KiCad Symbol & Footprint Library for Arduino Modules

Version 4.0.0

This is a library of KiCad schematic symbols and PCB footprints for most Arduino modules. You can use them to make your own PCB design which will effortlessly connect with your chosen Arduino module.

Currently included modules:

• Arduino 101 Shield
• Arduino Due Shield
• Arduino Giga R1 WiFi Shield
• Arduino Leonardo Shield
• Arduino M0 Shield
• Arduino M0 Pro Shield
• Arduino Mega 2560 Shield
• Arduino Micro Socket
• Arduino Mini Socket
• Arduino MKR 1000 WiFi Socket
• Arduino MKR WiFi 1010 Socket
• Arduino MKR FOX 1200 Socket
• Arduino MKR WAN 1300 Socket
• Arduino MKR WAN 1310 Socket
• Arduino MKR GSM 1400 Socket
• Arduino MKR NB 1500 Socket
• Arduino MKR Vidor 4000 Socket
• Arduino MKR Zero Socket
• Arduino Nano Socket
• Arduino Nano 33 BLE Socket / Tile
• Arduino Nano 33 BLE Sense Socket / Tile
• Arduino Nano 33 BLE Sense R2 Socket / Tile
• Arduino Nano 33 IoT Socket / Tile
• Arduino Nano Every Socket / Tile
• Arduino Nano RP2040 Connect Socket / Tile
• Arduino Nicla Sense ME Socket / Tile
• Arduino Nicla Vision Socket / Tile
• Arduino Nicla Voice Socket / Tile
• Arduino Pro Mini Socket
• Arduino Uno R1 Shield
• Arduino Uno R2 Shield
• Arduino Uno R3 Shield
• Arduino Uno R3 SMD Shield
• Arduino Uno WiFi R2 Shield
• Arduino Zero Shield
• Clone Pro Mini Socket

"Shield" means the module is designed to plug in from beneath your PCB. "Socket" means the module is designed to plug in from above your PCB. "Tile" means the module is designed to be soldered directly on to your PCB using surface-mount pads.

KiCad Version Compatibility

This library requires at least KiCad 6 to function, and is tested on KiCad versions 6.0.8 and 7.0.0. Note that the installation procedure is different for KiCad 6 and 7; please see the Library Installation section below.

Comments, Requests, Bugs & Contributions

All are welcome! Please open an Issue or Pull Request, as appropriate.

Library Installation

To install this library in your copy of KiCad, choose the correct section for your version of KiCad and follow the steps given. These instructions only cover automated installation using KiCad's built-in Package and Content Manager (PCM); manual installation is possible but not supported.

KiCad 7

Warning: Do not change the nickname prefix from that given in step 4 below. If you do so KiCad will not assign the correct footprints to the symbols by default.

1. Open KiCad and open the Preferences window at "Preferences" -> "Preferences..."
2. Select the "Plugin and Content Manager" section in the left-hand pane.
3. Ensure that the "Automatically add installed libraries to the global lib table" option is ticked.
4. Ensure that the "Library nickname prefix" is set to "PCM_".
5. Ensuring that the "Check for package updates on startup" option is ticked is recommended. (Optional)
6. Click "OK" to close the Preferences window.
7. Click the "Plugin and Content Manager" button.
8. Select the "KiCad official repository" from the top drop-down box (if not already selected).
9. Go the Libraries tab and locate the "KiCad Library for Arduino Modules" in the list.
10. Click the "Install" button for that entry in the list.
11. Click "Apply Pending Changes".
12. Close the "Applying Package Changes" window once it has finished.
13. You should now find that this library is listed in the "Installed" tab.
14. Close the Plugin and Content Manager.
15. You may need to restart KiCad for the library installation to fully take effect. (Optional)
16. All done: you are now ready to use these schematic components and footprints in your projects!

KiCad 6

Recommendation: If you can, you should upgrade to KiCad 7.

Warning: Do not change the Nicknames from those given in steps 12 and 18 below. If you do so KiCad will not assign the correct footprints to the symbols by default.

1. Open KiCad and click the "Plugin and Content Manager" button.
2. Select the "KiCad official repository" from the top drop-down box (if not already selected).
3. Go the Libraries tab and locate the "KiCad Library for Arduino Modules" in the list.
4. Click the "Install" button for that entry in the list.
5. Click "Apply Changes".
6. Close the "Applying Package Changes" window once it has finished.
7. You should now find that this library is listed in the "Installed" tab.
8. Close the Plugin and Content Manager.
9. Go to the "Preferences" -> "Manage Symbol Libraries..." menu option.
10. In the Symbol Libraries dialogue that appears, switch to the "Global Libraries" tab (if not already selected).
11. Click "Add empty row to table" button (the button with a big cross in it, beneath the table).
12. In the new line of the table, set the Nickname to "PCM_arduino-library", and ensure the Library Format is set to "KiCad".
13. In the same line of the table, set Library Path to "${KICAD6_3RD_PARTY}/symbols/com_github_alarm-siren_arduino-kicad-library/arduino-library.kicad_sym".
14. Click "OK" to close the Symbol Libraries dialogue.
15. Go to "Preferences" -> "Manage Footprint Libraries..." menu option.
16. In the Footprint Libraries dialogue that appears, switch to the "Global Libraries" tab (if not already selected).
17. Click "Add empty row to table" button (the button with a big cross in it, beneath the table).
18. In the new line of the table, set the Nickname to "PCM_arduino-library", and ensure the Library Format is set to "KiCad".
19. In the same line of the table, set Library Path to "${KICAD6_3RD_PARTY}/footprints/com_github_alarm-siren_arduino-kicad-library/arduino-library.pretty".
20. Click "OK" to close the Footprint Libraries dialogue.
21. All done: you are now ready to use these schematic components and footprints in your projects!

Donations

I really hope you've found this library useful. If you'd like to buy me a beer in thanks for the work I put into it, you can make a donation using the button below:

License & Legal

Copyright 2017-2023, Nicholas Parks Young.

Except as otherwise noted, all content of this library is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, with the following additional exception:

To the extent that the creation of electronic designs that use the Licensed Material can be considered to be Adapted Material, the Licensor waives Section 3 of the Public License with respect to these electronic designs and any generated files which incorporate data provided as part of the Licensed Material.

"KiCad Library for Arduino" Banner & Icon

The two images "resources/banner.png" and "resources/icon.png" are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. These images are derivatives of "Arduino Open-Source Community: Main Logotype RGB Colors" originally created by Arduino.

Original Images: Copyright 2013, Arduino. Derived Images: Copyright 2023, Nicholas Parks Young.

Arduino Trademark

The word "Arduino" is a registered trademark of Arduino. This trademark is used in this library to refer to Arduino products and to identify Arduino-related non-commercial content, as permitted by Arduino's trademark guidelines. This project is not affiliated with nor endorsed by Arduino.

A note about Power and Reset pins

Power

On Arduino modules it is not possible to categorically state the appropriate electrical type for some power pins, as that depends on exactly which module you're using and how it's connected in your design. Sometimes a pin must necessarily be a power input or output, or is internally disconnected by default, but some pins may be either depending on how you are using the module.

Regardless, I needed to make a decision about what electrical type to apply to these pins. I could use something like "passive" or "unspecified", but then KiCad's electrical rules checker (ERC) tool would not be effective in catching errors on these pins at all, whilst using "power output" can mean it objects to you joining pins together even when that's okay in some situations.

Therefore, I have adopted the following methodology for deciding the electrical type of a given power pin:

1. Where I have been able to determine that a given power pin is internally disconnected by default, I have set the electrical type to "Unconnected".
2. Where I have been able to determine that a given power pin must necessarily be a Power Output, I have set the electrical type to "Power Output".
3. In any other circumstance, or where I am lacking information, I have set the electrical type to "Power Input" as this presents the least issues. This means if you're actually using any of these power pins as 'Power Outputs' in your design, by default the ERC will complain that the relevant nets are undriven. To fix this you will need to add the special "PWR_FLAG" component to the affected net.

Two concrete examples:

• For the Arduino Nano 33 BLE, the 5V pin is disconnected by default so it is assigned "Unconnected". The GND and 3.3V pins can be either inputs or outputs depending on how the module is being powered, so they are assigned "Power Input". VIN can only ever be used as an input, so it too is assigned "Power Input".
• For the Arduino 101, both the 5V and 3.3V rails are used by internal circuitry of the module, and the module will create its own 3.3V rail from the 5V rail, thus the 3.3V pins must necessarily be a "Power Output" and is assigned as such. The GND, 5V and VIN pins can be either inputs or outputs depending on how the module is being powered, so they are assigned "Power Input".

Reset

Reset pins on Arduino modules have interesting electrical characteristics which mean that no KiCad electrical type exactly matches their functionality. I settled on "open collector" as the nearest candidate, but unlike a true open collector pin on an integrated circuit, the reset pins on Arduino modules have an internal weak pull-up and a reset button that can strongly pull low, so your design needs to be able to cope with all these situations. In other words, if you use the reset pin as an input to your PCB then you do not need to add a pull-up (doing so will actually make it less responsive). Conversely, if you want to drive the reset line in order to reset the module from your PCB, you need to ensure that you only ever pull it low: if you pull it high at the same time as an unwitting user hits the physical reset button, you've created a short between power and ground through the microcontroller, and that would be very bad.

TL;DR:

The KiCad ERC cannot catch all the possible electrical errors on your design as it doesn't natively support the reset and power pins' electrical types. Even if the ERC says it's OK, double check it manually.

If the ERC says that your power pins are undriven, first manually check they are being driven. If they are driven, then add a "PWR_FLAG" component to the net to make the error go away.