So I’ll start by showing how to build KiCAD on Ubuntu 18.04 before trying to import an Altium file and see how it goes. This requires the development version though, and while one day it will be in a KiCAD release (KiCAD 6.0?), if we want to try it today, we’ll need to build KiCAD. This allows to view and edit #opensource #hardware which was designed with #proprietary software, and thus, in fact, not open for everyone. But I recently saw a tweet saying it’s now possible to import Altium files into KiCAD.įinally, importing #altium boards into #kicad is only one click away (in the developer version).

But since many schematics and PCB layouts have been designed with other tools like EAGLE, Orcad Allegro, or Altium PCB design tools, it would be nice to be able to import those designs into KiCad.Ĭonverters have been around for a long time but when I tried to convert Beagleboard-xM OrCAD schematics to import them in KiCAD back in 2012, the results were really awful and unusable. AFAIK, some companies like Olimex switched all their new designs to KiCAD.

KiCad open-source EDA (Electronics Design Automation) suite software is now very popular, and many new projects are designed with the utility.

Pcbdoc kicad