Intro to KiCad

KiCad is a free, professional circuit board design program. Companies use it to ship real products, and it runs on Mac, Windows and Linux. Every Kiln Forged board comes as a KiCad project, so you can open it, check it and change anything by hand.

This lesson is a first tour: what's in a project, the two editors you'll use, and how to get from a design to files a factory can build.

What's in a project

When you unzip a Kiln Forged board you'll see a folder like this:

File	What it is
name.kicad_pro	The project. Double-click this to open everything.
name.kicad_sch	The schematic: which parts connect to which.
name.kicad_pcb	The board layout: where parts sit and how the copper runs.
gerbers/	Manufacturing files, ready to upload to a board maker.

The schematic and the board are linked. Change a connection in the schematic, then update the board, and KiCad shows you what moved.

The schematic editor

This is where the circuit lives as a diagram (see Reading a schematic). The tools you'll use most:

• Highlight net: click any wire to light up everything connected to it.
• Properties (E): select a part and press E to see its value, footprint and part number.
• Electrical rules check: catches mistakes like two outputs wired together.

The board editor

This is the physical board. Each part sits on a footprint: the pads its contacts get soldered to. Copper traces connect them, on one or more layers.

Things to try when you first open a board:

• Layer visibility: turn layers on and off on the right. Red is usually the top copper, blue the bottom.
• 3D viewer (Alt+3): see the board with its parts, the same way our 3D view does.
• Design rule check: runs all the manufacturing checks. Kiln Forged boards arrive with 0 errors.

From design to a real board

1. In the board editor, choose File → Fabrication Outputs → Gerbers. (Kiln Forged already includes them.)
2. Zip the Gerber folder.
3. Upload it to a board maker such as JLCPCB or PCBWay. They show a preview, a price and a delivery date.
4. If you want the parts soldered for you, upload the parts list too and choose assembly.

Changing a Kiln Forged board

The easiest way to change a design is to ask for it at the checkpoint, so the firmware and enclosure update with it. If you edit the board in KiCad yourself, keep parts that face outward, like the USB-C port or buttons, where they are, or the case openings won't line up anymore.