Fabrication

Save your PCB, and then go to File → Fabrication Outputs and then export every single thing there, if you want my gerber settings, here they are:

Now you can also use the KiCad fabrication toolkit to do this all for you if you're having problems, but I like to teach the whole process

Before you turn all these files into a zip, you'll want to modify the CPL file, because JLCPCB expects the CPL file headers to be called something else, so add it into google sheets. This file will be called something like "your-project-top-pos.csv", we're doing one sided assembly so you can delete the bottom file. Anyways change the headers from:

• Ref → Designator
• PosX → Mid X
• PosY → Mid Y
• Rot → Rotation
• Side → Layer

Next, you need to replace the headers on your BOM file, this is just changing Designation → Comment

Once you've renamed those headers exactly, export is as a .csv and replace your old CPL/BOM file with this one. And then take all of the files you exported, and compress them into a zip folder, called "PRODUCTION" or whatever you want really:

And now I usually make another folder called production in my root, and put this zip file inside of there:

Head on over to JLCPCB and drag that zip folder into the quote section. You should see your PCB show up, and the only thing you're going to add onto your order is PCBA, this just makes sure that JLCPCB doesn't just give you the raw PCB, but also assembles it:

Now you don't actually need to use PCBA, if you want to save some money, you can just buy the components on LCSC or the JLCPCB parts manager (which will probably be cheaper), but you'll need to have all the tools to assemble SMD, but I'm going to include an SMD soldering part to this tutorial too if you want to do that

Now tap next, and then add your BOM, and the CPL CSV you just created. If you have any errors when uploading this, check the internet, double check you modified the CPL/BOM properly, and worst case, tap the chat button on the website and ask the JLCPCB help desk.

If you did everything properly though, you should be presented with the JLCPCB BOM page:

Continue on, and don't place the header pins (it'll prompt you), and then you'll see your assembled board show up:

There's a couple components that aren't properly assembled on our boards so we need to move them manually! You'll need to move:

• The USB-C to fit within the holes nicely
• The LDO just needs to be turned a bit
• The flash memory needs to be rotated right so that the dot aligns with the triangle

And then everything else you should just double check, but it should be fine: