Engaging Minds: Gaining Valuable Insights from KiCon Europe 2024

KiCon, short for KiCad Conference, is an annual technical event that brings together developers, users, designers, and anyone else interested in learning and sharing experiences around KiCad software. KiCad is a free and open-source CAD tool for electronics engineers that is compatible with multiple platforms and makes electronics design accessible to everyone. KiCad’s versatility and community-driven nature make it a standout tool in the world of electronic design, which naturally fuels the excitement around KiCon each year.

The Gathering of KiCad Enthusiasts and Innovators

This year, KiCon Europe was held in Bochum, Germany, offering a fantastic opportunity to attend in person. Not only did I get the chance to meet some of the KiCad developers and learn more about the project, but I also had the opportunity to share a plugin proposal for KiCad with the community. The plugin idea is based on technology we have developed in-house at CELUS, to extract schematics and convert them to KiCad files. 

Engaging Talks and Exciting Networking

The day began with us organizing the gifts we brought for the visitors—printed circuit boards for our game console project. Every visitor took at least one of these boards, and I was glad to see the level of interest, as some approached me to ask more about the project. 

The morning was packed with interesting presentations, and the one on building KiCad plugins stood out the most for me. It was thorough and addressed many of the questions I had on this topic. Plugins are one of the most powerful features of KiCad, allowing anyone with programming skills to extend the software in their own way. Most other CAD tools don’t offer an easy way to do that.

My speaking slot was right after lunch, and I was worried that people could be sleepy after the food. To my positive surprise, I saw an audience that was attentively listening and engaged, which is a relief to anyone giving a talk. After that, great ideas and suggestions to the project came in the form of questions and conversations throughout the rest of the day, as a starting point for the follow-ups in the next weeks.

The following presentations have shown how to make PCBs not only functional, but beautiful as well. Some electronic boards are integrated in a way that makes them visible in the final product design, so understanding how to make these designs visually appealing can make a significant difference. New manufacturing procedures allow multi-color silk screens, and even if that is not available, playing with the visual properties of FR-4, copper and solder masks can already create an impressive visual impact.

We finished the day with an open round of questions for the KiCad development team, which I found really productive. Many users have questions about when certain features will be delivered or why certain things work the way they do, and this session provided a great opportunity to clear up those uncertainties. 

Sneak Peek at Upcoming KiCad Features

In the morning of the second day, the highlight was the session by Wayne Stambaugh on the status of the KiCad project, the features planned for Version 9 release and the tentative features for Version 10 release.

Within Version 9, the ones which caught my attention the most in schematic design were visual diff/merge tool for Git, rule areas and design blocks on schematics, reusable schematics and net class colors. On the board design side, the ODB++ export capability, zone management, and cursor snap indicators stood out. Overall, the feature we are expecting the most is the new IPC interface to interact with KiCad through plugins and other software. This interface will unlock new capabilities which are not available on the current programming interface from KiCad, give more flexibility to Plugin designers and strengthen the KiCad ecosystem.

Conclusion

Attending KiCon Europe 2024 was not just an opportunity to learn about the advancements in KiCad; it was a vibrant celebration of the innovation and collaboration that define this open-source community. I found more than 100 people who, in one way or another, were contributing to the KiCad project, and who were ready to engage in technical conversations, exchange ideas and network.

You wouldn't want to miss out on a valuable opportunity to gain collective knowledge in advancing electronic design. All talks will be made available on KiCad Youtube channel. Check them out!