EEVblog Electronics Community Forum
Electronics => PCB/EDA/CAD => KiCad => Topic started by: VEGETA on June 09, 2020, 12:03:26 am
-
Hi,
here is the photo showing the problem: https://slow.pics/c/TDcT0Zr5
I always add a pad and make it mechanical to get it to be a hole, but when I save the project and then return to KiCAD... I find it missing.
Now I tried to search for it and this happens.
Kindly guide me to get the best type of libraries management and to solve this problem.
regards!
EDIT: Here is 3D photos of this project showing the hole (the one which is alone, not that 6 pin connector): https://slow.pics/c/efjB4VBA
-
For anybody else wondering the dialog shown in the screenshot is reached via the "add footprint" button of pcbnew.
I always add a pad and make it mechanical to get it to be a hole, but when I save the project and then return to KiCAD... I find it missing.
What do you mean by that? There is not really a way to add a pad directly to a layout in KiCad (The file format has no option for it). One can only add footprints.
If you mean you added a footprint then i can only imagine it vanishing on update from the schematic if it has no symbol as a counter part. In that case make sure to either include mounting holes in the schematic (also allows you to be remembered to buy mounting hardware by the BOM). Or lock the footprint to avoid it being replaced on update.
Kindly guide me to get the best type of libraries management and to solve this problem.
There is not really enough information to blame library management to be honest. I mean of course the error message could indicate that there is some illegal entry in the lib table that throws of KiCad but it could also be something else.
A starting point would be to give us your version information such that we know what you are generally facing.
And you can also try to open the footprint editor and check what happens if you try to open any footprint but in particular one from of the mounting holes.
What i however notice is that KiCad shows the mounting holes under the pin connector library which is not where i would expect them and the error message seems to indicate that it looks under yet another library.
You can therefore also double check the nickname row in your library table (via the lib manager) and check if any of the entries has a non ascii character. This is however just a guess as i never dared to try a non ascii char for a lib name so i have no idea if they really pose a problem (my general rule is to never use non ascii in any filename or other identifier)
A space character would also be something to be mindful of.
-
I used mounting holes library to put a pad. then I changed the size of it, then made it mechanical instead of through hole.. so now it is just a hole in the PCB without any connection or so.
However, sometimes I try to access some libraries and I cannot. It cannot load them, but some other time it can.
I re-added it again last night and will see today what is the situation. I will try to lock the pad too.