Installation

You can find the official instructions for downloading KiCad at this link. We are currently using KiCad 8.

We also use vcstool as a version control tool for referencing libraries of schematic components. Git must be installed as well.

For wiring harnesses, we use WireViz.

Workflow

Editing of engineering documents is done using KiCad, and versioning is handled using Git.

Parts libraries are managed on a project-by-project basis, in a pattern similar to creating a virtual environment in Python. This is to ensure that external parts that are pulled in are on the same version, preventing unexpected breakage in projects without explicit updates in library versions. These libraries are managed using vcstool.

Creating a new project

TODO

Working on an existing project

Navigate to the GitHub repository of the project and clone it to your local machine.

git clone <URL>

Navigate to the libraries folder

Potential Improvements

It may be helpful to use Git LFS locking features to prevent simultaneous editing in the future.

Further streamlining might be possible by creating our own development tools.