Study guide — what to focus on

This module is curated — the teaching is a top free KiCad course (in the card above); we point you at what matters, make you prove it, and certify you.

The plan

1. Work through the course (the card above), following along in KiCad on your own machine — PCB design is learned by doing.
2. Focus on these — what the check tests and what you'll actually use:
   • Schematic capture — placing symbols and wiring nets; the schematic is the logical circuit.
   • Symbols vs footprints — every part needs both; the footprint is the physical pad pattern it solders to.
   • The netlist — how the schematic's connectivity flows into the board layout.
   • Layers & routing — top/bottom copper on a 2-layer board, vias between layers, track width for current.
   • Ground pours — a low-impedance ground plane for clean return paths.
   • ERC & DRC — electrical checks on the schematic, design-rule checks on the layout.
   • Fab output — exporting Gerbers + drill files to get the board made.
3. Prove it in Forge (next section) — a PCB starts as a circuit, so design the circuit in Forge first.
4. Take the K-Check to earn your certificate.

Why this connects to building real products

A KiCad schematic is the same thing a Forge Design BOM captures — parts and how they connect. Design the circuit in Forge, then lay it out in KiCad; the netlist and BOM carry straight across. When the board's ready, Forge Build takes your Gerbers to fab (JLCPCB and partners) and the parts from the catalog — learn-here → design → get it made.

Before you route a single track, you need the circuit — the parts and how they connect. That's exactly what a KiCad schematic captures, and it's what Forge Design produces.

Send the prompt below in Forge Design. The block diagram, the connections, and the BOM it gives you are the same information you'd draw as a KiCad schematic before laying out the board — parts, nets, and the pins that join them.

As you read it: which nets carry power vs. signal? Which would need a wider track on the PCB? Where would you place decoupling capacitors near the ESP32's power pins? That's the bridge from circuit → board.