Why the KiCad Like a Pro Bundle Is a Must-Have

Looking for a complete guide to the world’s top free PCB design tool? This bundle includes both volumes of Elektor's "KiCad Like a Pro" (4th edition 2024).

In Fundamentals and Projects, you'll learn how to use KiCad through a practical approach, helping you quickly become productive and start designing your own boards. Then, Advanced Projects and Recipes lets you put your new KiCad skills to the test with a series of real-world projects. Plus, all projects are fully compatible with KiCad 8, ensuring you’re working with the most current version as you learn.

KiCad: The Ultimate PCB Design Tool

KiCad offers a range of benefits, from being open source and free to providing awesome features and working anywhere—whether you’re on Mac, Windows, or Linux. It delivers professional-grade tools and includes full SPICE integration for analog circuit design. With KiCad 8, you can create PCBs of any complexity and size without the constraints of commercial packages.

Getting Started: Fundamentals and Projects

In the first book, Fundamentals and Projects, you’ll find example projects that demonstrate KiCad’s basic features, even if you’re starting from scratch with no prior PCB design knowledge. The author takes you through the entire workflow, from schematic entry to the details of finalizing files for PCB production, offering practical and straightforward guidance along the way.
 

Expanding Skills: Advanced Projects and Recipes

The second book, Advanced Projects and Recipes, helps you practice your new KiCad skills through a series of real-world projects, supported by detailed instructions and recipes. Here’s what you’ll work on:

• Design the PCBs for a solar power supply.
• Create an LED matrix array.
• Develop an Arduino-powered datalogger.
• Build a custom ESP32 board.
• Understand the finer details of the interactive router.
• Learn how to manage KiCad project teams with Git.
• Use an autorouter on 2-layer and 4-layer PCBs.
• Explore many other practical tasks.