Blog
Device Control GUI and Binary Distribution
Sunday, June 23, 2024 in Blog
Abstract Built a basic GUI wrapping a CLI and packaged it into a standalone executable to control embedded software updating and diagnostics. Firmware Updating GUI Background & Goal We’ve been working with an agricultural fire prevention …
KiCad Coordinate System
Sunday, June 16, 2024 in Blog
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The KiCad coordinate system can be unintuitive, especially when scripting or developing plugins. Here’s what I learned while building the JigsApp system and the kicad-testpoints plugin. The origin and axis settings are global display …
KiCad 8 Makefile
Tuesday, June 04, 2024 in Blog
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KiCad 7 introduced the CLI tool which made creating a design release insanely easy. There are other great tools that met the need before like KiBot and KiKit but having the functionality in the main line release is so much nicer. I wrote a post on my …
KiCad Testpoints Plugin
Tuesday, June 04, 2024 in Blog
(Updated: )Over the past few months I’ve been working on turning the internal tools we’ve developed at EOI/HEO for various projects into a new company. We recently launched TheJigsApp to make the design and manufacturing of test jigs fast and …
KiCad 8 Contributor Shirt
Tuesday, May 21, 2024 in Blog
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KiCad 8 has been released, and they were kind enough to send us a contributor shirt! It’s amazing how much the tool has improved over the past five years. I’m looking forward to the API-based version, even though it’s going to break …
Photoreceiver Testing
Thursday, May 16, 2024 in Blog
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At ElectroOptical Innovations (EOI), we build a wide range of optical measurement systems tailored to diverse applications. When a subject matter expert approaches us with a measurement challenge, we collaborate closely to define the measurement …
KiCad Custom DRC Rules
Monday, October 30, 2023 in Blog
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I got a board sent back by JLCPCB the other day due to a DRC rule I hadn’t come across before: “If the copper area is less than 30% of the outer layers, then the trace-trace spacing should be at least 0.15 mm.” This is in contrast to their usual …
Pin 1 Markings and PCB Assembly
Monday, October 23, 2023 in Blog
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Most pick and place files are programmed by hand. Remember this and repeat it to yourself whenever you’re checking your files for PCBA manufacturing. Chris Denny’s KiCON 2019 talk is essential viewing on this topic—he breaks down the …
Spreadsheet Wrangler
Monday, October 23, 2023 in Blog
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Summary Spreadsheet Wrangler is a command line tool to make working with spreadsheets easier. I use it primarily for handling bill of materials. Github PyPi README spreadsheet-wrangler Command line tool for interacting with spreadsheet data …
Rectangle Packaging Problem / Efficient 2D Packing
Thursday, October 19, 2023 in Blog
Summary Automatically fit 2D rectangular parts onto standard-sized CNC panels to reduce waste and manual layout work. This post outlines a Python-based approach using the rectpack library and OpenSCAD for visualization and tool path. Using rectpack …