Post #2096427

2026-05-01 14:39 UTC

ok, so, here's a question about PCB releases: I get my PCBs from JLC and do all the part assignments for PCBA inside KiCAD using the JLCPCB plugin, which means all the production data for getting your own boards made it right there, but I don't usually include it in my releases because I feel kinda… icky about including files for a specific board house? Like, they're not paying me anything and I don't really want to favor one company over another, but I do realize that it would be handy for people to just have a file they can upload somewhere and get boards in the mail a few days later. How do you feel about including production files for specific manufacturers in open source releases?

Replies (7)

@slyka@pawb.fun 2026-05-01 16:41

ok, the masses have spoken, PCBA data for JLC is now available for download on the refs tab on sourcehut and included in the sources

Open ##2096428
@gsuberland@chaos.social 2026-05-01 14:42

@slyka secret third thing: the two aspects kinda balance out into a fairly neutral result, so ultimately it's more of a "can you be bothered to upload it" thing

Open ##2096432
@f4grx@chaos.social 2026-05-01 14:42

@slyka if these files can be generated from sources you dont have to include them!

Open ##2096434
@anders@merveilles.town 2026-05-01 14:51

@slyka I think if you have the files and can release them that’s a kindness. Ideally folks have everything they need to assemble themselves or use a different fab, but boy is it nice when the work is done for you already.

Open ##2096440
@amy@cathode.church 2026-05-01 15:05

@slyka Doesnt this plugin mainly just add a symbol field "LCSC" with their part number. I guess the plugin stores some extra metadata, but for production this seems like the most relevant info (and iirc, the plugin also reads these fields if there is no other data). And personally I dont think that is a horrible thing to have included, you could potentially add more fields for different distributers

Open ##2096441
@mossmann@mastodon.social 2026-05-01 16:59

@slyka Be aware that, if you order "global sourcing" components, JLC will give you part numbers that are unique to your account.

Open ##2096446
@doragasu@mastodon.sdf.org 2026-05-02 01:21

@slyka I use Kibot to automagically generate fabrication files for several manufacturers, not only JLC. A Gitlab CI/CD script runs it each time I create a tag, generates fab files, documentation (including 3D exports, BRD files, etc.), packs everything and uploads it to the package registry.

Open ##2096448