CapSense - Importing to Copper

[Docara]

Hello Everyone,

I've posting this same question on the KiCAd Forum but nothing.

I am designing a CapSense board and need specific sized pads, their location with LED holes in certain places, a Hatched GND plane around the pads with a nominal keep out area between the pads and hatch.

Know this was going to be a right royal pain in the cunnilingus, I have already designed this using a combination of ACAD and Inkspace largely because all I needed was a just the design and a full board size silkscreen - job done! The issue I have is when I try and import this graphic into KiCad there is no copper option, just Silk, Fab Edge cut etcetc.

So how can I get my graphic into KiCads copper layer(s)

Thanks

[grbk]

I assume you're trying to import the capsense pads as a footprint? I don't have kicad open in front of me, but you should be able to right click on each item that should be a copper region, edit (edit properties?) and then change which layer it's on.

[joshtyler]

Since you mention that the only options are "silk, fab, edge cut etc.", I assume you're using the bitmap to component converter built in to KiCad to import your pad? But you've found that that converter doesn't natively support putting graphics onto front copper.

The simplest way to work around this is to tell the converter that you would like to put the drawing on front soldermask. After generating the .mod file, open it in your favourite text editor and then replace all instances of "F.Mask" with "F.Cu". (use front soldermask rather than the default front silkscreen to avoid inadvertently moving the refdes to the copper layer too).

Alternatively as grbk says you can generate the footprint onto any layer then open it in the footprint editor, right click the graphic, select properties, and from that dialog box you can choose the layer it should be on.

Since you mention that you are using inkscape however, you might want to look at svg2mod. It seems like a better fit for what you are trying to do than the built in bitmap converter.

[poeschlr]

You did not get "nothing" on the forum. What you got was the suggestion to use tools like freecad plus the stepup extension (https://forum.kicad.info/t/kicad-stepup-the-sketcher-for-footprint-generation/9582) or svg2mod/svg2shenzen but you did not like either of these options (because in your words "why should i learn a new tool like freecad or inkscape?")

You were further told that dxf import to copper and hatched copper fill will be part of v6.
Plus you got the information that these features are in part already in the current development snapshots should all other options not fit your needs. (Meaning if you can live with the dangers that come with using nightly builds then you have this option available as well. https://forum.kicad.info/t/is-it-a-good-idea-to-use-a-nightly-build-version/9309)