PoorMansWiringDiagram

Overview

This project was developed to address the challenges of creating wiring plans in environments where resources for professional tools are limited. The goal is to leverage KiCad, a free and open-source PCB design tool, as a platform for generating wiring schematics and connection overviews.

The script processes KiCad schematic files, extracting information about buses (representing cables) and their connections to various devices. It outputs a comprehensive overview of all connections, including their endpoints, descriptions, and part numbers. In the future, this project could integrate with Wirewiz to automate detailed wire drawings.

Features

• Bus and Symbol Processing: Each device must have a corresponding KiCad symbol. Cables are defined as buses with optional descriptions and part numbers.
• Connection Overview: The script parses the schematic to generate a table of all connections with endpoints and metadata.
• Scalable and Open Source: Built on KiCad, making it accessible and cost-effective.

Requirements

• Python: The script is written in Python and requires the skip module to parse KiCad schematics. Install it via pip if not already available.
• KiCad: Ensure KiCad is installed and schematics are prepared using it.
• KiCad-Skip Library: Uses the KiCad-Skip library for parsing schematic files.

Usage

1. Prepare Schematic:
   • Define each device as a symbol in KiCad.
   • Represent each cable as a bus.
   • Add Description and Part Number to each bus as properties.

2. Run the Script:

   • Run the script with the schematic file as input:

     python GenerateCableList.py

3. View Output:

   • The script processes the schematic and displays a table of connections:

Bus Name   Wire Name  To Part - Pin From Part - Pin Description P/N       
======================================================================
DMM_OUT    DMM_1                U5 - +               U2 - OUT_P           N/A                  N/A       
DMM_OUT    DMM_2                U5 - -               U2 - OUT_N           N/A                  N/A       
LAN        LAN_1                U1 - LAN1            U4 - LAN             RJ45-Cable           131-432-423
LAN        LAN_2                U1 - LAN2            U2 - LAN             RJ45-Cable           131-432-423
LAN_A      LAN_A_1              U5 - LAN             U1 - LAN4            N/A                  N/A       
USB        USB_1                U2 - USB             U4 - USB2            USB Cable 2m         123-422-123
VCC        AC230V_1             U4 - 230VAC          U6 - 1               test                 123-445-234
VCC        AC230V_2             U5 - 230VAC          U6 - 2               test                 123-445-234
VCC        AC230V_3             U1 - 230VAC          U6 - 3               test                 123-445-234

Future Plans

• Wire Drawing Automation: Integration with Wirewiz to generate detailed wire diagrams.
• Improved UI/UX: Enhance the usability of the tool with a graphical interface or more intuitive output formats.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! If you have ideas or improvements, please submit a pull request or open an issue on the repository.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.

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Note: While this tool is designed for limited-resource environments, it remains a powerful aid for creating organized and detailed wiring documentation.