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Designing and Fabricating PCB

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Jacob Gable edited this page Jul 27, 2026 · 1 revision

Designing and Fabricating the PCB

This page explains how to set up KiCad for working on the PCB design, and how to export the PCB gerber files for fabrication. If you simply want to have the PCB fabricated, the gerber files will be included in the release page starting with v1.1.0.

KiCad Project Setup

This project is based on KiCad 10. This project will not be supported to work in earlier versions of KiCad, and the project may have to be adapted for future versions of KiCad.

Importing

To import the project, simply import the pcb/alpha_centauri_pcb.kicad_pro file into KiCad. This will allow you to view the schematic and PCB, and make basic changes to the design. This is all that's required to generate the gerber files for fabrication.

Keyboard Components

This project makes heavy use of common keyboard components, which have been combined by Joe Scotto into a nice library. It is strongly recommended to install this library so that you can properly view the symbols and footprints of these components, as well as use some of these components in this keyboard if necessary. It will also allow you to view the 3D models of those components in the PCB editor. To install Joe Scotto's component library, clone the repository into a safe location on your computer:

git clone https://github.com/joe-scotto/scottokeebs

Next, in KiCad, click Preferences > Configure Paths, and add a path called SCOTTOKEEBS_KICAD to scottokeebs/Extras/ScottoKicad in the repository. Click OK to save the changes.

Now click Preferences > Symbol Libraries, click the button with the folder icon, and select scottokeebs/Extras/ScottoKicad/symbols/ScottoKeebs.kicad_sym. Click OK to save the changes.

Now click Preferences > Footprint Libraries and click the button with the folder icon. Navigate to scottokeebs/Extras/ScottoKicad/footprints, and select and open all of the directories (they should all begin with ScottoKeebs_). It will let you add all of them at once if you select all of them. Click OK to save the changes.

Other Components

There are a few components that I can't distribute in the repository due to licensing. You can download the components here (you probably will need an account). Don't forget it's optional to set these up, unless you want to add more of these components or view the 3D models.

In order to include these in the project, download all of those files and unzip them into pcb/components. The file structure should look something like this:

components
├── AlphaCentauri.pretty
│   ├── MX_Choc_Hotswap_Hybrid_1.5u.kicad_mod
│   └── MX_Choc_Hotswap_Hybrid.kicad_mod
├── EVQ-P9P02W
│   └── 3D
├── EVQP9P02W
│   ├── 3D
│   ├── ...
│   ├── KiCad
│   └── ...
├── LIB_GG0402052R542P
│   ├── GG0402052R542P
│   └── ...
├── LIB_SSAG230400
│   ├── ...
│   ├── SSAG230400
│   └── ...
├── LIB_W25Q128JVSIQ
│   ├── ...
│   └── W25Q128JVSIQ
└── UJ20-C-H-G-SMT-1-P16-TR
    └── 3D

Then you need to click Preferences > Configure Paths, and add a path called ALPHA_CENTAURI that points to the components directory.

Then click Preferences > Symbol Libraries, and include these paths (either global or project-specific):

  • ${ALPHA_CENTAURI}/LIB_SSAG230400/SSAG230400/KiCad/SSAG230400.kicad_sym
  • ${ALPHA_CENTAURI}/LIB_GG0402052R542P/GG0402052R542P/KiCad/GG0402052R542P.kicad_sym

Then click Preferences > Footprint Libraries, and include these paths (either global or project-specific):

  • ${ALPHA_CENTAURI}/LIB_SSAG230400/SSAG230400/KiCad
  • ${ALPHA_CENTAURI}/LIB_GG0402052R542P/GG0402052R542P/KiCad
  • ${ALPHA_CENTAURI}/EVQP9P02W/KiCad
  • ${ALPHA_CENTAURI}/LIB_W25Q128JVSIQ/W25Q128JVSIQ/KiCad
  • ${ALPHA_CENTAURI}/AlphaCentauri.pretty

Now you should be able to view all of the components in the schematic and PCB editor, and view the 3D models of those components in the PCB editor.

Fabrication

In order to generate a gerber file for fabrication, first make sure you have the "Fabrication Toolkit" plugin installed in KiCad. You can install it by clicking "Plugin and Content Manager" in the main KiCad window, and searching for "Fabrication Toolkit". Click "Install", then "Apply Pending Changes".

With the fabrication toolkit installed, go to the PCB editor, and click the Fabrication Toolkit icon in the top toolbar. It will generate an alpha_centauri_pcb.zip file in pcb/production. Upload this file to your favorite PCB manufacturer to order the PCB.

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