Partial Drawer Controller v1

Notes about the structure of this repository

This repository contains all the necessary files and instructions for the PCBs that are designed using KiCad. Here is an overview of the main components:

• .github: Contains Github-specific configurations, including workflows (e.g. to export the BOMs) and Dependabot settings.
• bom_exports: Contains the Bill of Materials (BOM), all related documents (e.g. RoHS certificates) and the schematic for finished projects. The content will be automatically generated by a workflow.
• KiCad: Contains the KiCad project files.
• scripts: Contains utility scripts for tasks such as generating BOMs and exporting schematics.

How to get started with KiCad

1. Install the latest version of KiCad.
2. Install the latest release version of the KiCad-Db-Lib.
3. Clone this repo PCB_Designs.
4. Clone the KiCad_Library repository.
5. Start KiCad and
   1. Click Preferences -> Configure Paths...
      1. Replace the KICAD8_FOOTPRINT_DIR by the absolute path of the KiCad_Library/footprints, so for example: C:\Robast\KiCad_Library\footprints
      2. Replace the KICAD8_SYMBOL_DIR by the absolute path of the KiCad_Library/symbols, so for example: C:\Robast\KiCad_Library\symbols
   2. Click Preferences -> Manage Symbol Libraries...
      1. Under Global Libraries click Add existing library to table, go into the KiCad_Library/output directory and select all files and press open.

BOM Exports Including Datasheets And Certificates

Once a PCB is considered finished, there should be a BOM, that is exported within KiCad by

1. Go into the schematic of the project

2. Click Tools -> Generate Bill of Materials ...

3. Make a few settings here:

   1. Under Export change the Output file to exactly the following string: manufacturing/PCB Assembly/${PROJECTNAME}_BOM.csv
   2. Field delimiter: ,
   3. String delimiter: "
   4. Reference delimiter: ,
   5. Format presets: CSV
   6. Under Edit:

   Field	Label	Show	Group By
   Reference	Designator	Yes	No
   Value	Comment	Yes	Yes
   Footprint	Footprint	Yes	No
   ${QUANTITY}	Qty	Yes	No
   OC_LCSC	OC_LCSC	Yes	Yes
   durability	durability	Yes	No
   path_to_docs	path_to_docs	Yes	No

4. Hit Apply, Save Schematic & Continue.

5. Hit Export.

Now that we there is a BOM and we push the BOM to the main, the workflow triggers to create a bom export which includes documents like datasheets and certificates.

Hint: Check that all relevant parts are exported and check that no part accidently has checked the EXCLUDE_FROM_BOM attribute. You can easily check all parts for that attribute if you add the field ${EXCLUDE_FROM_BOM} in the Generate Bill of Materials ... GUI.