Gingerbread: automate design of decorative PCBs in KiCad #PCB @kicad_pcb @wntrblm
Gingerbread is a set of Python utilities used by Winterbloom to create decorative printed circuit boards (PCBs), such as the ones used for front panels. It initially started with a command-line driven, Python implementation but eventually involved into a fully browser-based application utilizing a native library written in Zig & C and compiled to WASM.
fancytext is used to generate beautiful text labels for KiCAD PCBs.
trace is a re-implementation of KiCAD’s “Image Converter” program (bitmap2component) as a Python library and command line tool to enable automation.
NOTE: This tool is extremely tailored to Winterbloom’s needs. It’s not perfect, it’s not universal, and it probably won’t work the way you think it will. Because of this, it comes with no warranty and no promise of support- again, we won’t be providing any free support for this.
That said, you’re welcome to try it out, learn from it, take code from it, and give us feedback or even contribute if you’d like. If you’d like to pay us to add a feature or support some use case, reach out.
There are several similar projects that might fit your use case better.
See Gingerbread here (picture below) and the GitHub website here.
Adafruit publishes a wide range of writing and video content, including interviews and reporting on the maker market and the wider technology world. Our standards page is intended as a guide to best practices that Adafruit uses, as well as an outline of the ethical standards Adafruit aspires to. While Adafruit is not an independent journalistic institution, Adafruit strives to be a fair, informative, and positive voice within the community – check it out here: adafruit.com/editorialstandards
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7:30pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat and our Discord!
