I put up a KiCAD plugin that places components based off of a CSV input recently. It’s called Parts Placer and is available in the KiCAD plugin manager and GitHub (GitHub - snhobbs/kicad-parts-placer-pcm: KiCAD Plugin for Automatic Parts Placement). I use it to ensure parts are where they need to be for a specific form factor (think mounting holes, the center of the outline of the board, connectors to the outside world, transducers etc.). Having an automatic way of enforcing that removes one of the error prone (and often skipped) steps when making a board release.\
If anyone here has had a chance to play with it I’d love some feedback and feature suggestions.
Thanks!
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I like this idea for helping make a board tester. It’s always been one of the harder parts of making a product for me - so many fussy details. What versions of KiCAD does it work with? I assume 8, what about 6 or 7?
I’m not sure how this works for through hole pads. The centroid files I make are for SMD placement. Presumably, you have to export a different centroid file than you use for PnP. It would be great to have a script that you could extract pads with a specific tag, say “Test Point: Yes” and maybe a pogo pin type tag as well. The idea is you would create a tag for each pin you want to test and the script would pull them out automatically.
Another thing that would be nice to produce is a drill file for a pogo pin reinforcement guide/template. I create one with holes where the pogo pins go to keep the pogo pins straight/vertical when soldering them in. I also use it in the actual tester to prevent accidental damage to the pogo pins. I use a cnc machine to make the guide but it could also be 3D printed. Could be as simple as a DxF or SVG file or even just a CSV of coordinates.
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It’s KiCAD 8 only, 7 wouldn’t be hard to add support for if there’s a bunch of users that want it.
We call the test point section you’re talking about “Test Point Reports” and can be generated exactly as you say with another of our plugins called KiCAD Test Points (GitHub - TheJigsApp/kicad-testpoints-pcm: KiCAD ActionPlugin released on the PCM. Uses the fabrication property of pads to mark them as test points. The plugin reads those properties and generates a spreadsheet with the pad identifiers, nets, characteristics, and position on the board. The report is generated in the standard JigsApp format.) which is also in the PCM. Checkout the walkthrough here. Same deal with KiCAD v8 only but v7 could be supported if there’s demand.
FYI you also hit the nail on the head with the auto-generated, parametric test jigs, that’s 100% our focus (https://www.thejigsapp.com/).