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@yaqwsx yaqwsx released this 26 Feb 18:58
· 166 commits to master since this release
v1.3.0
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yaqwsx Jan Mrázek
GPG key ID: A3E71126F180EB6F
Learn about vigilant mode.

This release brings:

  • compatibility with KiCAD 7,
  • new documentation pages,
  • several new features and
  • bug fixes.

Compatibility with KiCAD 7

New major release of KiCAD 7 was published. This release brought many incompatibilities, but all should be resolved, and KiKit is compatible with both, KiCAD 6 and KiCAD 7.

The new "In BOM" and"Do not place" options in KiCAD schematics are now supported for the fab command.

Getting everything right for v7 took a little longer than anticipated, and we didn't manage to meet this release with the release of KiCAD.

New documentation pages

We used to keep documentation in Markdown files in the repository. We now provide a documentation build as an interactive webpage available at https://yaqwsx.github.io/KiKit/. This documentation is also available for various released versions, so there should be no confusion between stable release and upstream documentation in the future. New system will also allow us to style the documentation better (e.g., checkout the new Examples section). There's definitely still a lot to improve, but the first step has been made.

New features

  • we now support asymetrical frame chamfers. Therefore, you are no longer limited to 45°, but you can choose any angle you want.
  • we also added a new option, dimensions, to the post section that will render dimensions objects showing the overall size of the panel.
  • there were multiple feature requests for supporting filleting of tabs natively without milling simulation. This was implemented as two options:
    • there is a new post option millradiusouter which simulates the milling only on the outside edges of PCB and leaves any internal features intact.
    • there is a new option, fillet for tabs that will add natural chamfering without milling simulation. However, the feature is relatively slow and can increase panel building times by 20–50 %. There are plans for speeding this up, but it will require a complete rewrite of the geometrical part of KiKit.
  • fiducials can now be propagated to stencil, so they are visible for alignment.
  • the corner patches in full-width tabs are now optional, which allows the usage of full-width tabs with rounded corners.
  • the corner tabs used to point into the middle of PCB. This created distorted tabs on narrow PCBs. We now always place the corner tabs at 45°.
  • when using boneskip parameter to skip backbones we now added vbonefirst and hbonefirst parameters to specify the offset of skipping (e.g., start at even or odd backbone).
  • the graphical interface of show/hide references was reworked. We now also allow for hiding/showing any text items that contain value of reference.
  • we added deduplication of mouse bite cuts. When two cuts should be laid one over, duplicate holes are no longer produced.
  • a time variables (e.g., hours, minutes, day, month) were added to the text options.

Bugs

  • big with Windows encoding was fixed
  • a incompatibility with Interactive HTML BOM was fixed
  • V-cuts keepouts are only placed on actually used copper layers
  • macOS installation script was fixed
  • bug in the placement of non-orthogonal tabs was fixed
  • a fall-through of argument in the fab command was fix

Misc

  • we now provide two flavors of the Docker image: one for v6 and one for v7
  • the Docker image now features KiKit as entry point, which allows for simple wrapping of the docker container for issuing commands (see documentation)

How to upgrade

Simply update the Python package. There is no need to update the PCM package.

Final remarks

I would like to thank all my GitHub Sponsors and NLnet for their financial support. I would also like to thank all contributors who submitted a PR and everyone who tested KiKit and provided me with steps to reproduce.

If you like KiKit and you would like to help it improve, consider supporting me via GitHub Sponsors.

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