Start with Kicad – Schematic Diagram

I recently created my very first PCB and used KiCAD for that.

Having never used PCB design software before, I was able to go from downloading the KiCAD software to uploading a finished PCB in one evening.

The design was a 2 layer PCB with 3 connectors, an I2C GPIO expander, some switches, LEDs and a bunch of SMD resistors and capacitors. Not complex by any stretch, but I was still incredibly impressed with the tool.

The PCB was uploaded to JLCPCB, who asks $2 to product 10 10cm x 10cm PCBs + $5 shipping costs. Absolutely mindblowing how cheap things have become...