Tag Archives: KiCad

KiCad 3D Library – BOURNS-3296

I’m updating all my current designs in order to incorporate WRL/STEP 3D models. They provide a convenient way to check mechanical issues, especially with cases and front panels.

Bourns 3296 Trimpots
The Bourns 3296 3/8″ Trimpots are missing from the official KiCad 3D Library, so I decided to create my own.

It’s also a useful way to learn how to use FreeCAD and Github.
I’m also using kicad StepUp for model conversion, alignement and scaling.

You can find my 3D lib on GitHub here: https://github.com/dhaillant/kicad-3dmodels

How to generate a BOM in KiCad 4.0

I’m switching from KiCad 3 to KiCad 4.

While version 3 offered a simple, quite un-customizable, CSV generated BOM, version 4 now only offers a raw XML export.

As KiCad website says:

BOM generation is extensible via Python scripts or XSLT, which allows many configurable formats.

“many configurable formats” This is great! It’s even possible to use any program or language other than Python and XSLT to translate the XML in whatever format pleases you.

The downside is, it requires additional steps before you can actually generate a BOM. It seems a bit complicated but it’s not. Read below.

Continue reading How to generate a BOM in KiCad 4.0