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103 lines
4.6 KiB
Markdown
103 lines
4.6 KiB
Markdown
# CERN KiCad Libraries
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## About
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These are the component libraries used at CERN for electronics design using
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KiCad. They have been open-sourced so they can be used freely by designers
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outside CERN – including, but not only, CERN contractors.
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The libraries are the result of automatically converting the original Altium
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Designer source libraries maintained by the fine folks at CERN's Electronics
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Design Office, using `kicad-cli` every night. They contain symbols and
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footprints for each component. Please note that 3D models and datasheets are not
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included, as many of them are not CERN's IP (for example, obtained from
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component vendors).
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> **Technical Note:** These libraries are currently generated using KiCad v9.x.
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> While they are also compatible with KiCad v10.x, the native v10.x version of
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> these libraries is also coming soon – stay tuned!
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The sharing of these libraries is part of the larger Open Hardware activity at
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CERN. Open Hardware is a key part of CERN's [Open Science
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Policy](https://openscience.cern/hardware) and its implementation at CERN is
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supported by our [Open Source Program Office](https://opensource.cern/) (OSPO).
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See the [OSPO documentation](https://ospo.docs.cern.ch/) for more details and
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feel free to ask any questions in the [OSPO forums](https://ospo.web.cern.ch/).
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## Installation
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First, clone the repository to a local directory. Then, install an SQLite ODBC
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driver for your OS. These libraries use a database format, so an ODBC driver is
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required — please do not add the symbol and footprint libraries separately, they
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are not structured to be used that way.
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> [!tip]
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> If you're on Linux and have installed KiCad using `flatpak install flathub
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> org.kicad.KiCad`, you can install an ODBC driver by running `flatpak install
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> org.kicad.KiCad.ODBCDriver.sqliteodbc`
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The next step is to rename `CERN_Windows.kicad_dbl` or `CERN_Linux.kicad_dbl`
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(depending on your OS) to `CERN.kicad_dbl`. Then, in KiCad, go to **Preferences
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→ Configure Paths** and add a `CERN_LIB_DIR` variable pointing to your local
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library copy. After that point, installing the libraries for 9.x and 10.x can
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differ significantly, follow the ones for your version:
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<details>
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<summary>Instructions for KiCad 9.x</summary>
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> [!warning]
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> This will overwrite your existing library configuration: please back up your
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> `sym-lib-table` and `fp-lib-table` files first. If you want to mix the CERN
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> KiCad libraries with yours, you need to manually (and carefully) merge the
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> contents into your existing library table files (again, after backing them
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> up).
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Copy `sym-lib-table` and `fp-lib-table` from the `CernLib` directory to the
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KiCad configuration directory (usually this will be %APPDATA%/kicad/9.0 for
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Windows installations, ~/.config/kicad/9.0 for Linux).
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</details>
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<details>
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<summary>Instructions for KiCad 10.x</summary>
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Open **Preferences → Manage Symbol Libraries** and add a new entry with format
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`Table`, nickname `CERN`, and the path pointing to
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`${CERN_LIB_DIR}/sym-lib-table`; then do the same with **Preferences → Manage
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Footprint Libraries** and `${CERN_LIB_DIR}/fp-lib-table`.
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> [!note]
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> The v9.x instructions can be used for v10.x, as well; however, this method is
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> more flexible and makes it easier to combine the CERN KiCad libraries with
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> your existing ones.
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</details>
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Finally, restart KiCad to apply the changes.
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## Licence
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The libraries are made available under the [permissive
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variant](https://ohwr.org/cern_ohl_p_v2.txt) of the [CERN Open Hardware Licence
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v2](https://cern-ohl.web.cern.ch/) (short SPDX identifier `CERN-OHL-P-2.0`).
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This means you can use them in any kind of design, Open Source or proprietary.
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This variant was selected to maximise compatibility with a broad range of
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projects and with other libraries.
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## Disclaimer
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Please read the complete licence text, and in particular section 5 ("DISCLAIMER
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AND LIABILITY"). Very importantly, the libraries are made available "as is" with
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no express or implied warranties of any kind. While we hope these libraries are
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useful, please note that there aren't any resources allocated for providing user
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support or assisting with the correct use of the libraries. The "as is"
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provision therefore applies in this respect, as well.
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## Reporting issues
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If you use the libraries, you may come across a genuine error, be it derived
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from the original symbols and footprints or introduced during the automatic
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conversion process. Feel free to [report it via the project's issue
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tracker](https://gitlab.com/ohwr/cern-kicad-libs/-/work_items/new?issue%5Bconfidential%5D=true&issue%5Bissue_type%5D=issue)
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and we will do our best to follow up and fix it.
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