Complex Edge Cuts in KiCAD 5.x with Inkscape

[@epedja]

Nice trick. You can avoid guesswork in Inkscape by simply drawing a box representing printed board with exact dimensions. Than you can easily and freely resize edge shape to fit without guessing.

[@StuartPatterson]

Thanks! good suggestion!

[@JonMcPhalen]

I do that all the time when creating real-world objects in Inkscape (my favorite tool).

[@StuartPatterson]

@@JonMcPhalen Yes, I am learning just how useful it really is!

[@erroneus00]

This is definitely something I needed to see as I'm not familiar with KiCAD but I know Inkscape very well. While I would like to better know and understand KiCAD, my initial response is to use the tool(s) I know best. I was very close to getting this process down right the first time. I made the mistake of using R12 instead of R14 but also, when I imported R12, it just came in wrong. It was a single vertical line. I'll try it again the way you did it. But also, I do not yet understand all of the specific layers and how to work with them. I'm not well versed in the process or the terms used. For the moment, that feels like my biggest stumbling block. But one thing I would like to know is how to do things using ONLY KiCAD. When you completed the main task, you went on and said "OK now I have this ground plane..." and you spoke of what you would do but then you don't do it. Same for some other details. I really wanted to see those things and people tend to gloss over these things as if "everyone already knows." I don't know. Let me tell you a story from my childhood. My first grade teacher assigned us to learn to count to 100. I only knew 10 and the teens a little but mostly just what was on Sesame Street. So I asked my mother to teach me. She told me to ask my older brother. My older brother walked me through the teens and the 20s. He ASSUMED I would recognize the pattern and apply it to 30s - 90s and then finish with 100. NOPE! I was unexposed to that and was never asked to confirm what I learned from my brother. What he taught me was "21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29" Then he said "30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100!" So I went to school and was trashed by my teacher who told me I did it wrong and I was completely humiliated. I was a beginner. My bother was not. My mother didn't care that much about teaching us anything. (trauma right?) My brother thought going through the process of TEACHING (which is interactive) was too tedious and so he "glossed over it" and I captured exactly what he said as if it were completely accurate. It wasn't. And it certainly wasn't complete. You glossed over EVERYTHING. I know Inkscape well so that didn't matter to me so much... but I guarantee you that anyone experienced KiCAD user who didn't know or understand Inkscape will feel that you glossed over Inkscape leaving them to struggle over a simple task. And of course, you glossed over KiCAD in the process as well. I did get "something" out of it. And that was "export using R14 into the edge cut layer." That's it. That's the whole thing in 8 words. I would have gotten a LOT more if you actually did more in KiCAD other than "saying I would do this and that and these other things" but you didn't do them and you could have and it would have been a better video. I don't know why people who try to put out information find it tedious to put out information. I started my "tech life" learning to program. And there is no such thing as "glossing over" learning to program. Everything is detail and all of the details have meaning and they all work together. There's no way in hell I would try to teach someone to program without going into necessary detail and demonstrating in detail how things work. Don't assume the viewer knows things. If they know things, why are they WATCHING? You could just put out 8 words! Export using R14 into the edge cut layer. That's the whole video. You didn't even need to make a video. You didn't go into useful detail with Inkscape. You didn't go into useful detail with KiCAD. You glossed over the whole thing.

[@StuartPatterson]

Thank you for your comment. I read the entire message and will certainly take your recommendations to heart for future videos. I even re-watched my video after reading your comment. Which leads me to a few recommendations. Most of my videos are not introductory; they assume a certain level of understanding. I don't typically rehash the basics because there are SO MANY other videos that are for beginners, for example, knowing what a ground plane is is a pretty basic topic in PCB design. If you are watching a video about complex edge cuts, then typically you known what a ground plane is and what layers are in a PCB. So, I can understand why you are confused. However, I don’t really understand why you would not watch a video introduction to KiCAD and PCB design first? You jumped into the deep end of the pool before learning to swim. Let me tell you a story about my childhood. I struggled with mathematics. My Mom and brother could not help me because my brother is younger and my Mom did not really remember any details from her high school mathematics classes. So, I would go to the library and used book stores and buy or check-out additional math books. I found if I could see the examples explained in numerous ways then it was easier for me to learn. Lesson - using multiple sources helped me learn. You might want to watch my other video on Advanced PCB Graphics with KiCAD 6 and Inkscape. Again, it is advanced, but I do explain the layers. Thank you for your comment and as noted, I will certainly think about it much more and try and take your comments to heart for future videos.

[@erroneus00]

@@StuartPatterson I do know what some of these things are but not necessarily all of the terms which I may understand by different words. My current electronics knowledge is from 30+ years ago in US Navy tech school which does NOT teach design -- just components and basic troubleshooting. As a drawing/design program, I get Inkscape. But not KiCAD -- it's not "natural" to me and I don't really know the process. I only realized today that the "layers" in KiCAD are specific to purpose and not the same as layers in typical graphic design software tools. There's a bridge to cross and I'm struggling to find ways to cross it.

[@StuartPatterson]

Keep at it and it will get easier. I live by the motto “learn something new everyday.” It is a great philosophy no matter the age!

[@Simonious1]

Great video. Nice job keeping it short too, that is a value add.

[@StuartPatterson]

Thank you!

[@erroneus00]

I completely disagree. He could have made it shorter if that's the value. "Export using R14 DXF and import into the edge cuts layer." That's the whole thing.

[@Dexter101x]

You can easily find the measurements without guessing by using the ruler tool, in this video, its shown as the calliper tool

[@StuartPatterson]

Good tip! Thanks!