Electronic – Choosing a footprint in KiCad

footprintkicadpcbpcb-design

So, let's say I'm composing a schematic for a circuit I'm designing in KiCad, and… done.

I now have to to choose a footprint for my components. How does one identify the appropriate footprint for a given component? I open up CvPCB to an utterly daunting array of possible footprints, none of which seem to be referenced anywhere else in creation- google knows nothing of the footprint "names" seen in KiCad (that I can tell.)

I need the dimensions of a standard DIP pin – I have a component that can fit in this for example (yes, it wil tolerate heat :P)

I am perfectly happy to create my own parts with my handy dandy digital caliper! It'd just be nice if that massive library that comes with KiCad can actually do something.

Best Answer

In CvPcb there is the "View selected footprint" in the top toolbar.

CvPcb-1

Once you press that button, a new window pops-up where you can see your footprint.

CvPcb-2

This new window allows you see the component and has a grid from which you can find out the size of your component. This grid is also selectable by right-clicking the grid and choosing whatever grid you want from "Grid Select" option.

CvPcb-3

If you mouse-hover on one pin, on the bottom of the window there are X-Y coordinates from which you can tell the distance between the pins. This one, from the example, has 5.08mm * 2 = 10.16mm = 0.4inches distance between the pins.

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