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Finally, it is important to understand that KiCad has a project-based workflow. A KiCad

project is a folder with a project file, a schematic, a board layout, and optionally other
associated files such as symbol and footprint libraries, simulation data, purchasing
information, etc. Many project-related settings, including net classes and design rules, are
stored at the project level. Opening a board outside of its associated project may result in
missing design information, so be sure to keep all files associated with a project together.

PCB Design Workflow

Typically, the schematic is drawn first. This means adding symbols to the schematic and
drawing the connections between them. Custom symbols may need to be created if
appropriate symbols are not already available. At this stage footprints are also selected for
each component, with custom footprints created as necessary. When the schematic is
complete and the design has passed an electrical rules check (ERC), the design information in
the schematic is transferred to the board editor and layout begins.

The schematic describes which components are in the design and how they are connected;
the board editor uses this information to make layout easier and to prevent mismatches
between the schematic and PCB. The layout process requires careful placement of each

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footprint on the circuit board. After component placement, copper tracks are drawn between
components based on the connections in the schematic as well as other electrical
considerations, such as track resistance, controlled impedance requirements, crosstalk, etc.

Often the schematic will need to be updated after layout has begun; the schematic changes
can be easily pulled into the board design. The reverse can often happen: any design changes
made in the board layout can be pushed back to the schematic to keep the two consistent.

When the board layout is complete and the board has passed the Design Rules Check (DRC),
fabrication outputs are generated so that the board can be manufactured by a PCB
fabricator.

Tutorial Part 1: Project

The first thing to do when starting a new design is to create a new project. Opening KiCad will
bring up the Project Manager. Click File → New Project, browse to your desired location,
and give your project a name, such as getting-started . Make sure the Create a new folder
for the project checkbox is ticked, then click Save. This will create your project files in a new
subfolder with the same name as your project.

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At left, the Project Files pane lists the files in the new project. There is a project file with the
extension .kicad_pro , a schematic file with the extension .kicad_sch , and a board file with
the extension .kicad_pcb . These files all share a name with your project.

There may also be a -backups directory: KiCad will automatically create backups of your
project when you save, and optionally at fixed time intervals. The backup settings are
configurable by going to Preferences → Preferences → Common → Project Backup.

Opening the Preferences dialog may trigger a library table configuration

 dialog. This dialog is explained below.

On macOS, the Preferences dialog is in the KiCad menu, not the

 Preferences menu.

At right of the Project Window, there are buttons to launch the various tools that KiCad
provides. Launching these tools will automatically open the associated design file (schematic
or PCB) from the current project. Start by opening the Schematic Editor.

Tutorial Part 2: Schematic

Symbol Library Table Setup
The first time the schematic editor is opened, a dialog will appear asking how to configure the
global symbol library table. The symbol library table tells KiCad which symbol libraries to use
and where they are located. If you have installed the default libraries with KiCad, which is
recommended, select the default option: Copy default global symbol library table
(recommended).

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If KiCad cannot find the libraries in their expected installation location, this option will be
disabled. In this case, the user should choose the second option, Copy custom global
symbol library table. Click the folder button at the bottom, and browse to the location given
below. Select the sym-lib-table file.

The location of the default library table files depends on operating system and may vary
based on installation location. Below are the defaults for each operating system:

Windows: C:\Program Files\KiCad\9.0\share\kicad\template\

Linux: /usr/share/kicad/template/

macOS: /Applications/KiCad/KiCad.app/Contents/SharedSupport/template/

Schematic Editor Basics

To pan around the schematic, click and drag with the middle mouse button or right mouse
button. Zoom in and out with the mousewheel or F1 and F2 . Laptop users may find it
useful to change the mouse controls to be better suited to a touchpad; the mouse controls
are configurable in Preferences → Preferences…​→ Mouse and Touchpad.

On macOS, the Preferences dialog is in the KiCad menu, not the

 Preferences menu.

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By default, KiCad enables a mouse setting called Center and Warp Cursor on Zoom. When
this feature is enabled, the mouse cursor is automatically moved to the center of the screen
when the user zooms in or out. This keeps the zoomed region centered at all times. This
feature is unusual, but many users find it useful once they get used to it. Try zooming in and
out with the mouse cursor in different areas of the canvas. If the default zoom behavior is
uncomfortable, disable the feature in the Mouse and Touchpad preferences.

The toolbar at the left side of the schematic editor screen contains basic display settings. The
toolbar at the right side of the screen contains tools for editing the schematic.

Most tools in KiCad either have default hotkeys assigned, or can have custom hotkeys
assigned. To view all hotkeys, go to Help → List Hotkeys…​. Hotkeys can be changed in the
Hotkeys panel of the Preferences dialog.

Schematic Sheet Setup

Before drawing anything in the schematic, set up the schematic sheet itself. Click File → Page
Settings. Give the schematic a title and date, and change the paper size if desired.

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Adding Symbols to the Schematic

Start making the circuit by adding some symbols to the schematic. Open the Choose Symbol
dialog by clicking the Add Symbols button on the right side of the window or pressing A
.

This action will trigger the Footprint Library Table Setup dialog if it has not already been
triggered. This dialog is equivalent to the Symbol Library Table Setup dialog explained earlier,
but for footprints instead of symbols.

Again, select the default option: Copy default global footprint library table
(recommended). If this is option is disabled, select the second option, Copy custom global
footprint library table. Click the folder button at the bottom, and browse to the location
given in the symbol library table setup instructions. Select the fp-lib-table file and click
OK.

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The Choose Symbol dialog lists the available symbol libraries and the component symbols
contained within them. Basic devices like passive components, diodes, and other generic
symbols are found in the Device library. Specific devices, such as a particular LED, may be
found in other libraries.

Scroll down to the Device library, expand it, and select the LED symbol. Click OK, and click
again to place the symbol in the schematic.

Next, add a current-limiting resistor. Go back to the symbol chooser, but this time try
searching for a resistor by entering R in the filter box at the top. Again, it is found in the
Device library. The R device is an IEC-style rectangular resistor symbol. An R_US symbol is
also available for users who prefer the ANSI-style zigzag symbol. Select a resistor symbol and
add it to the schematic.

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Finally, add a battery to power the LED. The Device library has a suitable Battery_Cell
symbol.

Selecting and Moving Objects

Next, position the symbols correctly relative to each other, as shown in the screenshot. You
will do this by selecting each symbol, then moving and rotating it.

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In KiCad, objects are selected by clicking on them while the selection tool is active. The
selection tool is the default tool when no other tool is active, so you can enter the selection
tool by quitting any active tool ( Esc ) or by clicking the button in the right toolbar.

Additional objects can be added to the selection with Shift +click, or removed with Ctrl +
Shift +click (macOS: Cmd + Shift +click). You can toggle an item’s selection state with Ctrl

+click (macOS: Cmd +click).

Drag selection is also possible; dragging from left-to-right selects objects that are entirely
enclosed by the selection box, while dragging right-to-left also selects objects that are
partially enclosed by the selection box. Shift , Ctrl + Shift ( Cmd + Shift ), and Ctrl ( Cmd )
can also be used with drag selection to add, subtract, or toggle from the selection,
respectively.

Note that it is possible to select an entire symbol (by clicking on the symbol shape itself) or to
select one text field in the symbol without selecting the rest of the symbol (by clicking the
text). When just a text field is selected, any actions performed will act only on the selected
text and not on the rest of the symbol.

Selected objects are moved by pressing M and rotated by pressing R . The G hotkey (drag)
can also be used to move objects. For moving unconnected symbols, G and M behave
identically, but for symbols with wires attached, G moves the symbol and keeps the wires
attached, while M moves the symbol and leaves the wires behind. Selected objects can be
deleted with the Del key.

Wiring the Schematic

The symbol pins all have small circles on them, indicating that they are not connected. Fix
that by drawing wires between symbol pins as shown in the screenshot. Click the Add a Wire
button on the right-hand toolbar or use the W hotkey. Click and release to start drawing
a wire, and finish drawing the wire by clicking on a symbol pin or double clicking anywhere.
Pressing Escape will cancel drawing the wire.

Another convenient method of drawing wires is to hover over an unconnected pin. The
mouse cursor will change to indicate that a wire can be drawn starting from that location.
Clicking on the pin will then begin drawing a wire automatically.

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Next, add power and ground symbols to the schematic. While not strictly necessary in such a
simple schematic, these make it easier to understand large schematics.

A number of power and ground symbols are available in the Power symbol library. However,
there is a shortcut for adding these symbols: click the Add a Power Symbol button or
use the P hotkey. This brings up the Choose a Symbol dialog, but only displays symbol
libraries that contain power symbols.

Add a VCC symbol and GND symbol and then connect them to the circuit with wires.

Finally, add a label to the wire between the LED and resistor. Again, this may not be
necessary in a simple circuit, but it is good practice to label important nets. Click the Draw
Net Labels button in the right toolbar ( L ), type a label name ( led ), and place the label
into the schematic so that the square attachment point overlaps with the wire. Rotate and
align the label as necessary.

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Note that labels and power symbols with the same name are connected together. Another
GND symbol or wire labeled led on this schematic page would be shorted to the existing
one, even without wires visually connecting them.

Annotation, Symbol Properties, and Footprints

Annotation
Each symbol needs a unique reference designator assigned to it. This process is also known
as annotation.

By default, symbols are automatically annotated when they are added to the schematic.
Automatic annotation can be enabled or disabled using the button in the left toolbar.

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While it is not necessary for this guide, symbols can be manually annotated or reannotated
using the Fill in schematic symbol reference designators button ( ) in the top toolbar.
Symbol Properties
Next, fill in values for each component. Select the LED, right-click, and select Properties…​( E

). This project will use a red LED, so change the Value field to be red . In a real project, it
might be better to write the LED manufacturer’s part number here instead. Note that it’s
possible to edit reference designators individually in each symbol’s properties.

This project will use a 3V lithium coin cell battery, so change the Value field of BT1 to 3V .
Change the resistor’s value to 1k .

Footprint Assignment
Finally, assign a footprint to each component. This defines how each component will attach
to the PCB. Some symbols come with footprints pre-assigned, but for many components
there are multiple possible footprints, so the user needs to select the appropriate one.

There are several ways to assign footprints, but one convenient way is to use the footprint
assignment tool by clicking the button in the top toolbar.

The left pane of this window lists the available footprint libraries. The middle pane shows the
symbols in the schematic. All of these symbols will get footprints assigned to them. The right
pane shows the footprints that can be chosen for the symbol selected in the middle pane. To
assign a footprint to a symbol, select the symbol in the middle pane and double click on the
desired footprint in the right pane. You can preview a footprint by right-clicking the
footprint’s name and selecting View selected footprint.

Many footprints are included with KiCad, so the footprint assignment tool offers several ways
to filter out footprints that aren’t relevant to the symbol in question.

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The leftmost button activates filters that can be defined in each symbol. For
example, an opamp symbol might define filters that show only SOIC and DIP footprints.
Sometimes those predefined filters are missing or too restrictive, so it can be useful to
turn this filter off in some situations.
The middle button filters by pin count, so that only 8-pad footprints are shown for
8-pin symbols. This filter is almost always useful.
The right button filters by selected library. Libraries are selected in the left pane;
footprints not in the selected library will be filtered out. This filter is useful as long as it
is known which library contains the right footprint. Often it’s best to use this filter or the
symbol filters, but not both.
The text box filters out footprints that don’t match the text in the box. This filter is
disabled when the box is empty.

Using the filters, find each of the footprints shown in the central column in the screenshot
above. The footprints for each symbol are also listed in the table below. Assign each footprint
to a symbol by selecting the symbol in the central column and then double clicking the
appropriate footprint in the right column. Once all of the footprints have been assigned, click
OK.

Symbol Footprint to assign

Reference

BT1 Battery:BatteryHolder_Keystone_1058_1x2032

D1 LED_THT:LED_D5.0mm

R1 Resistor_THT:R_Axial_DIN0309_L9.0mm_D3.2mm_P12.70mm_Horizontal

There are other ways to assign footprints; one way is through the symbol properties window.
For more information on assigning footprints, see the manual
(../eeschema/eeschema.html#assigning-footprints).

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Electrical Rules Check

The last remaining thing to do in the schematic is to check for electrical errors. KiCad’s
Electrical Rules Checker (ERC) cannot make sure that the design in the schematic will work,
but it can check for some common connection issues such as unconnected pins, two power
outputs shorted together, or a power input that isn’t powered by anything. It also checks for
some other mistakes like symbols that aren’t annotated and typos in net labels. To see the
full list of electrical rules and to adjust their severity, go to File → Schematic Setup…​→
Electrical Rules → Violation Severity. It is a good idea to run ERC before starting layout.

Run an electrical rules check by clicking the ERC button ( ) in the top toolbar and then
clicking Run ERC.

Even in this simple schematic, KiCad has found two potential errors. The errors are listed in
the ERC window, and arrows point to the violation locations in the schematic. Selecting a
violation in the ERC window highlights the corresponding arrow.

You can exclude individual violations or ignore entire classes of violations by right clicking on
each error message. However, it’s usually worth addressing the violations, even if they aren’t
actual design errors, in order to get a clean ERC report and avoid missing real problems.

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In this case, KiCad reports "Input Power pin not driven by any Output Power pins" for both
the VCC and GND nets. This is a common KiCad ERC error. Power symbols are set up to
require a power output pin, such as the output of a voltage regulator, on the same net;
otherwise KiCad thinks the net is undriven. To a human, it is obvious that VCC and GND are
driven by the battery, but it’s necessary to explicitly show that in the schematic.

There is a special PWR_FLAG symbol in the Power symbol library that is used to solve this
problem by telling KiCad that the nets are actually driven. Add this symbol to the VCC and
GND nets and re-run ERC. When ERC passes without any violations, the schematic is
complete.

Bill of Materials
A final optional step is to generate a Bill of Materials listing all components used in the
project. Click Tools → Generate Bill of Materials…​.

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KiCad has a GUI for BOM export. You can configure which symbol metadata will be exported,
and how the symbols are grouped, in the Edit tab, and configure the output format in the
Export tab.

For now, the default settings should be fine, but you can see a raw view of what will be
exported in the preview pane. Specify an output file in the Export tab, then press the Export
button.

The BOM should look like the below image when it is opened in a spreadsheet program.

Tutorial Part 3: Circuit Board

With the schematic completed, go back to the Project Window and open the PCB Editor,
either by clicking the PCB Editor button or opening the board file.

PCB Editor Basics

Navigation in the PCB Editor is the same as the Schematic editor: pan by dragging with the
middle mouse button or right mouse button, and zoom with the scrollwheel or F1 / F2 .

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The main part of the PCB Editor is a canvas where the board will be designed. The toolbar on
the left side has various display options for the board, including units and toggles for
outline/filled display modes for tracks, vias, pads, and zones. The toolbar just to the right of
the canvas contains tools for designing the PCB.

Some buttons on the right toolbar have a small triangle in the bottom right
corner . The triangle indicates that the button has an expanding palette
containing several related tools, for example different kinds of dimensions.
 To select an alternate tool, click and hold on the button until the palette
appears, then click on the alternate tool. Another way to use the palettes is
to click on the button and drag to the left until the palette appears, then
release the mouse button when the desired tool is highlighted.

At far right is the Appearance Panel and Selection Filter. The Appearance panel is used to
change visibility, colors, and opacity of PCB layers, objects, and nets. The active layer is
changed by clicking on the name of a layer.

Below the Appearance Panel is the Selection Filter, which enables and disables selection of
various types of PCB objects. This is useful to select specific items in a crowded layout.

Board Setup and Stackup

Before designing the board, set the page size and add information to the title block. Click File
→ Page Settings…​, then choose an appropriate paper size and enter a date, revision, and
title.

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Next, go to File → Board Setup…​to define how the PCB will be manufactured. The most
important settings are the stackup, i.e. what copper and dielectric layers the PCB will have
(and their thicknesses), and the design rules, e.g. sizes and spacing for tracks and vias.

To set the stackup, open the Board Stackup → Physical Stackup page of the Board Setup
window. For this guide, leave the number of copper layers at 2, but more complicated
projects might require more layers.

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Next, go to the Design Rules → Constraints page. The settings on this page specify the
overriding design rules for everything in the board design. For the purposes of this guide, the
defaults are fine. However, for a real project these should be set according to the capabilities
of the PCB fab house so that the PCB design is manufacturable.

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Finally, open the Design Rules → Net Classes page. A net class is a set of design rules
associated with a specific group of nets. This page lists the design rules for each net class in
the design and allows assigning nets to each net class (nets can also be assigned to net
classes in the schematic editor).

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Track width and spacing can be managed manually by the designer during layout, but net
classes are recommended because they provide an automatic way to manage and check
design rules.

In this design, no net classes are specified, so all nets will belong to the Default net class.
The default design rules for this net class are acceptable for this project, but other designs
may have multiple net classes, each with different design rules. For example a board might
have a High Current netclass with wide tracks, or a 50 ohm netclass with specific width and
clearance rules for 50 ohm controlled-impedance tracks.

Importing Changes From Schematic

The schematic is complete, but there are not yet any components in the layout. To import
design data from the schematic into the layout, click Tools → Update PCB from
Schematic…​, or press F8 . There is also a button in the top toolbar.

Read through the messages in the Changes To Be Applied window, which will say that the
three components in the schematic will be added to the board. Click Update PCB, Close, and
click on the canvas to place the three footprints. The location of each footprint relative to the

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others will be changed later.

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In KiCad, updating the PCB with changes in the schematic is a manual process: the designer
decides when it is appropriate to update the PCB with modifications in the schematic. Each
time the schematic is edited, the designer must use the Update PCB from Schematic tool to
keep the schematic and layout in sync.

Drawing A Board Outline

Now the three components have been placed, but the board itself has not been defined. The
board is defined by drawing a board outline on the Edge.Cuts layer.

It’s often useful to draw the board outline with a coarse grid, which makes it easy to get
round numbers for the board size. Switch to a coarse grid by selecting 1mm in the Grid
dropdown menu above the canvas.

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To draw on the Edge.Cuts layer, click Edge.Cuts in the Layers tab of the Appearance panel
at right. Choose the rectangle tool in the right toolbar, click on the canvas to place the
first corner, then click again to place the opposite corner so that the rectangle roughly
surrounds the three footprints. The other graphic tools (line , arc , circle , polygon
, bezier , or a combination of them) could also be used to define the board outline; the
only requirement is that the outline is a single closed shape that doesn’t intersect itself.

Placing Footprints
The next step in the layout process is to arrange the footprints on the board. In general,
there are a several considerations for positioning footprints:

Some footprints may have exact requirements for their locations, such as connectors,
indicators, or buttons and switches.
Some components may need to be placed according to electrical considerations.
Bypass capacitors should be close to the power pins of the associated IC and sensitive
analog components should be far from digital interference.

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Almost all components have a "Courtyard" (or two if both Front and Back are defined).
Generally courtyards should not intersect.
Otherwise components should be positioned for ease of routing. Connected
components should generally be close together, and arranged to minimize routing
complexity. The ratsnest (the thin lines indicating connections between pads) is useful
for determining how best position footprints relative to other footprints.

For the purposes of this guide, the only placement goal is to make the routing process as
simple as possible.

Start by moving the battery holder BT1 onto the back side of the board. Click it to select it,
then press M to move it. Press F to flip it to the opposite side; it now appears mirrored and
its pads have changed from red to blue.

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All PCB layers are viewed from front side of the board. Footprints on the bottom of the board
are therefore upside down and appear mirrored.

Each PCB layer has a unique color, which is shown by the swatches in the Layers tab of the
Appearance panel. In the default color scheme, items on the F.Cu (Front Copper) layer are
red, while items on the B.Cu (Back Copper) are blue.

Now place the other two components. One at a time, select each component, then move and
rotate it with M and R . Watch the ratsnest lines between each pad to choose the simplest
arrangement of components; a good arrangement will leave the lines untangled. One
possible arrangement is shown in the screenshot below.

Routing Tracks
With the components in place, it’s time to connect the pads with copper tracks.

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The first track will be drawn on the front of the board, so change the active layer to F.Cu in
the Layers tab of the Appearance panel.

Click Route Tracks in the right-hand toolbar or press X . Click on the led pad of D1 and
release the mouse button. The ratsnest line indicates there is an unrouted connection to the
led pad of R1 , so click on that pad to draw a track connecting the two pads. Clicking on the
second pad completes the track. The ratsnest line between the led pins is no longer drawn
because the connection has been made in copper.

Now draw a track between the GND pads of BT1 and D1 , starting with the BT1 pad on the
back of the board. Notice that the active layer automatically changed to B.Cu after clicking
on the BT1 pad. Click on the D1 pad to finish the track.

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While BT1 has surface mount pads that are only on the bottom of the board, D1 has
through hole pads that can connect to tracks on both the front and back. Through hole pads
are one way to make a connection between multiple layers. In this case, D1 is a component
on the front side of the board, but its through hole pads are used to connect to a track on the
back of the board.

Another way to make a connection across layers is with a via. Start routing at the VCC pad of
BT1 on the back of the board. Press V and click halfway between BT1 and R1 to insert a
via, which also switches the active layer to F.Cu . Complete the track on the top side of the
board by clicking on the VCC pad of R1 .

At this point, all connections are routed. This can be confirmed by looking at the status
screen in the bottom left of the window, where the number of unrouted nets is given as 0.

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Placing Copper Zones

Copper zones are regions of copper with an associated net. Zones automatically connect to
copper objects belonging to the same net and avoid objects belonging to other nets. Zones
are often used for ground and power connections because they provide a lower impedance
connection than tracks.

Add a GND zone on the bottom of the board by switching to the bottom copper layer and
clicking the Add a filled zone button in the right toolbar. Click on the PCB to place the
first corner of the zone.

In the Copper Zone Properties dialog that appears, select the GND net and make sure that
the B.Cu layer is selected. Click OK, then click to place the other three corners of the zone.
Double click when placing the last corner to complete the zone.

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The zone outline is displayed on the canvas, but the zone is not yet filled — there is no copper
in the zone area, and therefore the zone is not making any electrical connections. Fill the
zone with Edit → Fill All Zones ( B ). Copper has been added to the zone, but it doesn’t
connect to the VCC or led pads and tracks, and is clipped by the board edge. It overlaps
with the GND track drawn earlier, and it connects to the GND pads through thin tracks. These
are thermal reliefs, which make the pads easier to solder. Thermal reliefs and other zone
settings can be modified in the zone properties dialog.

In KiCad, zones are not filled automatically when they are first drawn or modified, or when
footprints within them are moved. Zones are refilled by manually filling them and when
running DRC. Make sure zone fills are up-to-date before generating fabrication outputs.

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Sometimes filled zones can make it hard to see other objects in a crowded board design.
Zones can be hidden except for their boundaries using the Show only zone boundaries
button on the left-hand toolbar. Zones retain their filled status when only their outlines
are shown — hiding a zone fill is not the same as unfilling it.

Zones can also be made transparent using the Appearance panel, and inactive layers can
also be hidden or dimmed using the Layer Display Options in the Appearance Panel.

Design Rule Checking

Design Rule Checking is the layout equivalent of Electrical Rule Checking for the schematic.
DRC looks for design mistakes like mismatches between the schematic and layout, copper
regions that have insufficient clearance or are shorted together, and tracks that do not
connect to anything. You can also write custom DRC rules. To view the full list of design rules
that are checked and to adjust their severity, go to File → Board Setup…​→ Design Rules →
Violation Severity. Running DRC and fixing all errors is strongly advised before generating
fabrication outputs.

Run a DRC check with Inspect → Design Rules Checker, or use the button in the top
toolbar. Click Run DRC. When the checks are complete, no errors or warnings should be
reported. Close the DRC window.

Now intentionally cause a DRC error by moving the resistor footprint to overlap the filled
area of the zone. Use D (Drag) to move the resistor footprint slightly while keeping the
tracks attached to its pads. This creates a clearance violation because the VCC and led pads
of the resistor are shorted to the GND zone fill. Ordinarily this would be fixed by refilling the
zone, but don’t refill the zone yet.

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Run DRC again, but make sure to uncheck the Refill all zones before performing DRC
checkbox. DRC reports 6 violations: for each pad of R1 , there is a clearance violation
between the pad and the zone, another clearance violation between the pad’s through hole
and the zone, and a third violation where the pad’s solder mask opening exposes the copper
of two different nets (the GND fill and the track connected to the pad). Arrows point to each
violation in the canvas. Clicking on each violation message zooms in on the respective
violation.

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Close the DRC dialog, press B to refill the zone, and re-run DRC. Alternatively, check the
Refill all zones before performing DRC checkbox and re-run DRC. All violations are fixed.

3D Viewer
KiCad offers a 3D viewer that is useful for inspecting the PCB. Open the 3D viewer with View
→ 3D Viewer. Pan by dragging with the middle mouse button, and orbit by dragging with the
left mouse button. Orbit around the PCB to see the LED and resistor on the top, and the
battery holder on the bottom.

A raytracing mode is available, which is slower but offers more accurate rendering. Switch to
the raytracing mode with Preferences → Raytracing.

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Many of the footprints in KiCad’s library come with 3D models, including all of the footprints
used in this guide. Some footprints do not come with 3D models, but users can add their
own.

Fabrication Outputs
With the board design finished, the final step is to generate fabrication outputs so the board
can be manufactured.

Open the Plot dialog with File → Plot…​. This dialog can plot the design in several formats, but
Gerber is usually the right format for ordering from a PCB fabricator.

Specify an output directory so that the plotted files will be collected in a folder. Otherwise,
the default settings are fine, but make sure all the necessary layers are checked: include the
copper layers ( *.Cu ), board outline ( Edge.Cuts ), soldermask ( *.Mask ), and silkscreen
( *.Silkscreen ). The paste layers ( *.Paste ) are useful for manufacturing solder paste
stencils. The Adhesive layers ( *.Adhesive ) are needed only if any components will be glued
to the board during assembly. Other layers may be useful to plot, but are not typically
necessary for PCB fabrication.

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Click Plot to generate the Gerber files. Also click Generate Drill Files…​and then Generate
Drill File to create files specifying the location of all holes that will be drilled in the board.
Finally, close the Plot dialog. The design is finished.

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