KiCad is a cross-platform open-source software suite for Electronic Design Automation (EDA) that facilitates the project development from the schematic capture to the surface mount device (SMD) and three-dimensional (3D) printed circuit board (PCB) layout design.
KiCad originated as a research project at IUT Grenoble 1, France in the late 1980s.
In 1992, KiCad became the property of the publicly funded French research laboratory, the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS).
In 2013, CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, began sponsoring the development of KiCad.
In 2015, version 4.0.0 was released, marking a major milestone in the software's development.
In 2020, version 5.1.8 was released with significant enhancements and bug fixes.
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The KiCad EDA Suite is an electronic design automation suite that provides schematic capture, PCB layout, and 3D visualization.
The KiCad Libraries are collections of symbols, footprints, and 3D models created by the KiCad user community.
The KiCad Plug-ins are third-party extensions that add features and functionality to the KiCad EDA Suite.
Yes, KiCad is an open-source and completely free software suite for Electronic Design Automation (EDA).
Yes, KiCad has a built-in 3D viewer and can export 3D models in various formats such as STEP, VRML, and IDF.
Yes, KiCad is a cross-platform software and is compatible with Linux, Windows, and Mac operating systems.
KiCad does not have any limitations for board size or the number of layers. Users can design any size board with a virtually unlimited number of layers.
Yes, KiCad has an active community forum, official documentation, and numerous books and video tutorials available for beginners and advanced users.
