I've been having fun with the artistic possibilities of #PCB design within #KiCad - I have seen some stunning bits of art in this medium ( #PCBArt)!

This #MechanicalKeyboard PCB art effort is much simpler, some line art imported as a silkscreen graphic, and then some simple texturing with the ground fill hatching.

(Why a tent? This is a small tented #ErgoMechKeyboard, meaning the PCB and keys are tilted relative to the table. The keyboard has 34 keys and the name Bivouac34 refers to a small wild camp)

New vid! #PCBs I made in 2025, part 1: LED charm ✨
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DTH1NuelDig

Finally pulled together a prototype with this little board – one of my new #Charmware set, reviving the series of modular tech #jewelry bits I started back in 2018. Been dreaming of assembling these with elytra and bike-leather, and the day finally came... The board still needs some tweaks (smaller switch etc.), but with my fixed-up #KiCad workflow, those will be a snap. 😸

// #Maker #LEDs #WearableTech

New vid! #PCBs I made in 2025, part 1: LED charm ✨
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DTH1NuelDig

Finally pulled together a prototype with this little board – one of my new #Charmware set, reviving the series of modular tech #jewelry bits I started back in 2018. Been dreaming of assembling these with elytra and bike-leather, and the day finally came... The board still needs some tweaks (smaller switch etc.), but with my fixed-up #KiCad workflow, those will be a snap. 😸

// #Maker #LEDs #WearableTech

I've got a new #KiCad plugin out in the KiCad plugin manager:

KiCoil generates "twisted" planar inductors. You can make it do one- or two-layer spiral inductors, toroid inductors, and many intermediate, hybrid variants in between spiral and toroid inductors.

These hybrid types have wider traces than a single-layer spiral, and have better high-frequency behavior (parasitic capacitance and self-resonant frequency) compared to two-layer spiral inductors. And they look really pretty!

#electronics

I've got a new #KiCad plugin out in the KiCad plugin manager:

KiCoil generates "twisted" planar inductors. You can make it do one- or two-layer spiral inductors, toroid inductors, and many intermediate, hybrid variants in between spiral and toroid inductors.

These hybrid types have wider traces than a single-layer spiral, and have better high-frequency behavior (parasitic capacitance and self-resonant frequency) compared to two-layer spiral inductors. And they look really pretty!

#electronics

I've been pretty quiet lately! Conference season pretty much wrapped up after the 16th, and I've continued the headlong #KiCad / #PCB design streak I started a couple months ago.

Since fixing my @kicad setup ~3 weeks ago, I've done...
- 2 new #Charmware designs (will post tests soon!)
- Upgraded my #ESP8266 programmer planchette! (ordered yesterday)
- New modified Joule Thief board for the holidays! (ordered tonight)

...And various other things, like this #Hades gem concept :D

Happy place. <3

KiDoom: Running DOOM on PCB Traces // Michael Ayles

｢ What if DOOM's walls were actual PCB traces? What if enemies were QFP-64 chips and health packs were SOT-23 transistors? KiDoom answers these questions nobody asked, bringing the iconic first-person shooter to KiCad's PCB editor using authentic electrical components as the rendering medium ｣

https://www.mikeayles.com/

#doom #kicad #doommod

A DOOM vector engine for rendering in KiCad, and over an audio jack

https://www.mikeayles.com/#kidoom

#HackerNews #DOOM #KiCad #vector #engine #audio #jack #rendering #gaming #tech

OrthoRoute – GPU-accelerated autorouting for KiCad

https://bbenchoff.github.io/pages/OrthoRoute.html

#HackerNews #OrthoRoute #KiCad #GPUaccelerated #Autorouting #PCBdesign #TechInnovation

Lovely project from @violenceworks next: a GPU-accelerated autorouter plugin for @kicad, which did in a couple of days what it would have taken a CPU-driven autorouter literal months to complete. Available for experimentation now!

https://www.hackster.io/news/brian-benchoff-s-orthoroute-gives-kicad-gpu-accelerated-autorouting-powers-for-hefty-designs-fa5e414c738a

#KiCad #EDA #Technology #OpenSource #News #Hackster

@brainofdane Since #Eagle is owned by Autodesk now and AFAIK cloud only #kicad is the only viable option.

Hurrah! #SOURCE issue 3 is out now! There's a focus on #openhardware for this issue with tutorials on the wonderful @FreeCAD , the mighty @kicad , the fabulous @inkscape and also getting your project certified by the brilliant @oshwassociation. As ever it's pay as you feel, links are on this post https://concretedog.blogspot.com/2025/10/source-issue-3-out-now-open-hardware.html #CAD #CAM #PCB #KiCad #FreeCAD #Inkscape #FreeCadFriday #opensource

Please Boost! and have a great weekend. X

Hurrah! #SOURCE issue 3 is out now! There's a focus on #openhardware for this issue with tutorials on the wonderful @FreeCAD , the mighty @kicad , the fabulous @inkscape and also getting your project certified by the brilliant @oshwassociation. As ever it's pay as you feel, links are on this post https://concretedog.blogspot.com/2025/10/source-issue-3-out-now-open-hardware.html #CAD #CAM #PCB #KiCad #FreeCAD #Inkscape #FreeCadFriday #opensource

Please Boost! and have a great weekend. X

i'm looking for a KiCAD EE freelancer who is skilled and well organized (meaning: can finish pcb projects so they are orderable without much nagging from my side (not necessarily with BOM fully picked though)) to offload some of my projects (sometimes partial or redoing something i did, but better) from time to time. all of our (mntre.com) stuff is CERN OHL. anyone interested? write me a DM #getfedihired #kicad

i'm looking for a KiCAD EE freelancer who is skilled and well organized (meaning: can finish pcb projects so they are orderable without much nagging from my side (not necessarily with BOM fully picked though)) to offload some of my projects (sometimes partial or redoing something i did, but better) from time to time. all of our (mntre.com) stuff is CERN OHL. anyone interested? write me a DM #getfedihired #kicad

Nice write-up from @concretedog about our @oshwassociation certified bike soundsystem relay setup, and how I used both @FreeCAD and @kicad to make it.

https://wp.me/pe9Jyy-Td

[edit: now with added link! 🤣 ]

#OSHW #FreeCADFriday #Kicad #BikeTooter #weeknotes #ibal249

Ever try to work on something, but the only software for it sucks? You get frustrated in the "I can do it better" way and go back to using the bad tool?

Uh, I'm not that person.

One flow later... I did it better.

https://codeberg.org/dcz/tfurca

Tfurca generates #KiCAD symols of chips for you.

Happy to see contributions.

#electronics #qml #pcbdesign #circuitboard #opensource #floss #freesoftware