PCB Design Action Labeler

PCB Design Action Labeler (PDAL) is a plugin specifically designed for KiCad that allows user to label their PCB design action to specific task number and language instructions.

PDAL and PCB Design Action Recorder (PDAR) are series plugins. These plugins are recommend to use together, which fully log the human's thinking during PCB design process. Please make sure the constant.py files in each plugin are identical.

Note: This plugin has only been tested with KiCad 8.0. It's likely incompatible with later versions.

Setup

1. Launch KiCad Command Prompt and install the requirement of package in requirement.yml.

2. Launch KiCad and download plugin.

   • Navigate to the folder where plugins are stored: KiCad -> Tools -> External Plugins -> Open plugin Directory

   • Open a terminal and change directory to the plugin folder:

     cd [path-to-plugins-folder]

   • Clone the PDAL_plugin repository:

     git clone https://github.com/fleaxiao/PDAL_plugin.git

   • Refresh your plugins in KiCad: KiCad -> Tools -> External Plugins -> Refresh Plugins

The PDAL plugin should now be visible in the menu of KiCad.

Usage

1. Open both schematic file and PCB layout file. Make sure the PCB layout is empty.

2. Initialization: The components from the schematic will be imported to the PCB layout design environment.

3. Load: The .json record file should be selected.

4. Play: The recorded PCB design action will be played. The number of action step is controlled by the bar.

5. Label: After typing the specific task number and language instructions, a new label and image files will be exported.

Acknowledge

The logo of this plugin is designed by Freepik from Flaticon.

Contact

If you have any questions, please contact me at x.yang2@tue.nl