As a preview of a feature coming in the next major release, the ability to import Altium PcbDoc files is now available in the latest nightly builds. This was thanks to the work of Thomas Pointhuber in MR#60 The board import option can be found under the File > Import > Non-Kicad Board File option and changing the file type filter After which in the import file dialog you must change the file filter

The first ever Learn to Code KiCad event happened in Brussels, BE on Friday, Jan 31. We had 15 new KiCad developers from Europe and the United States in attendance. 12 unique issues were addressed by the participants, ranging from OpenGL display on ARM hardware to cursor offset bugs to Eeschema rubberbanding. Wayne, Ian, Jon and Seth served as sounding boards for user questions and provided some guidance on where to find needed information.

The KiCad project is excited to announce the project leader, Wayne Stambaugh, has joined the KiCad Services Corporation. A video interview with KiCad Services Corporation founder Seth Hillbrand is available for viewing. This new position will allow the project leader to continue work on KiCad as much as possible when not working on behalf of the corporation. On behalf of The KiCad development team and its users, we would like to say thank you to the KiCad Services Corporation for its commitment to the project.

The KiCad project is proud to announce the latest series 5 stable release. The 5.1.5 stable version contains critical bug fixes and other minor improvements since the 5.1.4 release. It also includes improved footprint, symbol, and 3D model libraries, translations, and documentation. A list of all of the fixed bugs since the 5.1.4 release can be found on the KiCad 5.1.5 milestone page. This release contains several critical bug fixes so please consider upgrading as soon as possible.

The KiCad project is excited to announce that the project has joined the Linux Foundation. This has the potential to provide additional avenues for donations to the KiCad project. It will also allow the project to use donations for services other than software development. Our current donation arrangement with CERN will continue as it always has so you can continue to donate via CERN if you prefer. This will give donors a choice of donation platforms.

The KiCad Project Leader was recently interviewed by the founder of SnapEDA. Take a look at the interview if you are interested in the origins of the KiCad project, the current development, and some of the project goals for the future.

I don’t normally post blog announcements in the first person but I’m going to make an exception since this is rather important. This will also be my first blog post that isn’t good news. I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later. I regret to inform everyone that I found out earlier this month that my employment with WIT will be terminated effective October 31st. I am not at liberty to discuss the details as to why my employment was terminated but can say that I had nothing to do with the decision.

The KiCad project is proud to announce the latest series 5 stable release of KiCad. The 5.1.4 stable version contains critical bug fixes and other minor improvements since the 5.1.2 and 5.1.3 releases. It also includes improved footprint, symbol, and 3D model libraries, translations, and documentation. A list of all of the fixed bugs since the 5.1.2 and 5.1.3 releases can be found on the KiCad 5.1.3 milestone page and the KiCad 5.

For those of you who did not have the good fortune of being able to attend KiCon, you missed a great conference. If this years conference was any indication, you will not want to miss the next one. The conference completely sold out with 220 registrations. Attendees from all over the world gathered to share their experiences with KiCad. There were high quality talks, the badges were cool, everything ran smoothly, mHUB was the ideal venue, and the after hours events were a whole lot of (maybe too much) fun.

For those of you who did not have the good fortune to attend KiCon (more on that in a later post), there was a major project announcement made by the project leader during the keynote talk. The KiCad project is excited to announce that the lead developer, Wayne Stambaugh, has been hired by WIT to work full time on KiCad. On behalf of The KiCad development team and its users, we would like to say thank you to WIT for its commitment to the project.