KiCad library employed by Olin Electric Motorsports electrical team.
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General symbol naming guidelines
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Fields that must be included (Example for STM32F439BI)
- Reference (e.g.,
U
) - Value (e.g.,
STM32F439BI
) - Footprint (e.g.,
Housings_QFP:LQFP-208_28x28mm_Pitch0.5mm
) - Datasheet (e.g.,
https://www.st.com/content/ccc/resource/technical/document/datasheet/fd/8c/0a/19/13/8f/41/99/DM00077036.pdf/files/DM00077036.pdf/jcr:content/translations/en.DM00077036.pdf
) - MFN, or Manufacturer Name (e.g.,
ST
) - MPN, or Manufacturer Part Number (e.g.,
STM32F439BIT6
) - PurchasingLink (e.g,
https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/stmicroelectronics/STM32F439BIT6/497-17468-ND/5268309
)
- Reference (e.g.,
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Library naming should not be duplicated in footprint name
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If symbol with same name exists for multiple manufacturers, the manufacturer name is written first
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Specific manufacturer name (for atomic parts)
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Type of symbol (for generic parts)
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May be shortened for common components (e.g.
Conn
for Connector) -
Reference designator may be substituted for common components (e.g.
D
,C
,LED
) -
Part name should include extension for specific footprint if required (e.g.
SOIC
) -
Any modification of the original symbol, indicated by appending the reason (e.g. different pin ordering -
Q_NPN_CBE
,Q_NPN_BCE
) -
Indicate quantity of elements for symbol arrays (e.g. resistor array with 8 elements -
Resistor_x8
)
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General footprint naming guidelines
Each footprint is a
.kicad_mod
file (stored within a.pretty
directory). The naming convention for a given footprint depends largely on the type of footprint, however a general guide is presented below:-
Specific package type is written first, e.g.
-
QFN
- Quad Flat No-Lead package -
C
- Capacitor
-
-
Package name and number of pins are separated by a hyphen
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TO-90
-
QFN-48
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DIP-20
-
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Unique fields (parameters) in the footprint name are separated by _ character.
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Package dimensions are specified as length x width (and optionally height)
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3.5x3.5x0.2mm
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1x1in
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If necessary for clarity, footprint body dimensions may be prefixed with a leading
B
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Pin layout
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1x10
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2x15
-
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Pitch is specified with a leading P:
-
P1.27mm
- 1.27mm pitch -
P5.0mm
- 5.0mm pitch
-
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Modifiers to standard footprint values (Required only when there is a modification)
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Drill1.25mm
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Pad2.4x5.2mm
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Orientation e.g.
Horizontal
,Vertical
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Any modification to the original footprint, indicated by appending the reason
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_HandSoldering
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_ThermalVias
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Examples from the library.
LQFP-208_28x28mm_P0.5mm
DFN-6-1EP_2x2mm_P0.5mm
Samtec_LSHM-110-xx.x-x-DV-S_2x10-1SH_P0.50mm_Vertical
Molex_PicoBlade_53261-0271_1x02-1MP_P1.25mm_Horizontal
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You can find some of the standard footprints already made here.
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Guidelines are based off KiCad Library Convention.