# rss_item

guid: tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8559314700259794131.post-394689247821267698
title: Synthesizer Build part-68: VC DELAY by BMC.
author: Eddy Bergman
url: https://www.eddybergman.com/2025/04/voltage-controlled-delay.html
feedurl: https://www.eddybergman.com/feeds/posts/default
content_mime_type: text/html
content:
<div style="text-align: left;">This is BMC 83 the voltage controlled delay using the Princeton Technology (PT) 2399 chip. This is a eurorack friendly project.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">-- There are now PCBs available for this project --</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Dispite the fact I built over 68 projects I never build a digital delay or reverb, except for project 11 but that was a ready made effects unit. This project takes care of that. It can deliver good fidelity delays of up to about a second. It can actually do delays of upto 4 seconds but then the fidelity drops fast. The PT2399 wasn't made for such long delay times but shorter times, upto around a second, sound really good and with the long times you get some cool distortion, sort of a bitcrush effect.</div><div style="text-align: left;">This was quite an easy project to build. You can find the original article on the <a href="https://bartonmusicalcircuits.com/vcdelay/index.html" target="_blank">Barton Musical Circuits website</a>.&nbsp;There are audio demonstrations on that website so you can hear what the delay sounds like. I also made a demo video myself which you can find at the bottom of this article.</div><div style="text-align: left;">This circuit will work fine on both a dual 12V or a dual 15V powersupply.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAPJTZxBTi7_Cx6cLozC6FNtFQilEkQNDMxm3ua1iSAFz8ED0lv6J974oEaAQxID4tMl7UnWs1hd6Br9CvuDfQuy5fLxXe5A3rMU6F_XR7mLggAeMLJVkZxGFB66oF1hfHLpuA4529mPlFM6urTFXoz1icca1LtGrVVGYo2v5FBat0GDikvHVGTGFwRHl2/s4668/The%20finished%20delay%20module.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4668" data-original-width="2144" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAPJTZxBTi7_Cx6cLozC6FNtFQilEkQNDMxm3ua1iSAFz8ED0lv6J974oEaAQxID4tMl7UnWs1hd6Br9CvuDfQuy5fLxXe5A3rMU6F_XR7mLggAeMLJVkZxGFB66oF1hfHLpuA4529mPlFM6urTFXoz1icca1LtGrVVGYo2v5FBat0GDikvHVGTGFwRHl2/s320/The%20finished%20delay%20module.jpg" width="147" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The finished delay module</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Here's the schematic I used to make my layout from. I changed the opamp numbering to match that of the layout.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfZfLdRXfVSLVXLUXB3_UXDvjQbboUPA-940KFxVr0Hf8mTGMOmpqScsA6Wh93BaQy96AWDFmUlonIIIXTnzpJgvtJPfHOiXfRAipXOgnhVh2XmVUi9Bjz479TmcIeVMC78KYKdSnQQ4jaNabQxzc2RvPQsI62FvXu0ATKl-oBdHbr-N-PubPNVKGhEP_t/s1345/VC%20Delay%20schematic%20v2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="774" data-original-width="1345" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfZfLdRXfVSLVXLUXB3_UXDvjQbboUPA-940KFxVr0Hf8mTGMOmpqScsA6Wh93BaQy96AWDFmUlonIIIXTnzpJgvtJPfHOiXfRAipXOgnhVh2XmVUi9Bjz479TmcIeVMC78KYKdSnQQ4jaNabQxzc2RvPQsI62FvXu0ATKl-oBdHbr-N-PubPNVKGhEP_t/s320/VC%20Delay%20schematic%20v2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I didn't use the 10 Ω resistors in the powerrails as shown on the schematic. But if you have problems with hum you can include them. On the layout below, you could put a 10 Ω resistor from K-3 to I-3 and then lead the red wirebridges from there and the purple wirebridge could be replaced with a 10 Ω resistor for the negative voltage rails.</div><div style="text-align: left;">The diode and 1M resistor in combination with the 100nF cap and the top transistor with collector to pin 6 of the PT2399 make up an anti latch-up circuit that presents a high impedance to pin 6 in the first 400mSec after you switch on which gives the internal oscillator time to warm up and prevents the chip from latching up and crashing which can happen if the resistance between pin 6 and ground is less than 2K at start-up. After start-up this resistance can be much lower but not a straight short to ground. In this module the resistance is then controlled by the second transistor which is opened up by the time control potmeter or external CV input. This resistance controls the delay time.</div><div style="text-align: left;">So there are voltage controls with level potmeters for the delay time and the return amount and the module has an audio output that outputs just the delayed signal and a mixed audio output which mixes the original signal in with the delayed signal controlled by the 'Mix' potmeter. There's also a tone control potmeter which influences the return time more than it influences the tone, I noticed (see demo video below)</div><div style="text-align: left;">The delay time range goes from 60 milliseconds to 4 seconds but like I mentioned earlier the audio fidelity drops quite a bit with longer delay times, mostly at times longer than 1.5 seconds but that doesn't have to be a bad thing. It has quite a cool distortion effect. With the longest delay times you do get some clicks and artifacts mixed in the audio but it's not much. The delay doesn't do well with very high frequencies and over modulated audio. It's advisable to use a level potmeter on the audio input.</div><div style="text-align: left;">The delay times are controlled by the two transistors forming a voltage controlled current sink. The 47&nbsp;Ω resistor at the emitter of the bottom transistor determins the shortest delay time while the 330K in parallel from the collector to ground determins the maximum delay time.</div><div style="text-align: left;">In my own build I did notice quite some dead space at the beginning (ccw side) of the 'Time' potmeter but lowering the value of the 47&nbsp;Ω resistor didn't do anything.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;">I also noticed the Tone control can add some noise to the output if you turn it up more but that's inherent to the circuit.</div><div style="text-align: left;">I urge you to download the PDF accompanying the original project. It has a comprehensive description of how the circuit works and what all the components do.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;">Here's a block diagram of how the delay works. This is also from the PDF that comes with the build instructions <a href="https://www.bartonmusicalcircuits.com/vcdelay/index.html" target="_blank">on the BMC website</a>.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Rm4ibJ7Z9XymCAjCKx8m0rwTq9qnN6dOP15Th5s93stLuXNTHee2Lauwlzeb7iurEqQ5kHm5PUW4tEa0SwiC-d1U4x2fMJpCLRCv_ScjgGnjlcZj0nW8MPHMkwopcgPpJHJg_27D_7vOjDM1FhjuZrXXfEVl7Z76etHigVTbDkySbOkEZ5cVtC4P0TXO/s913/05%20Block%20diagram%20of%20delay.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="740" data-original-width="913" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Rm4ibJ7Z9XymCAjCKx8m0rwTq9qnN6dOP15Th5s93stLuXNTHee2Lauwlzeb7iurEqQ5kHm5PUW4tEa0SwiC-d1U4x2fMJpCLRCv_ScjgGnjlcZj0nW8MPHMkwopcgPpJHJg_27D_7vOjDM1FhjuZrXXfEVl7Z76etHigVTbDkySbOkEZ5cVtC4P0TXO/s320/05%20Block%20diagram%20of%20delay.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Audio in 2 is the Return input and it has the Direct Output normalled to the socket switch. So if you take the direct output into an external effect module and take the output from that module and connect it to the return input you can have an external effects loop going, creating all sorts of possibilities. You can, for instance, lead the direct output into a lowpass filter and have the VCF out connected back to the return input.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: red;">HOW TO PATCH UP THE MODULE:</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">To get the best out of this module you need to make a synthesizer voice in your modular synthesizer where this delay sits behind the VCA at the end of the signal chain. You can also patch it up so that the delay sits inbetween two VCA's and have the second VCA opened by an ADSR with a slow Release time. That way you get more control over the Delay time, but it's not necessary. The minimum Delay time is 60mSeconds so it won't be able to create flanging or chorus effects. But you can mix in the effect with the clean signal by using the Mix control and the Mix output.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: red;">LAYOUTS:</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Here are the layouts I made for this project. They are verified as always. I used them to build my module. This was almost another hole in one. I made one little mistake. I had all four non inverting inputs of the TL074 grounded only the last opamp with the direct output must not be grounded. Once I corrected that the circuit sprung to life. Pins 5 and 10 of the TL074 are connected through the strip underneath the chip. The 'Tone' control potmeter has pin 1 not connected. It's important to wire it the way you see in the layout or it won't work properly.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Wiring:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuD_G2JPTOFpJMJjtMzII2Ky9q9jjF6NoXpM7QGW_XucHSC8ylHOw_l64eV9bqaPLq9wpeZflvVpx8vkymdRXxvo-rcWukI9F0JNIAQm4vSBSvy6pCoq5wuJt9_uFPRBxZ6jQtVuOzIgqL9J1OASad4OErrebhjljLUkeDvflv3piV9AIfLYGEMGBJMJ5h/s8285/01%20VC%20Delay%20BMC%20v2%20-%20wiring.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="8285" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuD_G2JPTOFpJMJjtMzII2Ky9q9jjF6NoXpM7QGW_XucHSC8ylHOw_l64eV9bqaPLq9wpeZflvVpx8vkymdRXxvo-rcWukI9F0JNIAQm4vSBSvy6pCoq5wuJt9_uFPRBxZ6jQtVuOzIgqL9J1OASad4OErrebhjljLUkeDvflv3piV9AIfLYGEMGBJMJ5h/s320/01%20VC%20Delay%20BMC%20v2%20-%20wiring.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Stripboard only:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyTXgY3CNM3Dba2WFqQzD08CWuCuMQdr_jghFpbYEUQ5s40tzjl74s8uITM6Pk1fOLLDYC1PuwaNtZd_WFv7X9YAwO039NANHY8EdCP7T7tg9_gX7ZH2C6N__p8gXaRdcLMaC0BYhO7SlOLBPjoL4NVVF70KUD8quXi50NomhbkBn5wcSZAcPSKKF76kIv/s4028/02%20VC%20Delay%20BMC%20v2%20-%20stripboard%20only.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2799" data-original-width="4028" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyTXgY3CNM3Dba2WFqQzD08CWuCuMQdr_jghFpbYEUQ5s40tzjl74s8uITM6Pk1fOLLDYC1PuwaNtZd_WFv7X9YAwO039NANHY8EdCP7T7tg9_gX7ZH2C6N__p8gXaRdcLMaC0BYhO7SlOLBPjoL4NVVF70KUD8quXi50NomhbkBn5wcSZAcPSKKF76kIv/s320/02%20VC%20Delay%20BMC%20v2%20-%20stripboard%20only.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Cuts and wirebridges. You know the drill, mark the cuts on the component side using this guide and then stick a pin through the marked holes and mark them again on the copper side. Then cut the marked positions with a hand held 6- or 7mm dril bit.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Don't forget to cut position P-8 underneath the ground wirebridge.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF0sjDkmLW1s3_MvowWzdCry60iJPf_ufXKkcLKPJlQEwPBQB9H1tv8Zj5NaZ9XdZ28bBnNYbGTCrY49Q7kq0h05c_zIn7Uv07qdD9pOVBQc9bFOejdRd29PAz8ii0cYXN41yTcKFsrQtwojLMKFNybI-fgBhkilOCbxkoV9538FIQ4tpq1Dl_chKlDpWk/s4094/03%20VC%20Delay%20BMC%20v2%20-%20cuts%20and%20wirebridges.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4094" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF0sjDkmLW1s3_MvowWzdCry60iJPf_ufXKkcLKPJlQEwPBQB9H1tv8Zj5NaZ9XdZ28bBnNYbGTCrY49Q7kq0h05c_zIn7Uv07qdD9pOVBQc9bFOejdRd29PAz8ii0cYXN41yTcKFsrQtwojLMKFNybI-fgBhkilOCbxkoV9538FIQ4tpq1Dl_chKlDpWk/s320/03%20VC%20Delay%20BMC%20v2%20-%20cuts%20and%20wirebridges.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Here is the Bill of Materials.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;">It might be a good idea to use a logarithmic 100K potmeter (A100K) for the return potmeter. A lot of changes happen quite early in the throw of that potmeter. However I used a linear 100K myself and that works fine too. But the log type would be more convenient. You could use other value potmeters for all but the Tone Control. That has to be a 10K linear potmeter. The other potmeters are just voltage dividers in this circuit.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHOUvD0jSpz2xd8oXfUDmhb9zp1IV966UBlb_gyyr3yCLHG4LctYTUwxsaO0Sl-84VwyhD8o1BEsCYYx1s47qRfjw5NaWxBeaQRMXQemEnNfmfviXgXuwStAGxo3bKWarHo4pf7q8t_bG3vxmCxrTDq_6XzlSnooRQpZQeLFdWu2lCYSAig3MYnaujFa85/s837/04%20BMC%20Delay%20v2%20-%20BOM.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="531" data-original-width="837" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHOUvD0jSpz2xd8oXfUDmhb9zp1IV966UBlb_gyyr3yCLHG4LctYTUwxsaO0Sl-84VwyhD8o1BEsCYYx1s47qRfjw5NaWxBeaQRMXQemEnNfmfviXgXuwStAGxo3bKWarHo4pf7q8t_bG3vxmCxrTDq_6XzlSnooRQpZQeLFdWu2lCYSAig3MYnaujFa85/s320/04%20BMC%20Delay%20v2%20-%20BOM.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: red;">PICTURES:</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Here are some pictures from the build proces:</div><div style="text-align: left;">I left out the two short wirebridges that connect all 3 ground strips at the eurorack connector together. Instead I soldered them together with some extra solder bridging the gaps.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg14DkPiDfAmeMWXMhJs2fNDBGMpLYnIlgewEaGojDhf_mXepxxWqyF2dq2778WPBgVGeLAlbPR0mGJbolBRM1ceHJuu5Bt4Cy8m4IQlBKuLfLOICwkTrVCcdmdiRkWvVYOelQBbRBJVbtoRToaEJDta_YPh-omn9sVZib_mrDVEc_-f5nBQW76IGJNakTW/s3825/VC%20Delay%20stripboard.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2869" data-original-width="3825" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg14DkPiDfAmeMWXMhJs2fNDBGMpLYnIlgewEaGojDhf_mXepxxWqyF2dq2778WPBgVGeLAlbPR0mGJbolBRM1ceHJuu5Bt4Cy8m4IQlBKuLfLOICwkTrVCcdmdiRkWvVYOelQBbRBJVbtoRToaEJDta_YPh-omn9sVZib_mrDVEc_-f5nBQW76IGJNakTW/s320/VC%20Delay%20stripboard.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Stripboard all wired up for testing. I normally only wire things up when I have the panel ready so I can keep the wires as short as possible but with this module I had to be sure first that everything worked. Anyway, it made mounting the board behind the panel easier coz no need for soldering and I was able to stuff all the wiring underneath the stripboard out of harms way.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbsz4w3N_UtwtbyzswgvLCR10JOHRZwfZk-EC1dp54DqNsorVfxyN4jWzzuQPzkkj0zCXF0A51fV9PQnXqQqnBK7DMZWS17Ahfl7YRey_M3MLMkBvs0tBvWRBsdB15vhbexpcM3gd3cv03mXejgoRBs0b6b7wqDz1LDS6TR08z2LJuFl-h3HwCjT1XNVn9/s4000/Stripboard%20all%20wired%20up%20for%20testing.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2440" data-original-width="4000" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbsz4w3N_UtwtbyzswgvLCR10JOHRZwfZk-EC1dp54DqNsorVfxyN4jWzzuQPzkkj0zCXF0A51fV9PQnXqQqnBK7DMZWS17Ahfl7YRey_M3MLMkBvs0tBvWRBsdB15vhbexpcM3gd3cv03mXejgoRBs0b6b7wqDz1LDS6TR08z2LJuFl-h3HwCjT1XNVn9/s320/Stripboard%20all%20wired%20up%20for%20testing.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>This is the panel with the waterslide paper applied ready to receive a final thick coat of clear lacquer. The panel is 14hp wide (7CM). the width I normally use because it allows me to mount the stripboard flat behind the panel keeping the depth to a minimum.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGQdy1_e78x3xITpR3zjopByKr4_cgqv7ckb3Qmdu4xInFBIr6R_spSQzhSXsOHRXQ214Ym_imCZ6guMvVmrvhNXrvU1xZFm6FuaKNq_jvKmH1cci0L0amVtBpmn32iIAU6DnZHzKhldwofJ-SA1s9a1EPGW1dGa876bgkkvNL3crp-TWHPMBpoxfN76oP/s3455/Panel%20ready%20for%20lacquer%20coat.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3455" data-original-width="2213" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGQdy1_e78x3xITpR3zjopByKr4_cgqv7ckb3Qmdu4xInFBIr6R_spSQzhSXsOHRXQ214Ym_imCZ6guMvVmrvhNXrvU1xZFm6FuaKNq_jvKmH1cci0L0amVtBpmn32iIAU6DnZHzKhldwofJ-SA1s9a1EPGW1dGa876bgkkvNL3crp-TWHPMBpoxfN76oP/s320/Panel%20ready%20for%20lacquer%20coat.jpg" width="205" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Here's the panel design I made in Photoshop just in case you want to use it. It's in A-4 format 300pix/Inch resolution.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIiJ3jEBA6l7L6wR1TSUDDC1ohwvjzzdY_lh7YZj26Cm0H1KxRAKB0vh_OhpcddqWmGVf-cfBJaB8tV-8EN3zwwwOZUXJtTHHaazATsrESxTUqJRwQ1GHvDxhrYaZ26ohuUwVspt9_SwgFatiiC7R5gXXxi5rg_ie2aVqCGftCjx4RzE01BSL8yLQ93xVt/s3496/VC%20Delay%20panel%20design%204x.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3496" data-original-width="2480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIiJ3jEBA6l7L6wR1TSUDDC1ohwvjzzdY_lh7YZj26Cm0H1KxRAKB0vh_OhpcddqWmGVf-cfBJaB8tV-8EN3zwwwOZUXJtTHHaazATsrESxTUqJRwQ1GHvDxhrYaZ26ohuUwVspt9_SwgFatiiC7R5gXXxi5rg_ie2aVqCGftCjx4RzE01BSL8yLQ93xVt/s320/VC%20Delay%20panel%20design%204x.jpg" width="227" /></a></div><div>Module on the test bench:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicywV2-8qeKD4jzVyVCi8HthuzNVymJngbJibAV9pVEhyqpCbAcuF-UisZtXFYa7YMkf9BPRZ3ooIlwULMg0JTbK4UQjsnwW3Kn5awjjk5CA1OjXDOKLS0A-604d_oKj51seliMae_BuJpwobGQb0pXFXo7txv-j09zpewJaxs04tsn7kX60jjZ4Qnzoc6/s2956/VC%20Delay%20testing.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2956" data-original-width="1908" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicywV2-8qeKD4jzVyVCi8HthuzNVymJngbJibAV9pVEhyqpCbAcuF-UisZtXFYa7YMkf9BPRZ3ooIlwULMg0JTbK4UQjsnwW3Kn5awjjk5CA1OjXDOKLS0A-604d_oKj51seliMae_BuJpwobGQb0pXFXo7txv-j09zpewJaxs04tsn7kX60jjZ4Qnzoc6/s320/VC%20Delay%20testing.jpg" width="207" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The rear of the module. It's 3.8 cm deep so it will fit any Eurorack case.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij1tTNqATmOCMizRZJ6gxE_VfUEIJZ01keR_XgXPasQ44_9m0sPIX4sfuVPBLth5Ks5y5FXko5t4LG_w4u4hN-mi_cLfWrYjR68vTTMZ-06XM7gQdYhnbBLIVtosDPhB48_cXdNdNTpKf_5EIhoyJ1WHhsLr-8plzj0-XLzWsknpegrxCMsbbY26IOvSUF/s3388/Rear%20of%20the%20delay%20module.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3388" data-original-width="2328" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij1tTNqATmOCMizRZJ6gxE_VfUEIJZ01keR_XgXPasQ44_9m0sPIX4sfuVPBLth5Ks5y5FXko5t4LG_w4u4hN-mi_cLfWrYjR68vTTMZ-06XM7gQdYhnbBLIVtosDPhB48_cXdNdNTpKf_5EIhoyJ1WHhsLr-8plzj0-XLzWsknpegrxCMsbbY26IOvSUF/s320/Rear%20of%20the%20delay%20module.jpg" width="220" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: red;">VIDEO DEMO:</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Here's a little demo I recorded showing the module in action.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dqX7wouOLwg" width="320" youtube-src-id="dqX7wouOLwg"></iframe></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Here's an interesting look at the inside workings of the PT2399 chip: <a href="https://www.electrosmash.com/pt2399-analysis" target="_blank">--- click here ---</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Okay, that's it for this one. Hope you like it.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">If you have any questions or remarks about this project please put them in the comments below. Remember comments are moderated so they don't appear straightaway. Only after I read them.</div><div style="text-align: left;">You can also post questions on the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/325860521842129" target="_blank">special FaceBook group for this website.</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>


guid: tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8559314700259794131.post-372511981831695550
title: KiCad tutorial part-1: HOW TO MAKE PCBs USING KICAD 9.0
author: Eddy Bergman
url: https://www.eddybergman.com/2025/05/quickguide-to-KiCad.html
feedurl: https://www.eddybergman.com/feeds/posts/default
content_mime_type: text/html
content:
<p>A short introduction to KiCad 9.0 and step by step guide to making PCBs in KiCad. I go through the steps with you and tell you my learning experience.</p><div style="text-align: left;">For some time now I've been watching how many of my website followers have been producing awesome PCBs from the schematics I posted instead of doing them on stripboard. In early May 2025 I decided the time had finally come for me to really get to grips with KiCad because I really wanted to be able to do that too. I had tried KiCad before and I also tried EasyEDA but found both sort of overwhelming. There's so much coming at you that it can seem impossible to get through but that's not true. You just have to know where to start. In this article I will try to explain how I learned KiCad in less than a week. I was advised to go with KiCad over EasyEDA and I'm glad I listened ^___^</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">What is KiCad?</div><div style="text-align: left;">It's a free software that you can <a href="https://www.kicad.org/download/" target="_blank">download from here.</a>&nbsp; (The name KiCad actually comes from the first letters of a company of Jean-Pierre Charras' friend "Ki", being combined with Cad which stands for Computer Aided Design. It was created in 1992 by Jean-Pierre Charras.)</div><div style="text-align: left;">The software consists of two destinct steps. In the first one you're going to draw a schematic and in the second step you're going to turn that schematic into a PCB design.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Once you downloaded KiCad and successfully installed it on your Mac or Windows 10 or 11 PC or your LINUX PC you can open it.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: red;">STEP 1, make a new project.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">When you've opened the program you'll be presented with a small start screen that shows all the options.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6WR8l0dF4ftrVI9L4i26kq_TGR0KRzti8IZ5tmQ4MUlQPm1krd2LXNcqsqzo-YMxznw-cdVzUpgA5LIhAV-ZtMVe7LszNMXH_XhkChG-Y6QK9UeWtHFpDi4uVQFFO29eu6lzPU6amrTY7QGW9pS7L4iv2ykSNFy6ZG6BDQ4KWLCh7k5k2CIJWxyBTk78B/s937/opening%20screen.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="644" data-original-width="937" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6WR8l0dF4ftrVI9L4i26kq_TGR0KRzti8IZ5tmQ4MUlQPm1krd2LXNcqsqzo-YMxznw-cdVzUpgA5LIhAV-ZtMVe7LszNMXH_XhkChG-Y6QK9UeWtHFpDi4uVQFFO29eu6lzPU6amrTY7QGW9pS7L4iv2ykSNFy6ZG6BDQ4KWLCh7k5k2CIJWxyBTk78B/s320/opening%20screen.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Go to the top left FILE section and click on 'New Project'. Choose a name for your project and confirm.<div>In the screen shown above there will now appear a project file with a schematic symbol and a PCB symbol. Click on the one with the schematic symbol in front of it. You can see my last project in this screen was the TB303 filter.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: red;">DRAWING A SCHEMATIC</span></b></div><div>Now you need to draw a schematic.&nbsp;</div><div>In the Schematic editor, go to 'FILE' and choose page settings. Here you can fill in all the data that will appear in that little text box at the bottom right of the schematic drawing. It's not necessary to do this but it's good practise.&nbsp;</div><div>In this box you can also set the size of the schematic drawing area which is important. You can choose a standard A* size or a custom size.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguBAzoMFPEL567IBIhzWhTlpdv2WonU42CkOsOiKj8nsxVNiOiAtBhMs78PiRH-s8cO872lCTPubLYHl32xrp32fGq-nLKoiKDBdRhKYzhrmtcCrCgjDxwjG9_tT3ChAuEHfOoZ1W5AAKCkjOnkfXrG3JUm0XEew6RxlcdWm8u-lpXXN1-mAO-tPVTehR-/s1914/2%20File%20settings.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1035" data-original-width="1914" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguBAzoMFPEL567IBIhzWhTlpdv2WonU42CkOsOiKj8nsxVNiOiAtBhMs78PiRH-s8cO872lCTPubLYHl32xrp32fGq-nLKoiKDBdRhKYzhrmtcCrCgjDxwjG9_tT3ChAuEHfOoZ1W5AAKCkjOnkfXrG3JUm0XEew6RxlcdWm8u-lpXXN1-mAO-tPVTehR-/s320/2%20File%20settings.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>One more step before you can start drawing. We're going to import all the different components that we're going to need in our schematic like the transistors, the chips, the resistors etc. We're going to import one of each type of component. One resistor, one capacitor etc.</div><div>To do that you click on the little opamp symbol on the right, 3rd from the top or press 'A' on your keyboard. Now the component library opens up. Actually, it's called the 'Symbol Library' and components are called symbols.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjGXdOe0AkQyvqVreBMnb_z3wv9fGGI8aBEbBftSpvETqK5gIJVUnVgS4pRb79KrRV-ViC_uwOrTfs-SwmgGxm9yMXfWBC6yHM06AVOd6bmXoqGZnpGMU_oY2w3o3BIfPNBgS3Y_vC3DYEyi2RnOoArXpaFSzVcNlyJS5umsZ1vyL59BpUlnI-A_783kvR/s1918/3%20choose%20components.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1034" data-original-width="1918" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjGXdOe0AkQyvqVreBMnb_z3wv9fGGI8aBEbBftSpvETqK5gIJVUnVgS4pRb79KrRV-ViC_uwOrTfs-SwmgGxm9yMXfWBC6yHM06AVOd6bmXoqGZnpGMU_oY2w3o3BIfPNBgS3Y_vC3DYEyi2RnOoArXpaFSzVcNlyJS5umsZ1vyL59BpUlnI-A_783kvR/s320/3%20choose%20components.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>You can search in this library for anything you need. If the specific part you need isn't available, just choose a part that looks the same and has the same pinout. For instance, for the TB303 filter I needed 2SC945 transistors but they're not listed. So I chose the 2SC1815 which has the same pinout and was available. This is not simulation software so that doesn't matter as long as the pinout is the same!</div><div>Drag your components somewhere into the drawing.&nbsp;</div><div>You can make your own symbols in the symbol editor. Say you need a rare vintage components that you can't find in the library, you can draw it yourself and assign it electrical characteristics. For that you go to the symbol editor and choose 'new symbol' which you need to place in a custom library. But I'm not going any further into that here. And in this tutorial I will keep calling symbols components.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: red;">CHOOSING A FOOTPRINT.</span></b></div><div>Each component needs a footprint assigned to it so the PCB editor knows how big it is and where the solder-pads need to go.</div><div>To do this, click on your component until it lights up blue. Now it's selected, type 'E' on your keyboard or 'right-click' and go to 'PROPERTIES'. Now a pop-up appears where you can change the value of the component, the designator and there's also a field called 'Footprint'.&nbsp; It's probably empty. Click on it and you'll see three little books appear at the right of the footprints field, with one book leaning against two others. That's the symbol for the footprint library.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5TYZq9Wf5Kotm6nJmphHMkCMuG1oZo8zs8iRtnJA1-oUX2hjWTRXqS5RXXwXKgh12_FAmYFGRwQGp9JvvgiGGh2bGZI_Q967VEordqzZ48P9B0egm_dF1DWT6_auU6sD_j9iD9YNjnrkiEPw6UWpeWLmS32I8CqtyJk4zZPGgC1QL6JkiwFVftfJgxeCW/s849/4%20foorprint%20library.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="526" data-original-width="849" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5TYZq9Wf5Kotm6nJmphHMkCMuG1oZo8zs8iRtnJA1-oUX2hjWTRXqS5RXXwXKgh12_FAmYFGRwQGp9JvvgiGGh2bGZI_Q967VEordqzZ48P9B0egm_dF1DWT6_auU6sD_j9iD9YNjnrkiEPw6UWpeWLmS32I8CqtyJk4zZPGgC1QL6JkiwFVftfJgxeCW/s320/4%20foorprint%20library.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>Click on the little books. Now the Footprint library opens.&nbsp;</div><div>Look for your component name and find the footprint with the dimensions you want. This is going to be a bit of a task in the beginning because there's a lot to choose from. Most footprints have PDF datasheets attached to them that you can click and see for which components they were made. You don't have to choose the exact same component name to get a usable footprint. You can assign any footprint to any component, as long as they have the same number of pins. Once you found a footprint you like, save it in your own library so you can quickly find it again. You can edit any footprint in the 'Footprint Editor' which is the symbol that looks like a DIP6 chip with blue blocks on the legs in the top middle of the page.</div><div>You can give it bigger pads for instance. There you can also make your own footprints from scratch.</div><div>You can create your own footprint library by right clicking in the Footprint Editor, on the footprint name. A pop-up will appear where you can give it a new name and save it, and at the bottom left is a button called 'New Library'. Click that to make your own library that will appear in the list in alphabetical order, depending on the name you gave it. You can not save an alterred footprint back into its original folder because they are 'read only'.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU94IAVo2SGeWgCMD7-mI8U-tCkX5N03NpMcXFUUhMe1KGF7oegcXGmNNU25dI7GJ5OdnkMtK5bIzVcYTwOLSncycKvn7hgqe4if2_UHCpZGKb-hg3O71hdZVOW_TKR-bnF7f42SOaW8c8dqdu-tNBcZRuhcaPv1K9LOymVaaXr2miNbVY8iAoXyfc19Mv/s1653/5%20choose%20a%20footprint.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="824" data-original-width="1653" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU94IAVo2SGeWgCMD7-mI8U-tCkX5N03NpMcXFUUhMe1KGF7oegcXGmNNU25dI7GJ5OdnkMtK5bIzVcYTwOLSncycKvn7hgqe4if2_UHCpZGKb-hg3O71hdZVOW_TKR-bnF7f42SOaW8c8dqdu-tNBcZRuhcaPv1K9LOymVaaXr2miNbVY8iAoXyfc19Mv/s320/5%20choose%20a%20footprint.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>Above is the footprint I use for resistors.&nbsp;</div><div><span style="color: #fff2cc;">You need to assign a footprint to one component first and then, when drawing the schematic, when you need more of them you just duplicate the first one by selecting it and clicking CTRL + D. That way all the changes you made and the footprint you chose will be duplicated with the component and you don't have to set one for every little component in your schematic. This saves a lot of work and it's the reason why we import the components/symbols first, before we start drawing.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjefTeU0-dp-ZHCXPUMSyPKRHy8GxKWajC-HxzRJHLeB-o-Qw6c2ggp3JDTVP5kJdgRRZMJuQGrr-OMAdHjECi9xJaI3vJaTxwx8IV5rZKIlTOtMqX-ydsCW0qVCRCp4zkK6ufvoZpLmqOMI4Ki1W3wLNpJ6OQ3AaamfaZA7lfbo_D8KoMlmVdFiFuKwutA/s618/6%20save%20footprint%20make%20library.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="361" data-original-width="618" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjefTeU0-dp-ZHCXPUMSyPKRHy8GxKWajC-HxzRJHLeB-o-Qw6c2ggp3JDTVP5kJdgRRZMJuQGrr-OMAdHjECi9xJaI3vJaTxwx8IV5rZKIlTOtMqX-ydsCW0qVCRCp4zkK6ufvoZpLmqOMI4Ki1W3wLNpJ6OQ3AaamfaZA7lfbo_D8KoMlmVdFiFuKwutA/s320/6%20save%20footprint%20make%20library.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><b><span style="color: red;">START DRAWING</span></b></div><div>When you imported all your components and gave them all footprints you can start drawing. Place the components where you want them and connect them together with the wire tool which is the thin line symbol on the right, 4th from the top, or press 'W'.&nbsp;</div><div>Use CTRL+D to duplicate any component if you need more of them. Like I mentioned before, this will save you having to enter a footprint for every component you use, because it will be duplicated with the component.</div><div>Press 'R' to rotate a component. Press 'Y' to switch the pinout of a component in the vertical plane, for instance the + and - inputs of an opamp or the pin numbers of a potentiometer.. Press 'X' to switch the pinout of a component in the horizontal plane, for instance the pinout of a transistor.</div><div>If you have a component that has pins that are not used in your circuit, Like a µA741 IC for instance with pins 1 and 5 that are often not used, then you need to use the 'Place No Connect Flags' tool (Q on your keyboard) and place an X on each of the pins that are not used. That's the 8th icon from the top on the righthand side, shaped like an -X</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: red;">ABOUT THE POWER SECTION</span></b></div><div>Now you need to add a little drawing of the power input to your circuit, separate from the main schematic. You need to select a connector with 2 pins (for + and GND) or 3 pins (for + GND and -) or a Eurorack connector or something else and choose a footprint for it. Click on the 'GROUND' symbol (the one with one vertical and 3 horizontal lines under it, you know) on the right and choose for instance the +12V and attach it to the plus line. Choose the GND symbol for ground and for instance the -12V for the negative voltage rail.&nbsp;</div><div>Now go to the ground symbol again and choose the PWR_FLAG symbol and connect a power flag to each of your power lines. +, gnd and -. They must be connected right to the wire that comes out of the power input connector. They may <b>not</b> be connected to wires after components that are connected to the power input connector. They must be directly connected to the input. That way the software knows were the power comes from. You don't have to connect this part to the rest of the schematic. When you use, for instance, +12V symbols anywhere in the schematic, the software will know it connects to the power input section when you used the same symbol.</div><div>If you use a voltage regulator on the board, for instance for an extra +5V powerrails, you don't have to connect a power flag to that +5V line. It's only for power that comes into the board from outside.</div><div><br /></div><div>A little note on placing multiple opamp chips in your schematic. If you place, for instance, a quad opamp like the TL074 in your schematic you choose the symbol and click once to place the first opamp (U1A). Then you click again for the second, third and fourth opamp (U1B,C and D) and then you click again to add the power connections to the opamp. Note that when you click the 5th time you also get a U1E label suggesting there's a 5th opamp that's part of your chip. That's KiCad's way of naming the powerpins of the opamp. You can place these powerpins on the opamp symbol, in which case you can delete the U1E designator or you can place these powerconnections in the little powersection you drew earlier and connect them all up there. That's what you should do.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>When you completed your drawing you need to check it for mistakes. You do that by clicking on the Electrical Rules Checker. That's the 6th symbol from the right on the top menu bar. The one that looks like a list with a red circle with a check mark in it.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: red;">ANNOTATING YOUR SCHEMATIC</span></b></div><div>Every schematic needs to be annotated to make sure every component has a name the PCB editor understands. It puts a 1 after the name of potmeters and in- and outputs. If there are sub circuits that work independently of eachother they will be assigned different numbers to tell them apart.</div><div>To annotate a schematic, go to the TOOLS menu and click on 'Annotate Schematic'. You can also do this after you changed the footprint of a component for an other one, to update the schematic.</div><div>After the schematic is finished and has zero errors you can go over to the PCB editor to turn it into a PCB design. Don't forget to save it first of course.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>MAKE SURE YOUR SCHEMATIC HAS NO WRONG CONNECTIONS IN IT BECAUSE THOSE ERRORS WILL BE CARRIED OVER TO THE PCB LATER.</b></div><div>Pay special attention to the power connections of any opamps in your schematic! I went wrong there many times and had components connected to the wrong polarization. I had the power pins connected directly to an opamp. The + and - of the opamp inputs are shown very close to the + and - of the power connections so you really need to look carefully to check you got it right. That's also why it's better to put all opamp powerconnectors in the powersupply section of your schematic.</div><div>Also <span style="color: #fff2cc;">pay attention to</span> the pinout of any potmeters you placed. If the 1,2 and 3 is the wrong way around your potmeter(s) will function in the wrong direction, for instance getting louder when you turn it counter-clockwise. In the case of volume controls pin 1 should be connected to ground. These are easy mistakes to make. (Btw, 1 is left, 2 is middle and 3 is the righthand pin.)</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: #fcff01; font-size: x-large;">MAKING A PCB</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: red;">THE PCB EDITOR</span></b></div><div>Click on the symbol for the PCB editor and let's get designing.</div><div>First we're going to go the FILE &gt; 'Page Settings' and again fill in the data for under in the text box of the drawing. It's good practise to do this although not really necessary.&nbsp;</div><div><div style="text-align: left;">Now, in the FILE menu, click on Board Settings. Here you can input a ton of things that you want your PCB to comply with. Forget all that for now. I just want you to click on 'Design Rules &gt; Constraints'.</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoB8PwjQ2gKQtQ4T6-0fwuhsA-bXFYcHjwdhmGL6MksOLG86XSurlfm8ZsTAjzMtNljEmnX5hLp3sSh6fOegDV0UtoA2FHuZfH4laiCbv37Uk9lGp9Y9EzaWFkRL8GxahzRH_e7UyOIqTB2khzIhRztdW9LZXq60__E-cVDXZhDgWwRqa1ilPlqKIMNzki/s963/7%20design%20rule%20constraints.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="594" data-original-width="963" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoB8PwjQ2gKQtQ4T6-0fwuhsA-bXFYcHjwdhmGL6MksOLG86XSurlfm8ZsTAjzMtNljEmnX5hLp3sSh6fOegDV0UtoA2FHuZfH4laiCbv37Uk9lGp9Y9EzaWFkRL8GxahzRH_e7UyOIqTB2khzIhRztdW9LZXq60__E-cVDXZhDgWwRqa1ilPlqKIMNzki/s320/7%20design%20rule%20constraints.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Here you can set the minimum track width and other parameters that influence the copper on the board. I only really change the minimum track width to 0.4 or 0.5mm and leave the rest as it is.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Sometimes when checking a PCB for mistakes you will get a warning that there is a problem with the thermal connection of a ground pad. If you set 'Minimum Thermal Relief Spoke Count' to 1 those warnings will go away.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Now, the moment of truth.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYdUBVfirPUkoRgh9B1yXvO73idzfrzeLnCR6ZolRoeDoIQ37THcSkyGZcALdnBJj09ncWDEsxwmdHxwNBFfYD-XE-z70FaNSSWXpjJPtKp3G7m1ODIESC79LlbGT3yKN1XKWi-H2YgNQmY6rXsIFAf8RCkJuEKS18fALABefNGAVC2yxYsTyFnRGqLo9Y/s115/Update%20PCB%20from%20Schematic.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="86" data-original-width="115" height="86" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYdUBVfirPUkoRgh9B1yXvO73idzfrzeLnCR6ZolRoeDoIQ37THcSkyGZcALdnBJj09ncWDEsxwmdHxwNBFfYD-XE-z70FaNSSWXpjJPtKp3G7m1ODIESC79LlbGT3yKN1XKWi-H2YgNQmY6rXsIFAf8RCkJuEKS18fALABefNGAVC2yxYsTyFnRGqLo9Y/s1600/Update%20PCB%20from%20Schematic.jpg" width="115" /></a></div><br /><b><span style="color: red;">IMPORTING THE COMPONENTS TO THE PCB</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Click on 'Update PCB from Schematic' (the middle symbol of the three shown above) or click F8 to import all your components into the PCB Editor. If you get an error message in the import dialog box then cancel the import and fix that error first. It'll usually be something like a symbol that doesn't have a footprint assigned to it.</div><div style="text-align: left;">After importing you now see all your component outlines in a small space. This is called the rats nest.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Now you need to pull all this out with your mouse and start placing the components on the field in somewhat the same position as they have on the schematic. This way you get the shortest tracks between them. Pull it all out and use as many space as you want. When you have everything ordered you can start placing the components closer together and build up a nice compact PCB layout with the shortest tracks possible. You will see what is connected to what when you drag the components around.</div><div style="text-align: left;">You'll see a thin line that connects the component to other components. Sometimes, when you drag a component around, those connections will jump between different points. Those are usually the power and ground pads and the software chooses the shortest connection.</div><div style="text-align: left;">The Ratsnest:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD7E12XO1nX5H9usIHBnWGlnpLY2xHkMoXhCODG1R8e05SQOAVtE8r7PSzDsvas8ZBNTTMb5w6oQdiCDbzYOqyCQec52u2Uqr0xOyzNxvWLIP32EMrcAIIKksvyC-qXVTeRuWviece8SCNaMbVNvx3n2NCqA2ooQ8slTNvGt6O-M3RZ2bc-PB0b0u0Miyl/s1914/14%20Rats%20nest.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1029" data-original-width="1914" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD7E12XO1nX5H9usIHBnWGlnpLY2xHkMoXhCODG1R8e05SQOAVtE8r7PSzDsvas8ZBNTTMb5w6oQdiCDbzYOqyCQec52u2Uqr0xOyzNxvWLIP32EMrcAIIKksvyC-qXVTeRuWviece8SCNaMbVNvx3n2NCqA2ooQ8slTNvGt6O-M3RZ2bc-PB0b0u0Miyl/s320/14%20Rats%20nest.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #fff2cc;">When I need to place a component I select it and switch back to the schematic to see which components and especially IC's are close to it. Then I switch back to the PCB editor and place the component near those elements. This helps in getting the shortest tracks.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Once you got all this done you can start drawing the traces between the components by hand. There is a plugin that you can install, that will do it automatically, but I want you to do it by hand. This works much better. You must choose the F.Cu layer to draw on the front of the board and you must click on the B.Cu layer to draw on the back side. It is good practise to draw as many of the horizontal tracks on one layer while drawing the vertical tracks on the other layer. This prevents cross-talk and noise.</div><div style="text-align: left;">I have developed the habit of drawing as many of the tracks on the back side of the board and then draw the rest on the front. Do whatever you find works best for you.</div><div style="text-align: left;">If you can't lay a track because the way is blocked by other tracks, attach a 'via' to move to the other side of the board and continue the track there. To place a Via, right click on the active track as you're laying it and choose 'place through via'. Make sure there is no track sticking out in front of the via. That can become an unconnected track later and you'll have to find it and delete it. Before planting the Via in its place I always shake the mouse a little to get rid of bits of track sticking out where I don't want them.</div><div style="text-align: left;">TIP: Leave all the connections marked 'GROUND' unconnected. We're going to use a groundplane to connect all those together at once, later.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: red;">AFTER THE TRACKS ARE DONE.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Okay, so you have your first PCB set up. Now you need to define the edge of the board. Select the 'Edge Cuts' layer for that. Now choose the 'Draw Rectangles' tool and draw a square around your board. Leave a few millimeters between the outline and the outer components.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Once you have this done you can choose to round off the corners. For that, right click on the outline of the board and choose 'Shape Modification' from the menu. You can enter the radius of the curves in millimeters. You can also add mounting holes in the corners with the circle tool.</div><div style="text-align: left;">In between all these steps, regularly check your progress with the 'Design Rules Checker'. It will tell you what's wrong with the board. If you don't understand a certain mistake that is listed, just Google it. Many have gone before you and there are solutions to be found for all the possible mistakes you can make.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Checking for mistakes is called running the DRC but I always call it 'Run DMC' after the rappers :)</div><div style="text-align: left;">Oh, very droll sir!</div><div style="text-align: left;">If you need to make a board to a specific measurement, like for Eurorack with a specific hp size, you draw the edge of the board first, before you start drawing the tracks.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: red;">ADDING GROUNDPLANES.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">One more step is to add groundplanes to fill up the board with copper and connect all the ground points together. Click on the B.Cu layer and now click the 'Draw Fill Zones' symbol or click CTRL+SHIFT+Z.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Take that tool and draw an outline around the board just like the edge cuts outline. Use the mouse wheel to zoom right in on the corners. When the outline is completed, go to EDIT &gt; Fil All Zones or click 'B' to fill in the backside. Now select the F.Cu layer and repeat the proces for the front layer.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Again do the Run DMC, I mean run the DRC to check for errors. The warnings are not vital but the errors need to be fixed before a PCB can be made. But you'll learn soon enough how to fix the warnings too. Google is a great help for this.</div><div style="text-align: left;">You need to be aware that there will be places where the groundplane can't reach because it is blocked by tracks from all sides. In that case you'll have to connect those grounds together with a track and make sure the track reaches a ground pad that is covered by the groundplane. An indicator that such a problem occured is when you get an error without explanation.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: red;">ADDING TEXT.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">You will see that the Silkscreen text next to the components (the one in yellow) only shows the designators. It's handy to put the values in too. You could double click on the designators and change them to values but then you'll get a lot of double designator warnings and should you make any changes to the board after that, all your text will flip back to designators and you can start all over again. No, it's better to click on the F.Silkscreen layer and use the TEXT tool to put the values next to the components. Make sure your text doesn't touch any of the solderpads or the yellow lines around the components. That will give problems in production with the soldermask overlapping the silkscreen or text overlapping silkscreen.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Below is the PCB for the very popular Resonant Lowpass Gate module. Note I placed the potmeters right at the top edge so the PCB can be mounted by soldering the potmeters straight in and using them to mount to the front panel. Resistor designators and values are all contained inside the component outline box. I always drag the designators to the top left and write the values in at the bottom right.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg48jesaOB4l9XBMrQGhZkriYw7o0Djz9BTRv7zutsRrqZYscuowvBXixHgvfRLCc-dq67z4uzLZy9wsu8exi4LLGMFe-h_ZCofTu4hMfB0WMjfwsE_2vMOPqMfIjt7H1hW56OAz9xb0VsAz73_syuD-2pr4zO7hceF3I9tv2e9WlfjwWrRDtBir_G5NSg/s1875/Resonant%20Lopass%20Gate%20PCB-2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1033" data-original-width="1875" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg48jesaOB4l9XBMrQGhZkriYw7o0Djz9BTRv7zutsRrqZYscuowvBXixHgvfRLCc-dq67z4uzLZy9wsu8exi4LLGMFe-h_ZCofTu4hMfB0WMjfwsE_2vMOPqMfIjt7H1hW56OAz9xb0VsAz73_syuD-2pr4zO7hceF3I9tv2e9WlfjwWrRDtBir_G5NSg/s320/Resonant%20Lopass%20Gate%20PCB-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">You can see what your finished board will look like by clicking on the 3D viewer or clicking 'ALT + 3'. This will even work if you haven't drawn the outline of the board yet.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2aqiNdsWwij64Di9MO6ok5eIJ4681gRpCZYrtcVplKuGHvJSbEktsj2G2Oc9o6x_U6S8XL1OmCJU0rytWvfYYqZ_bG2Tfr2uFs8FWbO6hZTY5hWv7jo3RQQrzbVMerU0J1bgRh0qyvPmKCVc2g9kZvAs3y1QNkSSMvZKOjpXsk3SEwuW7PRbAQ5BW6tpk/s1920/Resonant%20Lopass%20Gate%20PCB-2%203Dview.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1037" data-original-width="1920" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2aqiNdsWwij64Di9MO6ok5eIJ4681gRpCZYrtcVplKuGHvJSbEktsj2G2Oc9o6x_U6S8XL1OmCJU0rytWvfYYqZ_bG2Tfr2uFs8FWbO6hZTY5hWv7jo3RQQrzbVMerU0J1bgRh0qyvPmKCVc2g9kZvAs3y1QNkSSMvZKOjpXsk3SEwuW7PRbAQ5BW6tpk/s320/Resonant%20Lopass%20Gate%20PCB-2%203Dview.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: red;">ADDING LOGOs OR IMAGES TO YOUR PCB.</span></b></div><div>As you can see the PCB design in the previous picture has a picture of my logo in it.</div><div>To add an image to your PCB first measure the space on the PCB where the image will sit in mm.&nbsp;</div><div>Now click in the <b>main start menu</b>&nbsp;we used at the start, on the Image Converter.</div><div>Click on 'Load Source Image' at the top right.</div><div>Load your image and set the output size to the size you measured.</div><div>Choose Footprint Layer F.Silkscreen</div><div>Click 'export to clipboard'</div><div>Now go back to the PCB editor and click &lt;CTRL + V&gt;. The image appears and you can drag it in place.</div><div>You'll see a G*** watermark over your image. Just click on it and press delete on your keyboard.</div><div>To place an image on the backside of the PCB just press 'F' on your keyboard to flip sides.</div><div><br /></div><div>And that's how that works.&nbsp;</div><div><b><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: red;">MAKING THE GERBER FILES.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Now all you need to do is make the files necessary for production of the PCBs.</div><div style="text-align: left;">First do a final check and make sure your design is faultless. A few warnings will probably remain in the beginning but they are not crucial but 'errors' must be seen to and repaired.</div><div style="text-align: left;">A common problem will be that you need to move a component a little. To do that you must first go to Edit and choose 'Unfill All Zones'. Then you need to click on all the tracks connected to that component and delete them. Then move the component to its new place and reconnect the tracks. Then refill the zones by clicking 'Refil Zones' and then checking the Run DMC eurrh run the DRC.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Okay, now we want them files, hand them over!</div><div style="text-align: left;">Click on 'FILE &gt; Fabrication Outputs' and choose Gerbers.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLDvLjixOPQVXVGACvh3NpNPL3X9G_-sExvhOF6AJ63Rf71uEWUck7YhsD-SSG_xR5UDdbAibRMqQJnUM_lym9andyGCmNrLO3hFST6C20P1NAGVO_AJJQCk38sroSJYhCJxjKui1XZeMxMe00917NQKuZN93-qkWXMcawC6Qacck1Vg8Z2ptRM7uZ3iRE/s1790/Gerberfiles%20screenshot.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1033" data-original-width="1790" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLDvLjixOPQVXVGACvh3NpNPL3X9G_-sExvhOF6AJ63Rf71uEWUck7YhsD-SSG_xR5UDdbAibRMqQJnUM_lym9andyGCmNrLO3hFST6C20P1NAGVO_AJJQCk38sroSJYhCJxjKui1XZeMxMe00917NQKuZN93-qkWXMcawC6Qacck1Vg8Z2ptRM7uZ3iRE/s320/Gerberfiles%20screenshot.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">You can leave all the settings at their defaults, at least if you order your PCBs at JLCPCB which I recommend. Make sure 'Subtrackt soldermask from silkscreen' is checked on.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpxhr9fUCUPxG1qB_ZWuK30P0yP1G49jInfbxqAEAfoezhhEtA-J0fNcR7bMdTrWHWYZOq6vzWHt5TcjAUkw_PSZoeUw8mo72Z-lEZacz4Zc-fNlNQPs9yM4jMemdmiqOxwYCSWPs0dHFHV-JuIJ5xYh2CaSDB9XVm7h5PuDoA90arqqg_PfaSmRUN8Ic-/s944/10%20gerber%20menu.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="615" data-original-width="944" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpxhr9fUCUPxG1qB_ZWuK30P0yP1G49jInfbxqAEAfoezhhEtA-J0fNcR7bMdTrWHWYZOq6vzWHt5TcjAUkw_PSZoeUw8mo72Z-lEZacz4Zc-fNlNQPs9yM4jMemdmiqOxwYCSWPs0dHFHV-JuIJ5xYh2CaSDB9XVm7h5PuDoA90arqqg_PfaSmRUN8Ic-/s320/10%20gerber%20menu.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><div><br /></div>Now at the top, fill in the destination folder for your files. Click on the folder symbol and go into your project folder and make a folder with the name of the project followed by 'gerbers', or something like that. You can give it any name you want.<div><div>Next you need to choose that folder as the destination for the Gerber files.</div><div>Now click on 'Plot' at the bottom and your folder will be filled up with Gerber files. But we also need to make the drill files so in that same field click&nbsp;on 'Generate Drill Files...'. A new pop-up will appear:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnblrElag0nevdATChssrs2AU8Cf6OhbOo4nVp2IPy51_JWu9aofIqlzwUXkrwkrzxvAtrVg3MrMWjqF5QGA2VJ45dbybpN1ODmqYb-5pXkWZ2tlmq710CtuW_f11vVjMLnPTaoJi5gcdz7yKZak5jhQFReIbOHTosiaGI4XTf3rGpD_Woy3UScRX4jcd8/s576/11%20drill%20files.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="576" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnblrElag0nevdATChssrs2AU8Cf6OhbOo4nVp2IPy51_JWu9aofIqlzwUXkrwkrzxvAtrVg3MrMWjqF5QGA2VJ45dbybpN1ODmqYb-5pXkWZ2tlmq710CtuW_f11vVjMLnPTaoJi5gcdz7yKZak5jhQFReIbOHTosiaGI4XTf3rGpD_Woy3UScRX4jcd8/s320/11%20drill%20files.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Leave everything as it is in the picture above and click on 'Generate'. Then click 'close'.</div><div><br /></div><div>You will know when you checked something on that you shouldn't have, because JLCPCB won't accept it. You'll get an 'Parameter Exception' error message when uploading the Gerbers to their website.<br /><div><br /></div><div>Your production folder will now contain 14 files.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgantMUTMiNe1RisXM-1jV2D-PG0cthBwNkxVHUNrx9a1a4AAzPJnHvAL4fh0RLaLJaEAPNJtuHcY3mM2i7p-H4vhjFpQMyGcpFsJWPvORZgHWdOMWKJ6TkHL9Wdk-5radipbrRb3N7GGT227xDwOUUWbvLJMNYB97a5l7N6GyhUyEzSo7cC1D0rdwjfnpH/s636/12%20gerber%20files.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="362" data-original-width="636" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgantMUTMiNe1RisXM-1jV2D-PG0cthBwNkxVHUNrx9a1a4AAzPJnHvAL4fh0RLaLJaEAPNJtuHcY3mM2i7p-H4vhjFpQMyGcpFsJWPvORZgHWdOMWKJ6TkHL9Wdk-5radipbrRb3N7GGT227xDwOUUWbvLJMNYB97a5l7N6GyhUyEzSo7cC1D0rdwjfnpH/s320/12%20gerber%20files.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><span style="color: #fcff01;">Select all these files with CTRL + A and then right-click and put them all in a ZIP file.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: red;">ORDERING YOUR PCB's</span></b></div><div>After you finished your first projects you will be tempted to order the PCBs rightaway. Don't do that just yet. Sleep over it until the next day and then before you order, check your schematic for errors. Believe me I speak from experience. I thought I had been so thorough in checking but when I started out I spent more than €200 on PCBs that could go straight in the bin because they contained hidden errors.</div><div>You need a clear head for this and the mistakes will jump out at you. This saves you money and disappointment. If you have discovered errors you need to fix them in the schematic first. Then save the schematic and go to the PCB editor and import the changes from the schematic. Now you must also make the changes in the PCB design en run the DCR checker.</div><div>Naturally, if you corrected errors you must make new Gerber files before ordering your PCBs. Delete all the faulty Gerbers before you make new ones to prevent mistakes and confusion.</div><div><b><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></b></div><div>When everything is fine you can go to the <a href="https://jlcpcb.com/" target="_blank">JLCPCB website</a> and drag that Gerber ZIP file into the box 'Add Gerber File' and you will instantly see you design appear on their website with how much it'll cost you (usually € 2,- for 5 PCBs). 5 PCBs is the minimum you must order. You can choose between a few colours like purple, yellow, red, blue and green. An other colour does cost a little extra though and it takes 2 more days to produce,</div><div>If you choose green boards and use the most cost effective shipping (€1,50) your boards will cost about €0,85 a piece for a minimum of 5 provided they are smaller than 10 x 10 CM. The cheapest shipping option is 'Global Standard Direct Line' which takes 12 to 16 businessdays.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHjXmkVMwCxLfB_2Uik6Iu2QM8jmGJVI_nej0zubyS0b5jARsa_SjthYVPx-u12dodiNyqxGAXYw0JK6IGty8keLpSkysryX2Rb7qj79gleo0_KaUr732XriW7_7VELYNwXRyGC2oWAppH4TyGxXE8othFN4IH-C8OZ7QepAX1-qd9pWqJJ8TOCusTXOgM/s1379/13%20Checkout%20cheapest.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="210" data-original-width="1379" height="49" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHjXmkVMwCxLfB_2Uik6Iu2QM8jmGJVI_nej0zubyS0b5jARsa_SjthYVPx-u12dodiNyqxGAXYw0JK6IGty8keLpSkysryX2Rb7qj79gleo0_KaUr732XriW7_7VELYNwXRyGC2oWAppH4TyGxXE8othFN4IH-C8OZ7QepAX1-qd9pWqJJ8TOCusTXOgM/s320/13%20Checkout%20cheapest.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>An there you have it. Now you can make PCBs. I found the proces quite addictive and for the last week I've been doing nothing but sit behind my two PC's making PCBs :)&nbsp; (The schematic on one PC screen and KiCad on the other.) Dispite it being beautiful spring weather outside. I love it! I've already ordered two filter designs and the last one, the TB303 had zero errors and zero warnings and I've only been doing this for a week!!</div><div><br /></div><div>Make at least 4 test projects before you start thinking of ordering PCBs. I've invested a full week in learning. I spent at least 10 hours a day on this because when I sink my teeth into a new project I simply can't stop until I understand it. You'll need to be determined to learn this and then you will see quite soon that it is really not that difficult.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you have any questions about this proces I'd prefer you this time to post them in the Facebook group first. You'll get answers sooner because a lot of the group use KiCad.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><b><span style="color: red;">SOME COMMON WARNINGS AND THEIR SOLUTIONS:</span></b></div><div>Here I will list warnings, and errors and their solutions. I'll add to the list as I come across more.</div><div>I've had many different problems to solve when using and learning KiCad but I didn't write them all down but here are some I came across the most in KiCad.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: #fcff01;">FIRST TRY THIS.</span></b></div><div>With most errors, it's just a matter of updating from the schematic, so in the PCB editor click 'update changes from schematic' even if you haven't made any changes. Now open the DRC checker and click delete all markers and run the checker again. Errors and warnings that show up now will have a valid reason for why they are there.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: #fcff01;">INPUT POWER PIN NOT DRIVEN BY ANY OUTPUT POWER PINS:</span></b></div><div>The input of a component that needs a connection to the powerrails seems not to be connected to any power rails.&nbsp;</div><div>If you are sure your schematic is solid and faultless, you can simply ignore this warning. It usually comes up when you're using IC's that have wrongly labeled pins.These IC symbols are likely to have been drawn by a user or downloaded later and put in the library. It doesn't matter.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #fcff01;">"TRACK HAS UNCONNECTED END"</span> warning. This is a warning not an error meaning that if you order your PCB with this issue unresolved, you'll probably still be okay.</div><div>This warning comes up when there are little bits of track underneath an other track, maybe from moving a component and reattaching the tracks. Anyway, to solve this, go to TOOLS &gt; 'Clean up tracks and vias'. If that doesn't work, pull the component out of the board and check underneath for bits of track. Delete them and the track that is attached to the component so everything is clean and then put the component back in and reattach the tracks.</div><div>Now check the Run DMC thing again and your problems will probably be gone. If not, go to that track, delete it and draw it in again.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #fcff01;">NO ERROR WARNING BUT THERE'S STILL A RED CIRCLE when I do the DRC.</span></div><div>If, like me, you connect all the grounds together by using groundplanes (fill zones) for the front and back layers then you can get this error. There's no error message but after the test the error circle stays red with a number or errors listed. This usually means that there are connections to ground that can't be made because the fill zone can't reach that component. The component is shielded by tracks. In this case you have to unfill the board (CTRL + B) and connect those grounds together with tracks.&nbsp;</div><div>It can also be an other track. When you see the red circle with a number inside and no warning text, this can mean there's a track you've forgotten to connect. Go over the board and look for unconnected components. They have these thin blue connection lines attached to them most of the time.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #fcff01;">MISSING FOOTPRINT and EXTRA FOOTPRINT</span> for the same component(s).</div><div>I'm not sure what causes this but it happened to me and I went back into the schematic, right clicked on the component the warning applied to and, opened 'Properties' and just clicked on the same footprint I had already chosen for it. Then I updated the PCB from Schematic and the problem was gone.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #fcff01;">TIP:</span> If you want to delete all tracks and start again you can do so by going to&nbsp; EDIT &gt; Global Deletions. There you can check what you want to delete and then it will be deleted for the whole PCB.</div><div><br /></div><div>HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED HOW THOSE PCBs ARE MADE IN CHINA??</div><div>Watch this:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ljOoGyCso8s" width="320" youtube-src-id="ljOoGyCso8s"></iframe></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>And that's it for this tutorial. I hope it was helpful for you.</div><div><br /></div></div><div><b><span style="color: red;">PLEASE CONSIDER DONATING.</span></b></div><div>If you find this content helpful, please consider donating to keep this website in the air and to contribute to future projects. There's a Ko-Fi donation button underneath the main menu if you're on a PC or Mac. Otherwise use this&nbsp;<a href="https://paypal.me/ModularEddy" target="_blank">PayPal link</a>&nbsp;to cut out the middle man. Thank you very much for your help!</div><br />


guid: tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8559314700259794131.post-8453104729914999527
title: KiCad tutorial part-2: MAKING MULTIPLE PCBs ON ONE BOARD & MAKING A FACEPLATE.
author: Eddy Bergman
url: https://www.eddybergman.com/2025/10/KiCad-tutorial-part2.html
feedurl: https://www.eddybergman.com/feeds/posts/default
content_mime_type: text/html
content:
<p>This article was sponsored by PCBWay. This tutorial deals with making more than one PCB design on one board, divided by a V-groove, so you can break the boards into different parts. I'll also show you how to make a faceplate for your module.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZpeI2gE43_SYVu37YYOpcNC5Klv1Gpu8_ioXNe__v7qtthD-Y958-SvgF5Qp7oQ_5LClFNjAKBMATU0BhoF_TzOaeiq6UyGFDT3MIoBCH3XtwzG-h7AvaWRy9iGjbsaAxbOLu6bDmKu4ji0TFoAqHr1x38BvzEms7slPGSddKxo-v67q3niRSRx95YyCD/s2048/Finished%20eurorack%20module.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZpeI2gE43_SYVu37YYOpcNC5Klv1Gpu8_ioXNe__v7qtthD-Y958-SvgF5Qp7oQ_5LClFNjAKBMATU0BhoF_TzOaeiq6UyGFDT3MIoBCH3XtwzG-h7AvaWRy9iGjbsaAxbOLu6bDmKu4ji0TFoAqHr1x38BvzEms7slPGSddKxo-v67q3niRSRx95YyCD/s320/Finished%20eurorack%20module.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The finished module I'll be using as an example in this tutorial.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;">I'll take the most popular project on my website as an example, the AS3340 VCO and hopefully teach you how to make the PCBs and front panel inside KiCad 9 without the need for any wiring up of potmeters or sockets. So we're going to make a board for all the controls and in- and outputs and one for the actual circuit. I'll also show you how to order the boards on the PCBWay website.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ffa400;">Before we continue I want to mention that the method I use here is my own, it's not the only way to do it and I'm not claiming it's the best way to do it. But it works for me so it'll work for you.</span></div><p><span style="color: #fff2cc;">To follow this tutorial you need to be able to draw schematics and make PCB's inside KiCad so you&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #fff2cc;">need to have read and mastered the previous tutorial I wrote. We follow on from there.</span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: red;">DRAWING A SCHEMATIC with HIERARCHICAL SHEETS and GLOBAL LABELS</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">In order to make two PCBs in one go and have them connect together with pinheaders we need to draw each segment of our design separately.</div><div style="text-align: left;">We will make several schematic pages for this. The first will be the Root Page which is sort of the folder that holds all the other drawings. This is the page that normally opens when we click on the schematic symbol. When that page is open you click on the Hierarchical Sheets button which is the 15th button from the top on the right side or you can type 'S' on the keyboard.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMdlVvavTW6RtQZcOsXosIlaQCGJW-Y57rECqmvgI1m7o354okhTpyqah4EbECNGyQii0mpsDRj9yrge1xjgcY5boq6pscCFiDYjNX9QtnVnio7pPUrXWJON67oVc8Z2ZDyc1rmb-4LN95uLLgZqy59EAFKsgpo8U0EwyBCk0HZxyRHT314TPVIIfr9j02/s39/Hierarchical%20Sheets%20Button.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="39" data-original-width="38" height="74" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMdlVvavTW6RtQZcOsXosIlaQCGJW-Y57rECqmvgI1m7o354okhTpyqah4EbECNGyQii0mpsDRj9yrge1xjgcY5boq6pscCFiDYjNX9QtnVnio7pPUrXWJON67oVc8Z2ZDyc1rmb-4LN95uLLgZqy59EAFKsgpo8U0EwyBCk0HZxyRHT314TPVIIfr9j02/w72-h74/Hierarchical%20Sheets%20Button.jpg" width="72" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Fig.1</span></div><div style="text-align: left;">Once you selected this tool you left-click on the root page (let go of the mouse button) and drag the mouse diagonally down to make a rectangle and click again. This rectangle&nbsp;represents a new page, you'll see it indicated underneath the Root page on the left. We're going to use this to draw in the main circuit of the VCO. When you click a second time, to finished the rectangle, the Sheet Properties dialog will open.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3XWyzb3fLEsbeU_vha_QBOWjMY1v0HMxBUj0twt9ZalPSyHa5mj15amgsIqK-DBQ9VWB64HN7lQ0hrRBKKzFumSgrhE_kRxBlz2MyANRrala03htMf3j0Ng0RKD0cYh_TDkX5PTWmxjqr1A9febXOXQjAt2mlDN7fTPSZfdDTXtM8dWE7uDta-jIXaoQa/s1043/Sheet%20Properties-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="415" data-original-width="1043" height="127" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3XWyzb3fLEsbeU_vha_QBOWjMY1v0HMxBUj0twt9ZalPSyHa5mj15amgsIqK-DBQ9VWB64HN7lQ0hrRBKKzFumSgrhE_kRxBlz2MyANRrala03htMf3j0Ng0RKD0cYh_TDkX5PTWmxjqr1A9febXOXQjAt2mlDN7fTPSZfdDTXtM8dWE7uDta-jIXaoQa/s320/Sheet%20Properties-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Fig.2</span></div><div style="text-align: left;">Under 'Sheet Name' Fill in a name for your schematic, in this case Main Circuit, Underneath sheet name is the 'Sheet File' box. For this, fill in a name under which your schematic will be saved in the project file. I had a bit of trouble in the beginning understanding what I had to fill in here but I now use a name with a page number for this. In this case the project uses the 3340 chip so all my sheet files are named: 3340-1, 3340-2 etc. but you can also give them the same name as the sheet name. I'll leave that to you.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Draw an other rectangle&nbsp;on the Root page for the controls and in-/outputs for our VCO and I later added a Triangle to Sinewave converter to this design so I drew a 3rd rectangle&nbsp;for that. The size of these rectangles&nbsp;doesn't matter. This is what my Root page looked like:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAtFBJDc6weLa807VzAtpNheNUfpRwCxIx_zCwwE91weHOK2oyQN6p4CEEUxkztUyHJgDy1StZJ-koFv0JpcK_wayCpXAXv4jGMSdxYUAvMeFzOh-KkO_VXUkSh1LQJydGuyJy3buP5bE9sWqKFut8ocJ67YXOIrMZORP5LfBwxZH0boBdf0WMvAsEZXHx/s1786/Schematic%20Root%20Page.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1005" data-original-width="1786" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAtFBJDc6weLa807VzAtpNheNUfpRwCxIx_zCwwE91weHOK2oyQN6p4CEEUxkztUyHJgDy1StZJ-koFv0JpcK_wayCpXAXv4jGMSdxYUAvMeFzOh-KkO_VXUkSh1LQJydGuyJy3buP5bE9sWqKFut8ocJ67YXOIrMZORP5LfBwxZH0boBdf0WMvAsEZXHx/s320/Schematic%20Root%20Page.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Fig.3</span></div><div><br /></div><div>Some people draw these rectangles&nbsp;onto a schematic page to be able to click to different parts of a schematic easily if the schematic is divided onto different sheets. I like to have them all on the root page but you don't HAVE to do that.</div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: red;">USING GLOBAL LABELS.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">You can double-click on each of these rectangles&nbsp;and that will open the respective schematic page that rectangle&nbsp;represents or click on their names in the 'Schematic Hierarchy' box on the left (see fig.3) If you don't see this box on your screen then go to the very left of the screen and click on the icon above the crossed spanner and screwdriver. Second-last symbol down.</div><div style="text-align: left;">We're going to start with the main circuit of our VCO.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;">Draw the schematic but leave out any control potmeters, switches and in- or output sockets. In short: anything that goes on the front panel. Instead of drawing those in we're going to attach a 'Global Label' to represent that specific in- or output or potmeter/switch.</div><div style="text-align: left;">To do this you select the 'Place Global Labels' icon or click CTRL+L</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5FPr2dQowDcYuI3DjSOg7hBPL1-EZtcbt71lWP6YwTfIVYn7k9CFaqih6JWC3_k2pco5E4GfojqkQgakI2jI6OPE6oYUDzmwFrHDQTX9FuLNRVHXxQ03WvqEF3QOqjmHpHvB4dky6zm_ujUAV3-t00M9bVZ9LJgTC06morEn7B71Dk5MwfaF42ymi6K5A/s30/Global%20Labels%20Icon.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="28" data-original-width="30" height="59" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5FPr2dQowDcYuI3DjSOg7hBPL1-EZtcbt71lWP6YwTfIVYn7k9CFaqih6JWC3_k2pco5E4GfojqkQgakI2jI6OPE6oYUDzmwFrHDQTX9FuLNRVHXxQ03WvqEF3QOqjmHpHvB4dky6zm_ujUAV3-t00M9bVZ9LJgTC06morEn7B71Dk5MwfaF42ymi6K5A/w63-h59/Global%20Labels%20Icon.jpg" width="63" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Fig.4</span></div>Select it and place a label in your schematic. Now double click on it and the Options pop-up will appear where you can name your label and select whether it's an in- or an output, bi-directional, Tri/State (High, Low or Unconnected), or Passive (none of the above). Always check in your mind how the current flows in your circuit and imagine if the electrons flow out of the circuit or into the circuit. For instance if you attach a label that represents the wiper of a level potmeter, the electrons will flow out of the wiper into the circuit so it's an input for the circuit and an output for the potmeter itself.&nbsp;<div><span style="color: #fcff01;">IMPORTANT: In order to connect elements from different schematic pages together on the PCB, you must always use labels with the exact same name.</span><div>Make sure that two differently labelled sections are not in direct contact with eachother otherwise KiCad will select one of the labels to represent the complete net and it won't use the other, which will create problems.</div><div>Also beware that if you named a net in the schematic with the 'Place Net Labels' tool, and you attach a Global Label to that net with a different name than the net label, you will get an error message in the Electrical Rules Checker and it will use the Global Label name. In fact, even if you use the same name as the label you'll get an error message. Nets that have Global Labels attached to them should not be named with the Place Net Labels method.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>Here is an example of the 3340 VCO main circuit schematic page:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV_E_1gIEgFk9g2XYjmVQal-fFEXMuhN_FQlphbzgN6MSh5Y4z221VamlMEExaJHl0C8sDIKJShSANQ6pbCsUILHKwLuXqWdyT8VXTfWzc6gYJ4Wlvkz0zJMO-oIee9H_Cj7M97P5j2hh2tHvPYpMyqKjU-ansY1oYkRr7Ojh-AvFsj9pMV8GhgEIpmivV/s1160/Schematic-MainCircuit-3340.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="712" data-original-width="1160" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV_E_1gIEgFk9g2XYjmVQal-fFEXMuhN_FQlphbzgN6MSh5Y4z221VamlMEExaJHl0C8sDIKJShSANQ6pbCsUILHKwLuXqWdyT8VXTfWzc6gYJ4Wlvkz0zJMO-oIee9H_Cj7M97P5j2hh2tHvPYpMyqKjU-ansY1oYkRr7Ojh-AvFsj9pMV8GhgEIpmivV/s320/Schematic-MainCircuit-3340.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Fig.5</span></div><div>Everything is there except the potmeters, switch, and in- and output socket connections. They all have a Global Label attached to them.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: red;">Power section:</span></b></div><div>You have to draw in a little section representing the power input, as we learned in the previous tutorial. It doesn't matter on which schematic page you draw it.&nbsp;</div><div>Now, in the schematic above I just drew in a simple representation of the power section but it's better to do it as shown in the image below here. I have the power connector at the right and then the bypass caps for all the chips used and the power connections to all the chips at the left.&nbsp;</div><div>This image below is obviously NOT from this project. I'm just showing it here as an example of how best to draw it:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7JdsEk40OhB018loZuIcg_eBJxrN0qWfRmBy6X9eJyA7wFy1CELma7FGJFtSL4vm15lGNTUo5sAnTo9A5jwgMeqROWN7wetuCTxExEppNz7r92EDc7krB6jcwBr4vJO3U7Wcp89DCQgTGrNM5pSY9xH19awPfJo4bf4fIptCEOAkqb7OHVcK92GGkYdMU/s1046/The%20Power%20Section.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="273" data-original-width="1046" height="84" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7JdsEk40OhB018loZuIcg_eBJxrN0qWfRmBy6X9eJyA7wFy1CELma7FGJFtSL4vm15lGNTUo5sAnTo9A5jwgMeqROWN7wetuCTxExEppNz7r92EDc7krB6jcwBr4vJO3U7Wcp89DCQgTGrNM5pSY9xH19awPfJo4bf4fIptCEOAkqb7OHVcK92GGkYdMU/s320/The%20Power%20Section.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Notice I have Schottky diodes in the power lines. That means the Powerflags need to be placed before those diodes! I also used different 12V indicators on the outputs namely +12VA and -12VA to differentiate them from the incoming power at the connector before the diodes. This is very important!&nbsp;</div><div>All the main circuit connections to power (like the potmeters etc.) must go these connections, after the diodes.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: red;">The controls page:</span></b></div><div>In the next schematic page I drew in all the controls, like the potmeters and the octave ground switch and the in- and output sockets and gave them the same labels I used in the main circuit. Here's what my controls schematic page looked like:</div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiz5qDOv7JnvKWsygO9IUHZYjmjm4agPupuHZZE-xNkZk5M3PVrJs6oN_ec3jzX_t8j2iTY_8GQvA1aoOua2RqclNXw_4AlvTMqCyTzZJft4Fu4OxE77HAA8Sw6_ihNz3UrBTlK3gE-CluEWfb5Uhcw6k6DSMZ3gZtoLjqrx2x9EVzser1bhCcGaE3aSy4/s1777/Controls%20and%20In-Outputs.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1005" data-original-width="1777" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiz5qDOv7JnvKWsygO9IUHZYjmjm4agPupuHZZE-xNkZk5M3PVrJs6oN_ec3jzX_t8j2iTY_8GQvA1aoOua2RqclNXw_4AlvTMqCyTzZJft4Fu4OxE77HAA8Sw6_ihNz3UrBTlK3gE-CluEWfb5Uhcw6k6DSMZ3gZtoLjqrx2x9EVzser1bhCcGaE3aSy4/s320/Controls%20and%20In-Outputs.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Fig.6</span></div><div><div>When you finished drawing all the controls; the potmeters and sockets and labelled all the connections then you can count how many different labels you have so you know how many pinheaders you will need to connect the two PCBs together. <span style="color: #fcff01;">Don't forget you also need to have pins for the power connections from one PCB to the other and for ground.&nbsp;</span></div><div>For the Global Labels that connect to the pinheaders it doesn't really matter if you specify them as inputs or outputs as long as they have the same name as in the main schematic so they will all connect on the PCB.&nbsp;</div></div><div>I put all the different types of controls into their own box which you can draw in with the 'Draw Rectangles' tool and I used the Text tool to give each box a name. This is just to make it look neat and tidy. It's not something you HAVE to do.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: red;">PINHEADERS:</span></b></div><div>Now, you can see in the lower left I drew in two pinheaders to connect the PCB with all the potmeters and sockets to the PCB with the main circuit on it. I had 16 labels in total, representing connections to the main circuit so I choose two 10 pin connectors from the symbols library and I made custom footprints for them with 10 solderpads each at 2.54mm distance from eachother. I choose one male and one female row of pinheaders and drew the lines to connect them together and then I drew in the vertical lines to connect the Global Labels to each if the pins. Before adding the labels I copied and pasted it so I had two of these pinheader arrangements, One for the left side of the PCB and one for the right side giving me 20 connection points in total.&nbsp;</div><div><b><span style="color: red;">Ground and reinforcements.</span></b></div><div>I also added extra ground connection pinheaders which you can see in the lower right box. I added these for two reasons: to make sure the ground connections were solid and as structural reinforcement for the PCB connections. You need to check where on your PCB any force is applied by pushing in connectors or with a screwdriver when tuning the VCO and these points must have some pinheaders underneath or near them so they don't bend when you apply force. One 3 pin pinheader in each of the four corners would be the perfect solution but I didn't have space for that. But my extra pinheaders worked out fine.</div><div><br /></div><div>You can also put the Global labels straight to the pinheaders without drawing lines between them but I thought this would be a bit more logical to follow for beginners. Remember, I'm a beginner too at this and this was the first time I made a multi board design in KiCad. So we're learning together how to do this.</div><div>Professional multi layered schematics look much more streamlined but also more complicated so I present it to you as I learned it myself. We will become better at this with experience.</div><div><span style="color: #fff2cc;">Before continuing, click 'Annotate Schematic' under 'Tools' and then run the Electrical Rules Checker and make sure you get two green zero's showing all is good with your schematics.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: red;">CHANGING MULTIPLE FOOTPRINTS AT ONCE.</span></b></div><div>I'm putting this little section in here, eventhough it's not really part of this project or tutorial but it's a useful feature I want you to be aware of. Say you made your design in through-hole and it's all working fine and now you want to make an SMD version. Instead of changing each footprint from TH to SMD you can do the following. Say you want to change all the resistor footprints. Change the footprint of one of the resistors in the normal way.</div><div>Now go to 'Tools' and open 'Edit Symbol Fields'.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixyT4XA1u7CX03kyUlFgSKAbXBkf3m8PssLVfW1EMzsLnH-Jxfvatdi8DoHRCQuAkRaz6R-xzZJtePVE7jyATOloEbFQEyx65lxbeDbY0sbK0YV-hbcF5ibP5kKDLqjJkEseXof0wwRDt5_q5FbOLf-fX8bJAmakmnSkhLqFMweqtZSF9mnuKwZeLkWSkN/s1160/Change%20Footprints-01%20.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="718" data-original-width="1160" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixyT4XA1u7CX03kyUlFgSKAbXBkf3m8PssLVfW1EMzsLnH-Jxfvatdi8DoHRCQuAkRaz6R-xzZJtePVE7jyATOloEbFQEyx65lxbeDbY0sbK0YV-hbcF5ibP5kKDLqjJkEseXof0wwRDt5_q5FbOLf-fX8bJAmakmnSkhLqFMweqtZSF9mnuKwZeLkWSkN/s320/Change%20Footprints-01%20.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>Now you see this spreadsheet appear:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6N8L8b4YW-kosQiMe4uuMmyHjt1gK8VHvitDyaupJZgOKDo6ZySbPy2dyGw1fo7K_q1qQVcmGrPEfT2hNc3cmcNN8WY0Ej34RZD5vZQx-ThVlp7XiShHriX1C7zfPfgA-zsSqw0pDIVqvGqpuO4-z6RhMnXH4FYMY-Lmjjv3dEQ5H8tPOlqNm3TS_k89z/s1762/Change%20Footprints-02.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="949" data-original-width="1762" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6N8L8b4YW-kosQiMe4uuMmyHjt1gK8VHvitDyaupJZgOKDo6ZySbPy2dyGw1fo7K_q1qQVcmGrPEfT2hNc3cmcNN8WY0Ej34RZD5vZQx-ThVlp7XiShHriX1C7zfPfgA-zsSqw0pDIVqvGqpuO4-z6RhMnXH4FYMY-Lmjjv3dEQ5H8tPOlqNm3TS_k89z/s320/Change%20Footprints-02.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>Select the footprint of the one resistor you changed and copy it (CTRL + C).</div><div>Now select all the resistor footprints you want to change by clicking the top one and then shift + click the bottom one to select all. Now press CTRL + V (paste) to change them all and click on save at the top left.</div><div>Now all your resistors footprints are changed. You can change all sorts of things in the spreadsheet which can make your life a lot easier.</div><div>And now one more tip I want to give you:</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: red;">RE-CONNECTING THE PCB TO THE SCHEMATIC AFTER MOVING THE PROJECT FOLDER.</span></b></div><div>If you copy and paste or cut and paste your complete project into another folder it will most likely result in the schematic being disconnected from your PCB design so when you make changes in your schematic and try to update the PCB, those changes won't get through.&nbsp;</div><div>There's an easy solution for this.</div><div>When you click on 'Update PCB from Schematic (F8)' you need to check on the following options in the dialog box:</div><div>Check on 'Re-link footprints to schematic symbols based on their reference designators.' (That's the top option in the dialog box.)</div><div>Also check on: 'Delete footprints with no symbols' and 'Update footprint fields from symbols.'</div><div>Now click on Update PCB and everything will be connected again and PCB components will update with changes made in the schematic.</div><div>Here's what the dialog box looks like:</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4bW4PgUryhAMRW2VLNi4vCUSyc70Lb_Uwmf_92W_r40EcUMBrUcXKc6RTwDst37_7UjRufE3LrpVKY_hdGwBv84zieSzrCpBr0Rye4hvvJxAiMO764IQXYJUQIZtf0pSTRoKabURF2K3pzu6VHeO4acDEBqw2rhwOTq8MizCC_rHZbT9Hd_Gd4cULZVFZ/s816/Re-connect%20components%20to%20schematic.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="816" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4bW4PgUryhAMRW2VLNi4vCUSyc70Lb_Uwmf_92W_r40EcUMBrUcXKc6RTwDst37_7UjRufE3LrpVKY_hdGwBv84zieSzrCpBr0Rye4hvvJxAiMO764IQXYJUQIZtf0pSTRoKabURF2K3pzu6VHeO4acDEBqw2rhwOTq8MizCC_rHZbT9Hd_Gd4cULZVFZ/s320/Re-connect%20components%20to%20schematic.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>&nbsp;</div><div>A final short tip before we move on to making the panel. This is how to change a 3D model representing your component in the 3D viewer. Say you made your own symbol with a custom footprint and you want to see that component in the 3D viewer. Here's how to do that.</div><div>Go to the Footprint Editor and select your footprint. In the top toolbar, the icon for footprint editor now has a red sprocket wheel in it. It's now called 'Footprint Properties'. Click on it to open it up. Go to the 3D models tab. Click on the folder symbol next the big plus sign and from the library load a model that looks like the one you want but may differ in size. You can change the orientation etc with the X,Y,Z controls on the left of the model. You can drag the model in 3D space with the mouse.</div><div>Click save when you're done. You can download extra models from GrabCAD.com</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: #fcff01; font-size: x-large;">DESIGNING THE PCBs.</span></b></div><div>Now that all schematics are drawn and properly labelled, we can go on to making the PCB designs.</div><div>I won't go into the details because I covered all that in the first tutorial so you should know how to lay tracks and make ground planes etc.</div><div>First we're going to determin the size of the PCB(s) we want to make.</div><div>Proceed to draw a rectangle&nbsp;in the Edge Cuts layer and double click on it. This will open a dialog box. Choose 'by corner and size' (see fig. 12) and type in the exact dimensions of the PCB. I wanted the VCO to be 14hp wide in eurorack terms. So this means 14 x 5.08mm = 71.12mm.&nbsp;</div><div><span style="color: #fcff01;"><b>But beware!</b></span> That is the width of the Faceplate so I made my circuitboards 4mm less wide at 67mm with a length of 105mm. The faceplate length of a Eurorack panel is always 128.5mm so this will create enough overlap at the top and bottom for the front panel of the module to fit it into a eurorack case. When you've done one rectangle you can simply click on it and duplicate it for PCB 2.</div><div>Now you have two PCB outlines you can import the components with the 'Update PCB from Schematic' button. Start placing the components using the left PCB for all the potmeter controls and in- and outputs and the right PCB for the main circuit of the VCO. Place the pinheaders and draw in the tracks etc and finish the PCBs.</div><div>Beware that the DRC check tool won't work properly when your making more then one PCB at once. So you must be very thorough with checking for mistakes and making sure all the groundplanes actually connect to ground. Do run the checker and see which mistake is due to it being on two PCBs and which mistakes are real mistakes. After some training it becomes easy to see which are the real mistakes that need attention. You will be left with many thin blue lines indicating connections that according to the software are not made but you'll see they run from one board to the other so they'll be represented by the pinheaders. HOWEVER, do check all the mistakes listed in the DRC checker and make sure.</div><div>One more thing about groundplanes: although it is fine to have more than one point on a PCB where the power comes in, for instance a power connection to more than one pinheader, it is not advisable to do this with groundplanes. Groundplanes should all connect to eachother and preferably via one route otherwise you can get so called ground loops which can cause a lot of noise or hum. Beware of that.</div><div>You must also make sure all ground points connect to the ground planes and are not cut off by tracks. Sometimes you'll need to lay a track for ground or use via's to make sure it all connects to eachother. It's also wise to use multiple via's to connect pieces of groundplane together to decrease the resistance (impedance) between them.</div><div>Here's what my final design looked like after I put them together. I will explain how to do that, next.</div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOwHMPHBsq0laqJKFAmFZSBFCU7FxHl_tUg14xYudzaw_R11EZjYEl4B28naK9BnfgQak7OQoJ1Os2XGxXpC6CoSmW6qe0pwvaZ_RnvhwCpqdd6IJy6ei8EPphbCkN-20I0l-vXVlFoikt7v7uwz6ifawS1v3I4OSQ0dv-EoRnAfw3K6L_iKtjlO9_CLST/s1791/PCB%20with%20V-score.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1031" data-original-width="1791" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOwHMPHBsq0laqJKFAmFZSBFCU7FxHl_tUg14xYudzaw_R11EZjYEl4B28naK9BnfgQak7OQoJ1Os2XGxXpC6CoSmW6qe0pwvaZ_RnvhwCpqdd6IJy6ei8EPphbCkN-20I0l-vXVlFoikt7v7uwz6ifawS1v3I4OSQ0dv-EoRnAfw3K6L_iKtjlO9_CLST/s320/PCB%20with%20V-score.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Fig.7</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span>Fun fact: In a recent video I saw that Jason (from Instruo) designs the PCB layouts as he is drawing the schematic. I saw him drawing in little sections of the schematic and then placing them on the PCB to keep all the connections as short as possible. Of course his projects are much bigger and more complicated and he does SMD instead of through-hole PCB's.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span>What I do is to check for every component where in the circuit it belongs by looking at the schematic and then try to place everything as close to where it belongs as possible.</span></div><div><b><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span style="color: red;">PUTTING MULTIPLE PCB's TOGETHER WITH A V-CUT IN BETWEEN.</span></b></div><div>When you finished your PCB layouts, making sure the pinheaders are aligned so they will fit together, you can start connecting the PCBs together. Please note your PCBs have to be at least 70 by 70mm in order to do the V-Cut process.&nbsp;</div><div>Place the PCBs in line with a 2mm gap between them.</div><div>Delete the individual Edge.Cuts outlines of the boards and draw one Edge.Cuts outline around all the boards.&nbsp;</div><div>Now select the User.Eco1 layer and in the top left menu go to FILE -&gt; BOARD SETUP...</div><div>When you open this you see an overview of all the layers. Click on the User.Eco1 layer and change the name to 'V-CUT'.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg96w-m5D4xNowkBd7wH51OM4h4Dy1F4dKpvmA7mmqKpvAIq6ssoT-on031smcO5ukNqU_yjbvXMNJfsYgkxv_shfkD8SJXtcWZ6FyHjmYMeWt8IQ5J3XdoWCg2KKyYu7ihE5Ubkev2Xnn76a5dlgSCT8POFxMlJnWq2pEmnJ4xaXJPv0OhUKaprcdSRL_O/s1007/Changing%20layer%20names.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="636" data-original-width="1007" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg96w-m5D4xNowkBd7wH51OM4h4Dy1F4dKpvmA7mmqKpvAIq6ssoT-on031smcO5ukNqU_yjbvXMNJfsYgkxv_shfkD8SJXtcWZ6FyHjmYMeWt8IQ5J3XdoWCg2KKyYu7ihE5Ubkev2Xnn76a5dlgSCT8POFxMlJnWq2pEmnJ4xaXJPv0OhUKaprcdSRL_O/s320/Changing%20layer%20names.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Fig.8</span></div><div><br /></div><div>Click OK and with the V-CUT layer selected draw a line in the 2mm gap between your two PCBs from top to bottom. Now click on the line and set the width to 2mm.</div><div>Although the eventual V-cut will have a width of about half a millimeter, the manufacturer of the PCBs wants to see a 2mm line on your design in the V-CUT layer to indicate a V-cut. This gives enough clearance from the copper near the edge of the board.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUmhQc-Mka0LJkel5ZOgHmVcoUvHRJxvaqxQDqTl1SYa7xH7h1d8wiLJg4o0uW5Je-ImtOgIzQ_gd5oTUvim7coeomVxQtESusFRSU4ZSUzjebNRguvtKhNOdrI9sdmeHyQJwPNPdpCYCo_PVYChXTMfRtBAEH3UKjvLU5BfWyqK1MbT9_QzjX0axtUHeV/s1669/Vcut%20demo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="746" data-original-width="1669" height="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUmhQc-Mka0LJkel5ZOgHmVcoUvHRJxvaqxQDqTl1SYa7xH7h1d8wiLJg4o0uW5Je-ImtOgIzQ_gd5oTUvim7coeomVxQtESusFRSU4ZSUzjebNRguvtKhNOdrI9sdmeHyQJwPNPdpCYCo_PVYChXTMfRtBAEH3UKjvLU5BfWyqK1MbT9_QzjX0axtUHeV/s320/Vcut%20demo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Fig.9</span></div><div>In the same V-CUT layer, use the 'Draw Leaders' tool to draw an arrow at the top, pointing down, and name it 'V-cut' to make it clear to the PCB factory that you want a V-cut at the position of the line. Do the same at the bottom of the line(s).</div><div>The draw leaders tool is the 4th from the bottom. You'll have to click on the 'Draw Orthogonal Dimensions' button (with the F.Fab layer selected) and keep the mouse button pressed in and then select the right most icon. That's the draw leaders tool.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqf4DPwM_paBHnFloPGmR0AIcogH97ita-EOHSZKBvP4NUs1gdawvApeT37CwHRHwdDkeN4ZPYSwIWRxEmroQUPIEedelRfzXFCQ2Va3ufRZcSmo4HaDCq6xmT27SMlB-zN7IZfkGW6cEide5k92XMCEh9w9VYM1EcT_iB8MWtB5yvsyTgQ7IQXW8nf_ck/s37/Draw%20Leaders%20Tool.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="36" data-original-width="37" height="68" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqf4DPwM_paBHnFloPGmR0AIcogH97ita-EOHSZKBvP4NUs1gdawvApeT37CwHRHwdDkeN4ZPYSwIWRxEmroQUPIEedelRfzXFCQ2Va3ufRZcSmo4HaDCq6xmT27SMlB-zN7IZfkGW6cEide5k92XMCEh9w9VYM1EcT_iB8MWtB5yvsyTgQ7IQXW8nf_ck/w70-h68/Draw%20Leaders%20Tool.jpg" width="70" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Fig.10 Draw Leaders button.</span></div><div><br /></div><div>Before you ZIP up your Gerber files, add a little Readme.txt file with the text: "V-Cuts are in the V-CUT layer (User.Eco1)." <span style="color: #fff2cc;">Don't forget to click the V-Cut layer on when you make your Gerbers.</span></div><div>This will prevent delays with them sending you an email to confirm where the V-Cuts need to be. This makes it <i>machine recognizable</i> which saves time.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here's a link to a YouTube video that explains the whole proces and also shows you two plugin options for KiCad that do the V-Cut work for you:&nbsp; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ph2jV5HMxfQ" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ph2jV5HMxfQ</a></div><div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: red;">GERBERS and ORDERING PCB's</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Now you can save your project and make the Gerber files for it. Make sure you check on the V-Cut layer when making the Gerber files to include the V-score information. You'll end up with 15 files instead of the normal 14 files in your Gerber folder. Turn them into a ZIP file. Now you can upload them to a website like <a href="https://www.pcbway.com/" target="_blank">PCBWay</a> to have them made.</div></div><div style="text-align: left;">In the upload page of the PCBWay website, under 'Board type' choose the 'Panel by Customer' option to indicate we have more than one PCB design in one file.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Next click 'accept' for the 'X-out allowance in panel' option. If one PCB in your multiple PCB panel tests as being faulty, they will mark it with an X in white.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Finally under 'Different design in panel' select the number of different PCB designs that your Gerber file contains. In this case it's 2.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Here's what that looks like on the PCBWay website: (It works the same on the JLCPCB website although you don't have to fill in the 'X-out allowance in panel' option there).</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimx_ZkKM9CNbVUfmXVQo51WDANHo1MlZKOtFtX0DZjQRXbIllsFzxL_gDuc99gJ6CdvBujyy5GkzPZlVddg1eacE9g9IR9pvWaz9a6snbSmD_etFKrTYGqPKJYG0CA3ZuzrPYKZ0N6wo11a-A9ghPe48e19qVQ2-8K67nYpbAUKe4dRBaNzTahPR58ahyphenhyphenn/s1228/PCBWay%20website%20gerber%20page.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="871" data-original-width="1228" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimx_ZkKM9CNbVUfmXVQo51WDANHo1MlZKOtFtX0DZjQRXbIllsFzxL_gDuc99gJ6CdvBujyy5GkzPZlVddg1eacE9g9IR9pvWaz9a6snbSmD_etFKrTYGqPKJYG0CA3ZuzrPYKZ0N6wo11a-A9ghPe48e19qVQ2-8K67nYpbAUKe4dRBaNzTahPR58ahyphenhyphenn/s320/PCBWay%20website%20gerber%20page.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Fig.11</span></div><div style="text-align: left;">Scroll down the rest of the page and make sure everything is as you want it. At the bottom there's a text field where you can type in anything that you feel the PCB producers need to know so in this field you can type that this is a PCB design with a V-groove in the middle represented by the V-Cut line. Just to be sure.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqWod4u65FUHD1F7DROwfp3kpdkB4JpGUkH0BSqn8A73HcU6W40Na41FRs6RtKUv16G8feyZFHXU18gefKK_fwB7Mm6OqsXRd4NMOJqT5RwM_a8Up6HRukQ3j8MAfZyJ8Nce0YEo5cVhQkv4PEE5KVGikxB2EvaYBWPz_HrhEpNUk5sjHAa3K8GI5fPZHw/s1225/PCBWay%20website%20gerber%20page%20pt2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="862" data-original-width="1225" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqWod4u65FUHD1F7DROwfp3kpdkB4JpGUkH0BSqn8A73HcU6W40Na41FRs6RtKUv16G8feyZFHXU18gefKK_fwB7Mm6OqsXRd4NMOJqT5RwM_a8Up6HRukQ3j8MAfZyJ8Nce0YEo5cVhQkv4PEE5KVGikxB2EvaYBWPz_HrhEpNUk5sjHAa3K8GI5fPZHw/s320/PCBWay%20website%20gerber%20page%20pt2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Fig.12</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">When all is as you want it to be, you can press 'Save to Cart' and proceed to checkout after you get confirmation your designs are approved. The PCBs are usually approved within 10 minutes if everything is okay and if not they will contact you by email pretty quickly. The service of PCBWay is really good. With JLPCB you'll receive confirmation after payment, but if there are faults detected you can upload new Gerber files to them.</div><div style="text-align: left;">If you order from PCBWay for the first time, make an account on the website and make sure you enter your shipping details like name and address etc.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Here's a special little extra for readers of this website. It's a free plug-in for KiCad that makes the ordering proces a lot easier. You just click the link and everything will be explained:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.pcbway.com/blog/News/PCBWay_Plug_In_for_KiCad_3ea6219c.html" target="_blank">https://www.pcbway.com/blog/News/PCBWay_Plug_In_for_KiCad_3ea6219c.html</a><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #fcff01; font-size: large;">MAKING A FACEPLATE.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Now we need to make a faceplate for our project.</div><div style="text-align: left;">I'm going to refer to the faceplate as the 'panel' in this section.</div><div style="text-align: left;">For this we don't have to use the schematic section of KiCad at all, just the PCB Editor.</div><div style="text-align: left;">To make a panel, make a new project in KiCad and name it the same as the PCB project with the term PANEL behind the name. At least, that's how I always name them. Of course you can choose whatever name you want.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Now close that panel project and go back to the previous PCB project and open the PCB editor.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Click and drag over your PCB design to select it and copy it. (CRTL + C)</div><div style="text-align: left;">Close that project and open the Panel project you just made and select the PCB editor.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Now Paste the PCB design into the PCB editor by clicking CTRL + V&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;">Now your PCB design appears in your panel project. What good is that, you may ask. Well, we're going to use the PCB design, or more precisely that part of it that has the potmeters and sockets on it, as a template for our Panel design, to make sure all the holes are in the right position.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Drag the PCB design a bit to the right to make room for the panel design. Also make sure you place it vertically in the middle so you have some faceplate overlap at the top and bottom. This should be obvious. (see fig.13 PCB-Editor screenshot below)</div><div style="text-align: left;">In the Edge.Cuts layer, choose the Draw Rectangles tool and draw a rectangle. Put your mouse cursor on one of the lines of the rectangle and double click on it. Now a dialog box opens where you can enter the Rectangle Properties. Choose the 'By Corner and Size' option and under 'Size' enter the dimensions, in this case 71.12mm by 128.5mm for an 14hp faceplate. Click OK to finish.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNigGPpu2EXlmgOQqd7mL5aJ0lrhWQMHkbKkOr3CzGMMBdWj5G-mTouMPNxLjmIDhujSCcLLAMj11Z9UWo3rz9TxtEAhKBSsymaM1tppQMfBk9vAvLq0YsQgm1jCODG4H_ireft8L4diXQxbjAJSWaU_0FFsaFCop3bQiFRvn0unGkPgTqEIb9n9Q9ZG01/s423/By%20Corner%20and%20size.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="423" data-original-width="334" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNigGPpu2EXlmgOQqd7mL5aJ0lrhWQMHkbKkOr3CzGMMBdWj5G-mTouMPNxLjmIDhujSCcLLAMj11Z9UWo3rz9TxtEAhKBSsymaM1tppQMfBk9vAvLq0YsQgm1jCODG4H_ireft8L4diXQxbjAJSWaU_0FFsaFCop3bQiFRvn0unGkPgTqEIb9n9Q9ZG01/s320/By%20Corner%20and%20size.jpg" width="253" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Fig.13</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">One hp in Eurorack is 5.08mm so 14hp is 5.08 x 14 = 71.12mm</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Our PCB design should be a few millimeters smaller in width than our panel rectangle so drag the PCB template we copied in, into our faceplate rectangle and in the 'User Drawings' layer draw the position crosses over the holes that need to be made. The cursor wil be magnetically attracted to the middle of most footprints most of the time, which helps with accuracy.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>Then switch off the user drawings layer, carefully drag-over and select the PCB (without selecting the faceplate edge cuts layer) and drag it out of the Faceplate area again. Turn on the user drawings layer again and all the positions for the holes should now be visible.&nbsp;</div><div>After you started placing the holes and other design elements, this method can no longer be used to add positions for holes. It should all be done when you start with your design. You can drag the PCB design over the panel design later, to check everything is still in the right place,&nbsp; but you must make sure it doesn't get de-selected or you can start over. The undo button might help you out but don't take the risk.&nbsp;</div><div>I switched to using this method after doing it with measurements first. This method is easier and more accurate too.&nbsp;</div><div>I'll give you the first method I used to use in the text below.</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: red;">ALTERNATIVE METHOD:&nbsp;</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Here's how I used to do the hole position marking:</div><div style="text-align: left;">I select the 'User Drawings' layer and with the line tool start making horizontal lines from the exact middle of the potmeters on the PCB to the left, over the panel square. I did this for everything that needs a hole in the faceplate.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Here's an image from an other project, of what that looks like. This is from the 555VCO, I didn't have an image like this from the 3340VCO.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;">The potmeter footprints have circles where the hole needs to be and we draw lines from the middle of those circles over the panel design.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE3KK2wzfLUzhJfx3kjp_WRfQBbWVGWeDFgqspZI0Qe8baqG98Ley_ntEA3GnyHuOzwDVe4XBPjNeOiuCm46-GfdETZpd93BYLFDpvN3vgohc3T2hM1_K1-mJ_JYuQg40-Fc00NH6AWL2KQm4pGXrZIz-IvKvGHrxfL2rmGUc5Okzp_bsSQ3aQw1Z-96xn/s1164/Template%20for%20panel-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="844" data-original-width="1164" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE3KK2wzfLUzhJfx3kjp_WRfQBbWVGWeDFgqspZI0Qe8baqG98Ley_ntEA3GnyHuOzwDVe4XBPjNeOiuCm46-GfdETZpd93BYLFDpvN3vgohc3T2hM1_K1-mJ_JYuQg40-Fc00NH6AWL2KQm4pGXrZIz-IvKvGHrxfL2rmGUc5Okzp_bsSQ3aQw1Z-96xn/s320/Template%20for%20panel-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Fig.14</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">When you've drawn in the horizontal lines, start measuring the distance from side of the panel to the middle of the hole in the panel, for each of the controls and sockets. Use the X/Y coördinates at the bottom of the screen to measure. You can reset them by pressing the space bar on your keyboard.</div><div style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;<span style="color: #fff2cc;">Remember to account for the extra width of the faceplate. It should overlap your PCB by a few millimeters on both sides, or rather, your PCB's should undercut the faceplate by a few millimeters.&nbsp;</span></div><div style="text-align: left;">Before starting to draw in the holes, go to the Footprint Editor and draw a custom footprint for each of the different size holes you'll need. I made custom footprints for potmeter holes, socket holes and also a stretched circular one for the screwholes at the top and bottom of the panel. How I made those is explained in the next section.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><b><span style="color: red;">MAKING THE HOLES:</span></b></div><div>To make the holes for the potmeters and screws and switches I mostly use solderpads and adapt them to the right dimensions.&nbsp;</div><div>Go into the footprint editor and choose 'new footprint'. Choose the solderpad tool and place a solderpad. Double click on it and change the dimensions to your needs. For instance, below is a screenshot showing how I made the elongated screwholes:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQMtya1BhrfXeftV_MZI8opQX-SWwfVuV1TSxQ8CCOPUPYhq0aZVChgCZB2IbvCvUSHrX2uO7wEFv3lbbraywRVhYYzuWE65m0aLOlyPQRsGTBhO-Xoi7LNH0k-Cm_iJ7sWV_atWROwLdc1XST8anlaa0Id0GiqQq2AonCT2NRQYuWMz7pQY3XMMiJFkjJ/s950/MountingHole%20data.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="950" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQMtya1BhrfXeftV_MZI8opQX-SWwfVuV1TSxQ8CCOPUPYhq0aZVChgCZB2IbvCvUSHrX2uO7wEFv3lbbraywRVhYYzuWE65m0aLOlyPQRsGTBhO-Xoi7LNH0k-Cm_iJ7sWV_atWROwLdc1XST8anlaa0Id0GiqQq2AonCT2NRQYuWMz7pQY3XMMiJFkjJ/s320/MountingHole%20data.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Fig.15</span></div><div><br /></div><div>I always leave a copper edge of about 1mm around the hole to reinforce the hole. It disappears underneath the potmeter nuts anyway, you won't see it.</div><div>An other way to make holes is to draw a circle (or which ever shape you need) in the Edge.Cuts layer. With this method there will be no copper on the sides of the hole, just a clean hole in the PCB. This is the method to use if you need square or rectangular holes with sharp edges because that's something you can't do by using solderpads for holes.</div><div>I have a special library folder for all the things I use on Faceplates called 'Panel Elements'. It also includes all the Art Deco scrolls and things I use to improve the look of the faceplate. I also have custom made decals, the lines that represent the potmeter scale in that folder.&nbsp;</div><div>I don't always turn the artwork images into footprints because I usually need to scale them down to different sizes which is easier to do in the Image Converter.</div><div>I look for good looking designs online, copy them into a folder mostly using the Screen Cut and Paste tool that's included in Windows-10. I then import them into the Image Converter and I choose the size I need and 'copy to clipboard'. One copy in the F.Cu layer and one in the F.Mask layer. They need to be placed on top of eachother. (Don't forget to delete the G*** watermarks.)</div><div>I go a bit further into this in the 'Decorating... segment'</div><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: red;">PLACING SCREWHOLES.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">To place the screw hole footprints, draw a horizontal line 3mm under the top and 3mm above the bottom of the panel outline. To determin where to place the vertical line that will make up the placement cross for the screwholes you must do a calculation:</div><div style="text-align: left;">Take 7.5mm and add to it 5.08mm and keep adding 5.08 until you're as close as can be to where you want the screwholes to be placed. The minimum distance from the left side is always 7.5mm.</div><div style="text-align: left;">In the case of a 14hp panel with 4 screwholes I placed them at 12.58mm (7.5+5.08) and 58.3mm (7.5+(10x5.08)) from the left edge of the panel. Always calculate from the left edge of the panel.</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: red;"><b>DECORATING YOUR FRONT-PANEL DESIGN.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;">You can use the line tool and other drawing tools to decorate your panel with copper lines and you can also download images, change them into footprints and use them on your panel design.</div><div style="text-align: left;">We make most designs inside the F.Cu layer, the front copper layer which, in production, will get a coating of solder over it so it comes out nice and shiny silver coloured. You can have it gold covered if you wish but you'll have to choose that option when you order them and it will cost a lot more.</div><div style="text-align: left;">You can add Text and other elements in the F.Silkscreen layer too if you wish. They will come out in white on the end product.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #fff2cc;">To add text</span> to your panel use the text tool. You can select any font you want and type the text you want to add. Then you must duplicate the text layer and double click on it to open the text dialog box.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Now change the layer from F.Cu to F.Mask.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #fcff01;">ANYTHING THAT MUST NOT BE COVERED BY THE SOLDERMASK MUST BE REPRESENTED IN THE F.MASK LAYER!</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPao1ob4RboLwJ6hbRtV5jvyidLnzkP9cTBcyJ5koXijKV492Sp5wVg5eGiV8B03Pxribx63V1gOtWgAVsTnyofTxzaxc_EmV4m5KukBLu04ZvlkcXPNQl13yhsBxhY_hyoNMnXhl7HQKPlNH1ATq2ceeUrju_g2mU17KsVNsDnhO3lKZM2XmrHibhVSLm/s1437/Text%20layers.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="745" data-original-width="1437" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPao1ob4RboLwJ6hbRtV5jvyidLnzkP9cTBcyJ5koXijKV492Sp5wVg5eGiV8B03Pxribx63V1gOtWgAVsTnyofTxzaxc_EmV4m5KukBLu04ZvlkcXPNQl13yhsBxhY_hyoNMnXhl7HQKPlNH1ATq2ceeUrju_g2mU17KsVNsDnhO3lKZM2XmrHibhVSLm/s320/Text%20layers.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Fig.16</span></div>In this image I've moved the text copper layer to reveal the text mask layer in blue underneath. Normally they must of course be placed exactly over top of eachother.<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #fff2cc;">To add lines or circles</span> to your design is a bit easier than text. Draw the lines with the line tool and then double click on it. Now check the box at the bottom that says Soldermask. Now your line won't be covered by the soldermask. To stop the cursor from sticking to certain angles and grid lines, and to move freely, keep the SHIFT button on your keyboard pushed down while you drag with the mouse.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Check your progress with the 3D viewer to make sure your design actually shows up on the panel.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #fff2cc;">To use an image or design</span> you downloaded from the internet, first use the cursor coördinates to measure the space your design must fill up. Make a note of it.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Now go to the start menu of KiCad and open the 'Image Converter'.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Load in your image and enter the size you want it to be. Make sure to choose the F.Cu layer for the footprint. Also decide whether you want the image to be in negative or normal. Sometimes negative makes it show up better but that's up to you. Select the correct contrast level.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Now click 'Export to Clipboard'.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;">If you want to save the image as a footprint then go to the Footprint Editor and click 'Make a new footprint' in your custom panel designs library. If you don't have one, make one.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Click 'make a new footprint' and paste the image into the footprint editor with the F.Cu layer selected.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Now click on your footprint design and in the dialog that pops up check the 'Solder mask' check box.</div><div style="text-align: left;">You must do this for every unconnected element in your footprint design. You'll see the bezier lines light up white when you click on one. After that is done you can save it.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Now you can go to your panel design in the PCB editor and use the 'Place Footprints' tool to import your design and place it on the panel. It's a shame you can not scale images this way so if it doesn't fit you have to import it again into the Image Converter and enter an other size.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #fff2cc;">Therefore it's often easier</span> <span style="color: #fff2cc;">to just use the image from the Image Converter straight on to the panel making sure you have one for the F.Cu and one for the F.Mask layer placed on top of eachother. You can easily change the scale this way and make it fit. This is what I usually do.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: red;"><b>CUSTOM DECALS</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;">In the image above you can see a custom made scale decal around one potmeter hole. I made a circle first in the <i>User Drawings</i> layer and then I used the 'Draw Arcs' tool to mark the degrees on the decal scale with grey lines. Then I drew them in on the F.Cu layer with the line tool, holding down the Shift button to make sure I could move the line in any direction I wanted. I then double clicked on every line I drew in and checked the Soldermask box.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">When I had my design finished I drew in a ground plane for the back side on the B.Cu layer. I always do this to provide a copper shield for the circuit. I will later connect it to ground via a socket and it provides shielding against radio waves and other unwanted signals.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">My final Front Panel design for the AS3340 (Digisound-80) VCO. It's 14hp wide.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheDomW5s2I00xCS-Elarc91a8lhHUk3cXnj6Hsm8KYhINwhRhH4fyJ2xN6Uur5lISPylEKphlxJDe_bDtvYF5o62YMyA9zYzyD3BkVS6jhkgkzB9Zt59EZ6klu2X9E1iP5Va5JFdqxiXfvKw3Dv-aNdoCaOFTrfmw-cKdziHsF6yLfaoP_SQJyqcLFx-MU/s1787/PCB%20-%20Panel%20design.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1030" data-original-width="1787" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheDomW5s2I00xCS-Elarc91a8lhHUk3cXnj6Hsm8KYhINwhRhH4fyJ2xN6Uur5lISPylEKphlxJDe_bDtvYF5o62YMyA9zYzyD3BkVS6jhkgkzB9Zt59EZ6klu2X9E1iP5Va5JFdqxiXfvKw3Dv-aNdoCaOFTrfmw-cKdziHsF6yLfaoP_SQJyqcLFx-MU/s320/PCB%20-%20Panel%20design.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><div style="text-align: center;">Fig.17</div></span><div style="text-align: left;">3D viewer version:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic3OtbJk571icW8BZubPhRsD34an2-kW1HgepnzWm2I-S4lJgHq1ED8OTKCJXaMUzl681HDCyfThcrwjavwdNvne1eNBNkPv8F3xc8UvEK8e2AgoCGU3qMBj4S7U4up0JlYloZ4xM9NTP1G37qu2-B95YWV60IA2v9UWfd3_9WYfWzMruMh6Eld3gcOj9O/s880/PCB%20-%20Panel%20design%203D.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="880" data-original-width="574" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic3OtbJk571icW8BZubPhRsD34an2-kW1HgepnzWm2I-S4lJgHq1ED8OTKCJXaMUzl681HDCyfThcrwjavwdNvne1eNBNkPv8F3xc8UvEK8e2AgoCGU3qMBj4S7U4up0JlYloZ4xM9NTP1G37qu2-B95YWV60IA2v9UWfd3_9WYfWzMruMh6Eld3gcOj9O/s320/PCB%20-%20Panel%20design%203D.jpg" width="209" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Fig.18</span></div><div><br /></div>Everything you see in yellow and orange will come out in silver on the panel. You can see my panel doesn't have any Silkscreen (white ink) on it so when I make my Gerber files I can switch the F.Silkscreen and B.Silkscreen layers off. This is important otherwise PCBWay will message you to say 'The silkscreen layer is switched on but there is no silkscreen present. Do you want silkscreen?' This will delay the start of production so beware of this.<div><span style="color: #fff2cc;">So, if you haven't used any silkscreen in your design, turn the F.Silkscreen and B.Silkscreen layers off when you make the Gerber files.</span><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><b><span style="color: red;">FINAL CHECK!</span></b></div><div>After placing all the holes in the correct place, Save your work, turn off the User Drawings layer and drag-select the PCB we used as a template and while it's selected drag it overtop of your panel and see if all the holes line up with the locations on the PCB. This will instantly show if something is wrong. Make sure it stays selected as long as you use it. After that you can delete the PCB template, we no longer need it. You can also delete the lines in the User Drawings layer now.</div><div>If you're working with a bigger project you can make a new project called 'TEST' and copy your PCB designs and Panel design all into the PCB editor of the new project and in that project you can select and drag your PCB designs on top of eachother and see if all the pinheaders align. Check if the holes in your panel align with the position of the potmeters. When you're finished you can just delete that project. that makes the testing a bit safer than using the originals because if you have a PCB selected and placed on top of your panel design and it becomes unselected for a reason. You have a BIG problem! Maybe the 'undo' button can save you but chance is you'll have to start over or recover using a back-up saved earlier.</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: red;">END RESULT:</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">And here's how the final product came back from PCBWay. Shipping with the Global Shipping option took 10 days to The Netherlands which is good going by todays standards.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;">They look amazing although they are matt black and I would have preferred satin gloss! I later sprayed a layer of clear lacquer over it which made if look nicely deep black and shiny.</div><div style="text-align: left;">The quality is really good. There are no imperfections on the faceplate which I did have with other manufacturers:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxZGukG6R6tKG4PxnVqrAhghZzlcPj0qESaW1Q0IDxLkhhcnB0YuzfzbkhveuJuhyphenhyphenaror1EIoFbK2TMzscutJoNOCFIWlh2CZ_W5m0p4EEIbDAZ_PnGLiIExDAoXzOhV44lzJQQuKE4EMn2-5Ss14UFBE3aGk6L5BgTqBP0uKFKQPshXtqdbzQ86UL4Dw_/s4000/PCBWay%20Boards-02.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="2712" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxZGukG6R6tKG4PxnVqrAhghZzlcPj0qESaW1Q0IDxLkhhcnB0YuzfzbkhveuJuhyphenhyphenaror1EIoFbK2TMzscutJoNOCFIWlh2CZ_W5m0p4EEIbDAZ_PnGLiIExDAoXzOhV44lzJQQuKE4EMn2-5Ss14UFBE3aGk6L5BgTqBP0uKFKQPshXtqdbzQ86UL4Dw_/s320/PCBWay%20Boards-02.jpg" width="217" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Fig.19</span></div><div>Below are the PCB's with the V-cut. It's executed just like I wanted it to.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWX8h2YI29Q447sRY6VCnI3zeXoogh0Gg3m4ldRT7-sQhtq8FyrTGyA9ZnfbOmPqvvqaEOTZJYleKfacAm7QuC09vhnTrujLAGO6HeU7xcm-aoPDc1QJZxf_Wz43NL2Whhsn7cFItWPFBriv5A-aMX7fZkaR1Aw-BSlAtQyay3YigHjWN7SjK2SpM-q1Qx/s4000/PCBWay%20Boards-01.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWX8h2YI29Q447sRY6VCnI3zeXoogh0Gg3m4ldRT7-sQhtq8FyrTGyA9ZnfbOmPqvvqaEOTZJYleKfacAm7QuC09vhnTrujLAGO6HeU7xcm-aoPDc1QJZxf_Wz43NL2Whhsn7cFItWPFBriv5A-aMX7fZkaR1Aw-BSlAtQyay3YigHjWN7SjK2SpM-q1Qx/s320/PCBWay%20Boards-01.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Fig.20</span></div><div><br /></div><div>The V-cut is just 0.5mm wide and is applied from both sides. The PCB's can be very easily broken appart and they break very cleanly, leaving just a slightly rough edge. Just a light sanding down will do to make it smooth. I'm really pleased with the result.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-FAAon6RO5HrBYsMusUGucSJXe4GFgbhbe6dmBzgviComGsKD2LmwtdMzG9XlXF5iTifPnY_K4smRKqXHURCcwit203R992V4GXGUmCEqgG6ssHJBiixdKEOagBOaM8uLXxwoM4N_EJj2Jk3UNryR4MI1d_FUwu-tGmHc9tRe77mcGNbUIhdWwUFTQyj6/s3888/PCBWay%20Boards-03.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3888" data-original-width="2518" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-FAAon6RO5HrBYsMusUGucSJXe4GFgbhbe6dmBzgviComGsKD2LmwtdMzG9XlXF5iTifPnY_K4smRKqXHURCcwit203R992V4GXGUmCEqgG6ssHJBiixdKEOagBOaM8uLXxwoM4N_EJj2Jk3UNryR4MI1d_FUwu-tGmHc9tRe77mcGNbUIhdWwUFTQyj6/s320/PCBWay%20Boards-03.jpg" width="207" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><div style="text-align: center;">Fig.21</div></span><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Look how nicely the potmeter fits into the footprint:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3JxMqk4Yu_TT33D5vGGqfJrurNIuhy5rVWJa4QIkh-fsGxZD7Yg4NgaZmbyPDBr8JRQxGsd8Wa1rHb9F3ptk-oECl-CuktA6lUXQNVk3Gg_DpsIrHDWAjmfVGWealFJiwkd5S5Ia2BhntU4fEtiv20mugm_vSL3-Vsce39PUYOxCzfvG-U8d1TWmtgz7H/s4000/PCBWay%20Boards-04.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3JxMqk4Yu_TT33D5vGGqfJrurNIuhy5rVWJa4QIkh-fsGxZD7Yg4NgaZmbyPDBr8JRQxGsd8Wa1rHb9F3ptk-oECl-CuktA6lUXQNVk3Gg_DpsIrHDWAjmfVGWealFJiwkd5S5Ia2BhntU4fEtiv20mugm_vSL3-Vsce39PUYOxCzfvG-U8d1TWmtgz7H/s320/PCBWay%20Boards-04.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><div style="text-align: center;">Fig.22</div></span><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I started building the project early afternoon and by 19:00h I had it finished except for the sockets, but it was good enough to test it and it all worked straight away! I have included a new version of the triangle to sinewave converter on this board too and look at what a wonderful sinewave it produces:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDZmEqI6VM9b15hZaMxJuLHYY1aV4BVq6SxtSd3aoFAe81fqWjOFxRdIbZaA-KYQ3-5ygJdkdy39OMOM1KpBxsscRTyL9BqSXy3TTQSuWxryYZrjLKonRgTkfp6R0BwpjDc5w_TjND1y6obZ1mZsEIsHmgGRtRmcvOyxpywPYgUV8T87WCUd6k9oH3bTd1/s800/Sinewave%20PCB%20version.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="800" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDZmEqI6VM9b15hZaMxJuLHYY1aV4BVq6SxtSd3aoFAe81fqWjOFxRdIbZaA-KYQ3-5ygJdkdy39OMOM1KpBxsscRTyL9BqSXy3TTQSuWxryYZrjLKonRgTkfp6R0BwpjDc5w_TjND1y6obZ1mZsEIsHmgGRtRmcvOyxpywPYgUV8T87WCUd6k9oH3bTd1/s320/Sinewave%20PCB%20version.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><div style="text-align: center;">Fig.23</div></span><div style="text-align: left;">(Go to <a href="https://www.eddybergman.com/2019/11/synthersizer-build-part-3-triangle-to.html" target="_blank">Project 3</a> and scroll down to see the updated Triangle to Sinewave converter schematics)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: red;">THE FINISHED PRODUCT.&nbsp;</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">It's awesome. Everything worked out as I planned it and I'm glad I sat on the design for a full week, checking for errors, before sending it of because I did find some ground points that were not connected and other small mistakes but I got them all out luckily. However I did come across an error once I got the boards back. I had the wiring of the Octaves grounding switch the wrong way around and that caused a short circuit every time I turned the potmeter fully to one side with the switch in the ground position. I fried two potmeters before I discovered the mistake and I had to cut the tracks and re-wire that switch. An easy fix though.</div><div style="text-align: left;">The moral of the story is that mistakes are very difficult to rule out completely but you must take your time to do the best you can. It would be a shame to have to bin the PCB's you made. At least I know now that the version 2 boards will be perfect.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisdeyoW30G5Oa5nIwZbd7nVb81cgwRUK4_jZpH2_SJ2XpLgoVdzVGzM0V8t3-5wCAp_LKM40uZOLlf3J3fzLI2t_rqdbBh-nf5uvVaVAg_QWYDIIBbTLacl7dYyyK28eQRC-Gn_VgOo4sYkIhZVvHIFZwVPvy3GK_aSHAD_iGFmZizYJiWQaEvo0VDhcbv/s2048/Finished%20module-01.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisdeyoW30G5Oa5nIwZbd7nVb81cgwRUK4_jZpH2_SJ2XpLgoVdzVGzM0V8t3-5wCAp_LKM40uZOLlf3J3fzLI2t_rqdbBh-nf5uvVaVAg_QWYDIIBbTLacl7dYyyK28eQRC-Gn_VgOo4sYkIhZVvHIFZwVPvy3GK_aSHAD_iGFmZizYJiWQaEvo0VDhcbv/s320/Finished%20module-01.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Fig.24</span></div><div style="text-align: left;">The space between the boards, separated by pinheaders, is exactly 11mm.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8CEaKQZ_p9Tbhwo1gxCnxkHLYZfdYZEjSaDJsScI0jgWR-4pMERzT57IkBOAa_U3mSvzTTBbL-2xIweuaycmbwNgJOSJhde-YYn9b2vPIkDur9i5IRWjb73Lee5_FmI6N3Szgqi94-Lx6FXddaFbCbfPWaxvrkKG1wRmkEGRLdThA-iKpBlPCeBDYSV14/s2048/Finished%20module-02.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8CEaKQZ_p9Tbhwo1gxCnxkHLYZfdYZEjSaDJsScI0jgWR-4pMERzT57IkBOAa_U3mSvzTTBbL-2xIweuaycmbwNgJOSJhde-YYn9b2vPIkDur9i5IRWjb73Lee5_FmI6N3Szgqi94-Lx6FXddaFbCbfPWaxvrkKG1wRmkEGRLdThA-iKpBlPCeBDYSV14/s320/Finished%20module-02.jpg" width="240" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Fig.25</span></div><div style="text-align: left;">I just finished tuning this VCO and it gave me the best result I ever had with a VCO. In tune over 6 octaves within a few cents over the complete range. Notes C0 to C5: max deviation +/-2 cents. C6 was 3 cents low. Rock solid results.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">In December 2025 I made a new version of the X4046 VCO and I sat on that design for a full month before sending it off. Constantly checking for errors and I found a few and also came up with improvements. So it pays not to be too hasty.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Finally I would like to leave you with two YouTube videos. The first showed me how to make faceplates for modules in KiCad. I learned it all from this video, I can really recommend watching this:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SU3fhliWxpM" target="_blank">How to Design a Synth Interface in KiCad.</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SU3fhliWxpM" width="320" youtube-src-id="SU3fhliWxpM"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And here's the second, a video that goes through the whole proces of what happens after you submit your Gerber files to the production firm. A very interesting video to watch!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QZVNDMnoVo8" width="320" youtube-src-id="QZVNDMnoVo8"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I would like to thank PCBWay for sponsoring this article. Please check out their website and the free plug-in for KiCad.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">PCBWay order page:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pcbway.com/QuickOrderOnline.aspx" target="_blank">https://www.pcbway.com/QuickOrderOnline.aspx</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Plugin:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pcbway.com/blog/News/PCBWay_Plug_In_for_KiCad_3ea6219c.html." target="_blank"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: FangSong_GB2312; font-size: 16px;"><span style="color: #1155cc;">https://www.pcbway.com/</span><wbr></wbr><span style="color: #1155cc;">blog/News/PCBWay_Plug_In_for_</span><wbr></wbr><span style="color: #1155cc;">KiCad_3ea6219c.html</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: FangSong_GB2312; font-size: 16px;">.</span></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">If you have any questions or comments then please post them below. Please note comments are moderated and don't appear until I approved them.</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: red;">PLEASE CONSIDER DONATING.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">If you learned something from this website, please consider making a small donation. It really goes a long way to help me maintain the website and to finance new projects. There's a button for that underneath the main menu if you're on a PC or Mac. Otherwise you can use this <a href="https://paypal.me/ModularEddy" target="_blank">Paypal.Me link</a> and cut out the middle man. Thank you very much!</div>


guid: tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8559314700259794131.post-7732240332841190376
title: Synthesizer Build part-69: FEATURE RICH SUB-OSCILLATOR.
author: Eddy Bergman
url: https://www.eddybergman.com/2025/12/suboscillator.html
feedurl: https://www.eddybergman.com/feeds/posts/default
content_mime_type: text/html
content:
<div style="text-align: left;">A great sub-oscillator taken from the Thomas Henry VCO Maximus. It has -1,-1.5, -2,-3 octaves, octaves or fifths (interval), polarity setting and a blend option with the original pulse wave. The suboscillator will react to the pulse width of the input wave too. It will even react to FM and Hard Sync from any VCO you combine it with.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I never featured a sub-oscillator design on my website before but I was looking for a good design which I wanted to combine with the X4046 VCO to build my version of the ultimate analog VCO for Techno Music in Eurorack format on PCB.</div><div style="text-align: left;">So I found this design on the <a href="https://www.birthofasynth.com/Thomas_Henry/Pages/VCO_Maximus-Detail.html" target="_blank">Birth of a Synth</a> website, a website that provided many excellent projects already, and I needed to test it before I could add it to the 4046 VCO I'm designing in KiCad, so I made a stripboard layout for it and it worked great.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;">This sub oscillator comes from the VCO Maximus design which is a 3340 VCO like the Digisound-80 from project 18 and the squarewave output is at 0V to +10V instead of +/-5V like the X4046 VCO. The sub-oscillator does not work with a bi-polar signal on the input so I added an offset feature so you can trim the input wave to be unipolar and therefore this suboscillator as presented here will work with both uni-polar and bi-polar signals on the input as long as you trim the input signal to be 0V to +8 to +10V. The output wave is bi-polar +/-5V.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: red;">SCHEMATIC:</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Here's the schematic I used for this project:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx2AoCaNut9Lqiq6jP5sZM8A78hMkO9mpMzCWU89-baGsLOhF9OJGZTRhJCCp2kJesAzrqOfApPAUCBaWn_NHLGjBGbLJ2f9nxAI-VeJE1Y1M9JzQBzYbbDhYPtRizi5o9ipVcjbDgSS8qTAVz02U8rj_7iE_dTZvb-l0lYDp-3RTd4IUeu9oXRLOos2f9/s1462/Thomas%20Henry%20VCO%20max%20suboscillator%20w%20offset%20schematic%2012V%20eu.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="778" data-original-width="1462" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx2AoCaNut9Lqiq6jP5sZM8A78hMkO9mpMzCWU89-baGsLOhF9OJGZTRhJCCp2kJesAzrqOfApPAUCBaWn_NHLGjBGbLJ2f9nxAI-VeJE1Y1M9JzQBzYbbDhYPtRizi5o9ipVcjbDgSS8qTAVz02U8rj_7iE_dTZvb-l0lYDp-3RTd4IUeu9oXRLOos2f9/s320/Thomas%20Henry%20VCO%20max%20suboscillator%20w%20offset%20schematic%2012V%20eu.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">In this schematic I drew in the offset feature and the IC numbering is adjusted to match the layout. I also changed the value of some resistors to make the circuit work on a voltage of +12V instead of +15V.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;">Here's how it works: a bi-polar pulsewave, coming from the X4046 VCO (in my case) goes into the inverting input of the opamp and gets pulled down by the trimmer voltage to become a negative unipolar signal. So the input becomes 0V to -10V which is inverted to 0V to +10V by the opamp's inverting action. Exactly what we need. After the signal has been processed by the logic chips it gets turned back into a bi-polar signal by the output opamp which has half of the positive powerrail voltage on its inverting input by means of the resistor voltage divider (the two 10K resistors) which will push the signal down again to become +/-10V. By using the input trimmer you can set the output signal to be symmetrical. The output signal amplitude then gets cut in half by the resistor voltage divider R15 and R8 which, for use with 12V, need to be 2K2 each. I altered the schematic accordingly.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;">Capacitor C3 (47pF) ensures the incoming pulse signal doesn't overwhelm the flip-flops which would result in tiny spikes in the signal which would disrupt the working of the sub oscillator so it's a very important component.</div><div style="text-align: left;">This suboscillator consists of a number of exclusive OR gates in the CD4070 and two flip-flops in the CD4013 for octave switching. You can set the octaves between -1 and -2, you can set the polarity of the signal between positive and negative. It allows you to add or subtract the subdivided pulse from the original. The different sub division options through the switch settings can give a divide by 1.5, 2, 3 or even 6. Any changes in pulse-width made to the input wave will be carried through into the sub-oscillator, further expanding its sonic diversity.</div><div style="text-align: left;">I urge you to read the original Birth of a Synth article I linked to above for more information on that. It's very informative and explains it better than I ever could.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: red;">LAYOUTS:</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Here are the layouts I made for this project. As always they are verified, I used them for my tests.</div><div style="text-align: left;">I altered the layouts in so far that I changed the two output resistor values from 3K3 and 1K8 to 2K2 for both resistors. This will increase the output amplitude of the pulse wave for use with +/-12V power supplies (Eurorack/Kosmo).</div><div style="text-align: left;">Wiring diagram:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj49KQnuQCw70nbF3fsOwdxz09FAJCIR6-P5txDdkL8MbVj5-l0vLKZ_fdMLkP6PvE2wVc6OaRXObPOrQVhfASO5NU3KwQbJ5Sujupv-zKsNtKc9H-hwoxV8oekC0rVzwpEahqHjFBUt8ZWcv9SwE_4MhEYYtM2tpJblXGqhkupVd4ImWIxif9qclTxPhKO/s7705/Suboscillator_VCO_Max%20w%20offset-V2%20-%20wiring.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4024" data-original-width="7705" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj49KQnuQCw70nbF3fsOwdxz09FAJCIR6-P5txDdkL8MbVj5-l0vLKZ_fdMLkP6PvE2wVc6OaRXObPOrQVhfASO5NU3KwQbJ5Sujupv-zKsNtKc9H-hwoxV8oekC0rVzwpEahqHjFBUt8ZWcv9SwE_4MhEYYtM2tpJblXGqhkupVd4ImWIxif9qclTxPhKO/s320/Suboscillator_VCO_Max%20w%20offset-V2%20-%20wiring.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Stripboard only:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjJfXkXRATdoZzkPg-_lXxHI_xIfeT-4YFQJ0X-4qCBFs6fvLMzw2H1zgDwWR9_VowjAHweR-5MZPua1dwJ5oMQafKN-ARRa-k5H0Zy7z_Mxi_-EEPdUNbDYsEdQc3vV8tNh8fysBX8q9zk8qELbA-C8IUyn1tmbPxTgYt93otwX41RaGEuStRKVuRzSBM/s4522/Suboscillator_VCO_Max%20w%20offset-V2%20-%20stripboard%20only.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2740" data-original-width="4522" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjJfXkXRATdoZzkPg-_lXxHI_xIfeT-4YFQJ0X-4qCBFs6fvLMzw2H1zgDwWR9_VowjAHweR-5MZPua1dwJ5oMQafKN-ARRa-k5H0Zy7z_Mxi_-EEPdUNbDYsEdQc3vV8tNh8fysBX8q9zk8qELbA-C8IUyn1tmbPxTgYt93otwX41RaGEuStRKVuRzSBM/s320/Suboscillator_VCO_Max%20w%20offset-V2%20-%20stripboard%20only.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Cuts and wirebridges:</div><div style="text-align: left;">There are 31 wirebridges to put in and that's why it takes up a lot of space dispite this being a project with very few components. However, I managed to keep the board to 41 holes width with room to spare so it will fit behind a Eurorack faceplate if necessary.</div><div style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwbp0XSgsCMiLuO-UjZxw8WK9KnXLRBv2EMnliejGybfigovfD99LzL_PIRUCYKjb8lKVp_picqPgYfmAmScGoEY4M2X9xgAN81eCjrOyYIaSakFrQkoQTmjcsraYo2P9hY-JbJ9JuzC6uuZqwY1BrofOTgSmvWsYVmJHzjljNSNyMa9_6bS60pK4WrfR9/s3697/Suboscillator_cuts%20and%20wirebridges.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2375" data-original-width="3697" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwbp0XSgsCMiLuO-UjZxw8WK9KnXLRBv2EMnliejGybfigovfD99LzL_PIRUCYKjb8lKVp_picqPgYfmAmScGoEY4M2X9xgAN81eCjrOyYIaSakFrQkoQTmjcsraYo2P9hY-JbJ9JuzC6uuZqwY1BrofOTgSmvWsYVmJHzjljNSNyMa9_6bS60pK4WrfR9/s320/Suboscillator_cuts%20and%20wirebridges.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Bill of Materials:<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbycii3pMvqm0b5XQ33iwtDCI3oUJ5hupZpDoB5u36HdFZy6meVj_k0AyDUipT74EV9s_J754J6jk-wDVs1nXSWYCtlFjkTlpGesQkKt9CGOcd27p7RbIZunJhl51m4jp3g1vO9ZsRYsfgt8q4lzKubBUMhFHduRTJeonP1nFt34GKV07SppWopHOdankL/s586/Suboscillator_VCO_Max%20w%20offset-V2%20-%20BOM.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="293" data-original-width="586" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbycii3pMvqm0b5XQ33iwtDCI3oUJ5hupZpDoB5u36HdFZy6meVj_k0AyDUipT74EV9s_J754J6jk-wDVs1nXSWYCtlFjkTlpGesQkKt9CGOcd27p7RbIZunJhl51m4jp3g1vO9ZsRYsfgt8q4lzKubBUMhFHduRTJeonP1nFt34GKV07SppWopHOdankL/s320/Suboscillator_VCO_Max%20w%20offset-V2%20-%20BOM.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>Make sure you get your logic chips from a reputable source. There are a lot of fakes on the market and this design might not work well when you use those. Never buy IC's from AliExpress.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: red;">OSCILLOSCOPE SCREENSHOTS:</span></b></div><div>Here are some of the test results from the oscilloscope. They look amazing and show that this is not your average sub oscillator but quite a cool addition to any VCO. It's easy enough to make this as a stand alone module so you can plug any VCO into it. The Blue wave is the input wave.</div><div><br /></div><div>Divided by 3:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisXH0XUmvAkNxsbW0yBsdp0RGioRb0s_LHvKTTGw6sd6UCGjuey6vf1TatVAgLZc4uKRrS7RMeqoaXAYWjg0SmKWgQ75aNZF0OFenu2j8dZPBcoYo1u_yNV6L_lNsH1tx3O8ZA3qDaLat5Rvgv1TKiYJWjTEKmEzqCT2Ff_3qmKWlol0JRhCSASOJuK2L9/s800/DS1Z_QuickPrint6.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="800" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisXH0XUmvAkNxsbW0yBsdp0RGioRb0s_LHvKTTGw6sd6UCGjuey6vf1TatVAgLZc4uKRrS7RMeqoaXAYWjg0SmKWgQ75aNZF0OFenu2j8dZPBcoYo1u_yNV6L_lNsH1tx3O8ZA3qDaLat5Rvgv1TKiYJWjTEKmEzqCT2Ff_3qmKWlol0JRhCSASOJuK2L9/s320/DS1Z_QuickPrint6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Blend potmeter half open:<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXgw0U-XOeXOfSeqEL30BczcsGXL1LGMDAePk4ZKDiGzORC8Yxt3jrAv6DXqxHbRydneV8mtF6SRC0qNJ6T0qGQmBOki1FXOO1qBhxq8uXjlcTman8R1j4_MdAzd_qxBVAASIGwPigBrxTdg7jBucMo0HPxWVdc9Vpoix7z6rKHobTEOh_3QcdKrqyaNSn/s800/DS1Z_QuickPrint7.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="800" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXgw0U-XOeXOfSeqEL30BczcsGXL1LGMDAePk4ZKDiGzORC8Yxt3jrAv6DXqxHbRydneV8mtF6SRC0qNJ6T0qGQmBOki1FXOO1qBhxq8uXjlcTman8R1j4_MdAzd_qxBVAASIGwPigBrxTdg7jBucMo0HPxWVdc9Vpoix7z6rKHobTEOh_3QcdKrqyaNSn/s320/DS1Z_QuickPrint7.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>Polarity lets you add or subtrackt the subdivided signal from the original pulse. Below you can see that the bottom half of the waveform is gone. This is caused by a bad chip connection or just a bad chip. I put in a different CD4013 and the problem was over. In my case the bottom half disappeared when I switched from -1 Octave to -2.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinwIakKjXhutdnMMIfWSRhSkUYb13RZw2NHhH_yQGgO1BDPlPi0g5qVrkBAbGZ7Mq-5YgvMgmwh5so3A82AkbURbM-g7nrV3tdBy1zFPskiJ5P8oo3r4NF7qJBRHoXwOVgYG6Nr4hF4wOeG73dr2-abJX6DunGsxzOUCfJgDlFpGl_3U17h3AzSpcWXWLP/s800/DS1Z_QuickPrint8.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="800" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinwIakKjXhutdnMMIfWSRhSkUYb13RZw2NHhH_yQGgO1BDPlPi0g5qVrkBAbGZ7Mq-5YgvMgmwh5so3A82AkbURbM-g7nrV3tdBy1zFPskiJ5P8oo3r4NF7qJBRHoXwOVgYG6Nr4hF4wOeG73dr2-abJX6DunGsxzOUCfJgDlFpGl_3U17h3AzSpcWXWLP/s320/DS1Z_QuickPrint8.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>In the next 3 pictures you see what happens when the blend potmeter is used. The middle bits of the waves move past eachother. The top one moves down and the bottom one moves up until they form one squarewave again. That sounds really cool. Unfortunately there's no CV control for the Blend feature but it wouldn't be too difficult to put a Vactrol over it so it's not impossible.<div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJj97oTq3p6jn777IQGVS3nSfNG4FfIH6YwRYUrbqWbnIKjqRKQLXOJ4WitXxx4HH1pHqPfBhxHIPQ0tmOjUopUWDmjgwChicuzGkf5sx16WAoRpFtAyIzBp8oiDlZcHa1lUU95r_jHjM9Zgn6jfx9SWJqeNwRVh2wM6vkVeqbYZCigHex0fD7Ok_jbY2h/s800/DS1Z_QuickPrint9.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="800" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJj97oTq3p6jn777IQGVS3nSfNG4FfIH6YwRYUrbqWbnIKjqRKQLXOJ4WitXxx4HH1pHqPfBhxHIPQ0tmOjUopUWDmjgwChicuzGkf5sx16WAoRpFtAyIzBp8oiDlZcHa1lUU95r_jHjM9Zgn6jfx9SWJqeNwRVh2wM6vkVeqbYZCigHex0fD7Ok_jbY2h/s320/DS1Z_QuickPrint9.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-fLZBu5oE4B_yGm1BYjrwWm5zisfz7UejYNv2OJb8Kf2VKj_sQpRz-svf0eDJVBw3hnL3f8eMyuZBhF81re4C8lQQ6wVPozSwqjEKtSV7-oQqKPr8shOIvR8AdpfI8LxQSYNVm-T8zakOj918vrgCN8BQ62-lTWUSGl2M18STbH05j5faaekRkaZ9uY8h/s800/DS1Z_QuickPrint10.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="800" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-fLZBu5oE4B_yGm1BYjrwWm5zisfz7UejYNv2OJb8Kf2VKj_sQpRz-svf0eDJVBw3hnL3f8eMyuZBhF81re4C8lQQ6wVPozSwqjEKtSV7-oQqKPr8shOIvR8AdpfI8LxQSYNVm-T8zakOj918vrgCN8BQ62-lTWUSGl2M18STbH05j5faaekRkaZ9uY8h/s320/DS1Z_QuickPrint10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX7Td_S-AIvNrCT0z4H6Lbtj-QRXZGh8aqryjXDSpEIYYVtefNP5wnGeX9RdZ73RuoTdnI-mjeztEvqNxLxIpP5XVWWtXRzbqlJz-YH-3h1-svFbCrj5BzIGh4HzoHTIpl34HczeKfanDvzCsIITTu97PK9NfyvM_Qa-5PMbT6TC77obghyphenhyphenQNoC2Fq4bkb/s800/DS1Z_QuickPrint11.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="800" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX7Td_S-AIvNrCT0z4H6Lbtj-QRXZGh8aqryjXDSpEIYYVtefNP5wnGeX9RdZ73RuoTdnI-mjeztEvqNxLxIpP5XVWWtXRzbqlJz-YH-3h1-svFbCrj5BzIGh4HzoHTIpl34HczeKfanDvzCsIITTu97PK9NfyvM_Qa-5PMbT6TC77obghyphenhyphenQNoC2Fq4bkb/s320/DS1Z_QuickPrint11.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>With the switches at -2 oct and oct/5th at oct I measure for instance 40Hz</div><div>If I switch to 5th that goes up to 53.4Hz and switching to -1 octaves it goes to 106.6Hz</div><div><br /></div><div>Below a picture of my stripboard build. Because I only built this to test how it works and see if it would be compatible with other VCO's, I did not make a panel for it. So this is as far as I got with this project. Well worth the effort. It's a great suboscillator and would make a great stand-alone module.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3IGZZ4RC78Kj9NiWlyfGhPXM9fKZrvakeeU1_v0L-ikOkrt3-Di8csJ9jtnEEpIgf7bSXN-4Hg8o3wMcKXvmPF2C5asHtI2ZECwJgc7SR5RyC8PNyOO-WjMlr85_N8Jbd2aYS_g-0r7T_zgopB0-Ggkj7z-H6W26sjJv4xNDkhbJ7PuiT8aDub3hsa2eS/s4000/Stripboard%20under%20testing.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3IGZZ4RC78Kj9NiWlyfGhPXM9fKZrvakeeU1_v0L-ikOkrt3-Di8csJ9jtnEEpIgf7bSXN-4Hg8o3wMcKXvmPF2C5asHtI2ZECwJgc7SR5RyC8PNyOO-WjMlr85_N8Jbd2aYS_g-0r7T_zgopB0-Ggkj7z-H6W26sjJv4xNDkhbJ7PuiT8aDub3hsa2eS/s320/Stripboard%20under%20testing.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>Here is the finished product, the PCB that forms the back plate of the '4046 Super VCO' module.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNEQY4d-OJnrX52UcCBZKb_AsGI037uDP5-C6aAwXGyNEv1AMmSoJcU2wMt7OCE78kyP-Egz-lxQNXYguxNUnaMvrptkrqLzcDNOTea7Z2IzvyL2rOGcLzDpQ8yEXXRPuUL1GEInlbhl7K_s_tf8VBmmfZsBhyTYRXKC00u9pdEOOCXmUnOkEhmfWHNwTS/s3641/Sub-Oscillator%20PCB.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3641" data-original-width="2903" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNEQY4d-OJnrX52UcCBZKb_AsGI037uDP5-C6aAwXGyNEv1AMmSoJcU2wMt7OCE78kyP-Egz-lxQNXYguxNUnaMvrptkrqLzcDNOTea7Z2IzvyL2rOGcLzDpQ8yEXXRPuUL1GEInlbhl7K_s_tf8VBmmfZsBhyTYRXKC00u9pdEOOCXmUnOkEhmfWHNwTS/s320/Sub-Oscillator%20PCB.jpg" width="255" /></a></div><br /><div>Below you can see the finished VCO module. The sub-oscillator in it works like a charm thanks to the input offset feature. It really is an awesome addition to any VCO and in this one you get that really low bass in your stomach combined with the awesome hard sync and FM features. The suboscillator works very well with the Hard Sync function and you can get the weirdest sounds from it.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's a killer combination and I'm really proud of this one and dispite the reputation that this VCO has with bad tracking when using a Texas Instruments CD4046, I had no such problems. But anyway, this article isn't about this VCO so I'll leave it there :)&nbsp;</div></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7wXNqYwuZn7Up7zInv_xEJvHw1-77pYLopw-uYnsKTNFp8EMxfD_C2iEQJS8MOxdqXNfArVWWyhR0-3pAg2nIAOqSJ8BO7ioCpJKxYvLQrcyV9Iz1IFnjBGfzxxnyF_-OXxZNhPlZoefCwdBder2fqDvED95hkw9aczPo7bMFl-MemjJV13mV1rC3i6ag/s3872/X4046%20Super%20VCO-01.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3872" data-original-width="2457" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7wXNqYwuZn7Up7zInv_xEJvHw1-77pYLopw-uYnsKTNFp8EMxfD_C2iEQJS8MOxdqXNfArVWWyhR0-3pAg2nIAOqSJ8BO7ioCpJKxYvLQrcyV9Iz1IFnjBGfzxxnyF_-OXxZNhPlZoefCwdBder2fqDvED95hkw9aczPo7bMFl-MemjJV13mV1rC3i6ag/s320/X4046%20Super%20VCO-01.jpg" width="203" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>And that's really all there is to this article. It's short but sweet.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: red;">VIDEO DEMO:</span></b></div><div>Instead of making a demo myself I though I might aswell post Thomas Henry's own demo video of this suboscillator here. It shows all the options including the influence of pulse width modulation.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8R8Xxeb6GpI" width="320" youtube-src-id="8R8Xxeb6GpI"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div>I hope you enjoy building this project as much as I did. If you have any questions please leave them in the comments below or on the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/325860521842129" target="_blank">special Facebook Group</a> for this website.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you like this content and would like to support my efforts and the upkeep of the website you can find a donation button underneath the main menu or you can <a href="https://paypal.me/ModularEddy" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to cut out the middle man. Thank you very much!!</div>


guid: tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8559314700259794131.post-5013313734100374305
title: Blog post
author: Eddy Bergman
url: https://www.eddybergman.com/2026/02/blog-post.html
feedurl: https://www.eddybergman.com/feeds/posts/default
content_mime_type: text/html
content:
<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.eddybergman.com/p/pcb-service.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1241" data-original-width="4000" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvzAqf0NfWY7g9r_g7eYUNVcrqOnb3Dty8JnmHvMPvTb6dVkBbd6A8npgAbceVh7US4KbzBsGZkrfeVV-GpJwJHXNYCySgbEjVyv9pxn6Uo96rFpGTYdqY-iAM086SRwAzscj_5-C_xh_bjkXsKKpYKSx48Z8Y966KST_2r4Ydc7FWSVfwaUd0dkJhJPG0/w651-h174/000%20ADD%20PCBs-A.jpg" width="651" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>


guid: https://artixlinux.org/news.php#Official_ISO_release_2026-04
title: Official ISO release 2026-04
author: sgorava@artixlinux.org (Juraj Oravec)
url: https://artixlinux.org/news.php#Official_ISO_release_2026-04
feedurl: https://artixlinux.org/feed.php
content:
We are pleased to announce the first official release for 2026. Related <a href="https://forum.artixlinux.org/index.php/topic,9483.0.html">forum thread</a>.
<br><br>
Main <a href="https://gitea.artixlinux.org/artix/iso-profiles/src/branch/wip/RELEASE_NOTES-2026-04">release notes</a>:
<br>
- The default X server now is XLibre; Xorg is still packaged and available for installation.
<br>
- The default audio system is no longer PulseAudio; we bundle PipeWire in the ISO images.
<br>
- Users who choose Plasma can readily use either Wayland or XLibre.
<br>
- Support for user services with OpenRC and dinit.


guid: tag:archlinux.org,2026-04-05:/news/iptables-now-defaults-to-the-nft-backend/
title: iptables now defaults to the nft backend
author: Felix Yan
url: https://archlinux.org/news/iptables-now-defaults-to-the-nft-backend/
feedurl: https://archlinux.org/feeds/news/
content:
<p>The old iptables-nft package name is replaced by iptables, and the
legacy backend is available as iptables-legacy.</p>
<p>When switching packages (among iptables-nft, iptables, iptables-legacy),
check for .pacsave files in /etc/iptables/ and restore your rules if needed:</p>
<ul>
<li>/etc/iptables/iptables.rules.pacsave</li>
<li>/etc/iptables/ip6tables.rules.pacsave</li>
</ul>
<p>Most setups should work unchanged, but users relying on uncommon xtables
extensions or legacy-only behavior should test carefully and use
iptables-legacy if required.</p>


guid: tag:archlinux.org,2026-04-07:/news/kea-1303-6-update-requires-manual-intervention/
title: kea >= 1:3.0.3-6 update requires manual intervention
author: Robin Candau
url: https://archlinux.org/news/kea-1303-6-update-requires-manual-intervention/
feedurl: https://archlinux.org/feeds/news/
content:
<p>The <code>kea</code> package has moved all services to run as a dedicated <code>kea</code> user (instead of <code>root</code>) for improved security. This change requires permission updates to the runtime files created by the <code>kea</code> services.</p>
<p>Users upgrading from an existing <code>kea</code> installation should therefore run the following commands after the upgrade:</p>
<p><code>chown kea: /var/lib/kea/* /var/log/kea/* /run/lock/kea/logger_lockfile</code></p>
<p><code>systemctl try-restart kea-ctrl-agent.service kea-dhcp{4,6,-ddns}.service</code></p>
<p>Accounts that need to interact with <code>kea</code> services files (e.g. lease files under <code>/var/lib/kea</code>, log files under <code>/var/log/kea</code> or configuration files under <code>/etc/kea</code>) should be added to the <code>kea</code> group.</p>


guid: https://domdit.com/posts/truth-from-dialog/
title: Truth From Dialog
url: https://domdit.com/posts/truth-from-dialog/
feedurl: https://domdit.com/index.xml
content:
<h1 id="truth-from-dialog">Truth From Dialog</h1>
<p>This article employs the term &ldquo;dialog&rdquo; as the exchange of opinion between two or more people with the goal of discerning reality or truth. Truth and reality are synonymous. As we experience reality, we experience truth. Our perception of truth is filtered through the re-presentation of reality which occurs in our mind. These re-presentations are subjective by nature. Societally constructed frameworks of thought (Habitus) have been imposed upon us and without the deconstruction of these frameworks, it is likely to misinterpret these re-presentations of reality.</p>


