EDA Tools

Wed, 21 May 2025 10:49:02 -0400

Efficient design depends just as much on project management as on technical tools. Below is a curated list of tools I use and some I maintain for managing electronics design projects.

The majority of the functions eventually make there way into my KiCad Makefile (kicad-make).

There are similar systems, including ones with many more features such as KiBot. I steered away from these methods once kicad-cli was introduced as they are fairly heavy weight in comparison.

Semantic Versioning for Electronics Design

Tue, 20 May 2025 19:26:59 -0400

Updated: 2025-05-20

Summary

This is a practical system for versioning and tagging electronics to streamline prototyping and development. It mirrors Semantic Versioning 2.0 described here but adapts to the realities of hardware. This convention is intended for printed circuit boards (PCBs) and printed circuit board assemblies (PCBAs).

Here we change PATCH to SUBREVISION as PATCH is a software specific term. Given a version number MAJOR.MINOR.SUBREVISION (analog of MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH), increment the:

MAJOR: When you change the interface or mechanical form factor
MINOR: When you change the layout or schematic
SUBREVISION: When you change the BOM or population option

Major Version: Interface & Form Factor

Roll the MAJOR when any of the following occur:

Docs on Maskset

EDA Tools

Semantic Versioning for Electronics Design

Summary

Major Version: Interface & Form Factor