:01 PM, Kaspar Bumke wrote:
>>>> I would just like to chime in as a user that I guess I don't mind
>>>> whether I launch the "window" where I assign footprints from the main
>>>> KiCad launcher or from eeSchema. The decoupling between the schematic
>>>> file and the footprint assignment is quite important to me though. I
>>>> like being able to have a diode somewhere and not care what package it
>>>> comes in. Having these as separate files is definitely a feature for
>>>> me.
>>>>
>>>> WIth that in mind I guess I fail to understand why maintaining a
>>>> seperate DLL/DSO is easier than maintaining a separate executable.
>>> The problem is I want to make footprints before I make a board.
>>>
>>> The footprints I need are rarely there, I have to make them more than 
>>> 50% of the time.
>>>
>>> I don't want to have to enter Pcbnew to design footprints, create a 
>>> project, assign
>>> library paths, this is all a nuisance to making a footprint in a 
>>> library I already have.
>>>
>>> It feels like there is a *chasm* in the design process.
>>>
>>> So if you are asking me, forget maintenance, think nuisance.
>>>
>>>
>>>
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