Board Layout

typeCAD can help with board layout. As of now there are some limitations:

  • only Components can be placed
  • if you apply a layout, move the components, then apply the layout again, they will revert to their code-specified positions
  • when a board has a layout applied, all components are removed and only components present in the code will be in the netlist

Recommended workflow

  1. If you’re using a typeCAD package that includes a board layout
  2. import and configure as usual
  3. At the end of the main file, run ::place and build. This will populate the board with the components as the package specifies.
  4. Remove the ::group or ::place line

When you open the board in KiCAD, you’ll see the components placed. Import the netlist and you’ll see their connections to continue the layout process.

PCB

Here is the minimal code to create a PCB.

import { PCB } from '@typecad/typecad';
let pcb = new PCB('typecad_docs');

// add components to the PCB
pcb.create();

After running the code, there will be a typecad_docs.kicad_pcb file in ./build.

PCB Coordinates

Each Component has a pcb property that contains {x, y, rotation}. That’s how the component’s location is specified. You can take them directly from KiCAD when you’re finished laying out the components.

import { PCB } from '@typecad/typecad';
import { Resistor } from '@typecad/passives/0805'

let r1 = new Resistor({ value: '1kohm', reference: 'R1' });
let pcb = new PCB('typecad_docs');

r1.pcb = { x: 10, y: 10, rotation: 0 };
pcb.create();

Group or Place Components

In KiCAD, you can group components together. They will move around together when you click and drag anywhere in the group. There is also a labeled box around the components.

To accomplish this for a group of related components:

import { PCB } from '@typecad/typecad';
import { Resistor } from '@typecad/passives/0805'

let r1 = new Resistor({ value: '1kohm', reference: 'R1' });
let pcb = new PCB('typecad_docs');

r1.pcb = { x: 10, y: 10, rotation: 0 };
pcb.group('typecad_docs', r1);
pcb.create();

Or to place them:

import { PCB } from '@typecad/typecad';
import { Resistor } from '@typecad/passives/0805'

let r1 = new Resistor({ value: '1kohm', reference: 'R1' });
let pcb = new PCB('typecad_docs');

r1.pcb = { x: 10, y: 10, rotation: 0 };
pcb.group('typecad_docs', r1);
pcb.place(r1);
pcb.create();

typeCAD Package Layouts

The tooling for creating packages includes a standardized code structure for using board layouts. Packages have a property that accepts a PCB object. They also have a ::place() function that places the components and calls PCB::create(). This method works well and allows for any number of packages to be used with the same board.