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Tutorial: Design a Simple LED Circuit

This step-by-step tutorial walks you through the complete WireFrame workflow — from creating a project to exporting Gerber files — using a simple LED circuit with a resistor and a connector.

What you will build: A basic single-layer PCB with one LED, one current-limiting resistor, and a 2-pin connector — fully routed and ready for fabrication.

Final Result

What You Will Learn

  • Create a project and load libraries
  • Place components and wire them in the schematic editor
  • Convert the schematic to a PCB
  • Place footprints and define the board outline
  • Route traces and add a ground plane
  • Run DFM checks
  • Export Gerber and BOM files

Prerequisites

Requirement Details
WireFrame Installed and activated (Installation guide)
Libraries At least one KiCad symbol (.kicad_sym) and footprint (.kicad_mod) library containing R, LED, and Conn_01x02

Don't have libraries?

You can download free KiCad libraries from https://www.kicad.org/libraries/ — WireFrame loads them natively.

Step 1 — Create a Project

  1. Launch WireFrame.
  2. Go to File → New Project…
  3. Choose a folder and name it LED_Board.prjxml.
  4. Click Create.

The Project Structure panel now shows your empty project.

Step1 New Project

Importing from other EDA tools

Already have a design in KiCad, Altium, or Eagle? Use File → Import instead. See Projects & Files — Importing for details.

Step 2 — Load Libraries

Load symbol libraries

  1. Go to File → New Schematic to create a schematic document.
  2. In the Library panel (right side), click Load Symbols…
  3. Select your .kicad_sym file(s) containing R, LED, and Conn_01x02.
  4. Wait for parsing — symbol names appear in the list.

Load footprint libraries

  1. Go to File → New PCB to create a PCB document.
  2. In the Library panel, click Load Footprints…
  3. Select your .kicad_mod file(s) containing R_0805, LED_0805, and PinHeader_1x02.
  4. Footprint names appear in the list.

Step2 Libraries

Step 3 — Draw the Schematic

Switch to the schematic tab (click the schematic tab at the top of the editor).

3.1 Place the components

Component How to find it Designator
Resistor Search R in Library panel → double-click R1
LED Search LED → double-click D1
Connector Search Conn_01x02 → double-click J1

For each component:

  1. Double-click its name in the Library panel.
  2. Move the mouse to position it on the schematic.
  3. Press R to rotate if needed.
  4. Left-click to place.

Arrange them roughly like this:

    J1           R1           D1
  ┌─────┐     ┌─────┐     ┌─────┐
  │  1 ─┼─────┼─ 1 2┼─────┼─A  K┼───┐
  │  2 ─┼──┐  └─────┘     └─────┘   │
  └─────┘  │                         │
           └─────────────────────────┘

3.2 Edit component properties

Click each component and set its properties in the Properties panel:

Component Designator Value Footprint
Resistor R1 330Ω R_0805_2012Metric
LED D1 Red LED_0805_2012Metric
Connector J1 Power PinHeader_1x02_P2.54mm_Vertical

Step3 Properties

3.3 Wire the circuit

  1. Press W to activate the Wire tool.
  2. Wire 1: Click on J1 pin 1 → click on R1 pin 1. The wire connects them.
  3. Wire 2: Click on R1 pin 2 → click on D1 anode (A).
  4. Wire 3: Click on D1 cathode (K) → click on J1 pin 2. This closes the loop.
  5. Press Esc to exit wire mode.

3.4 Save the schematic

Press Ctrl+S and save as LED_Board.schxml.

Step3 Complete

Step 4 — Convert Schematic to PCB

  1. With the schematic active, go to Project → Convert to PCB.
  2. A new PCB document opens automatically with:
    • All three footprints loaded (clustered together).
    • Ratsnest lines showing the connections to route.

Step4 Converted

Check footprint assignments

If a component shows as "missing footprint", go back to the schematic and verify the Footprint field is set correctly in the Properties panel.

Step 5 — Place Footprints

Spread the footprints out on the board:

  1. Select the Select tool (default, or press Esc).
  2. Click and drag each footprint to a good position.
  3. Press R to rotate if needed.

Suggested layout:

┌────────────────────────┐
│   [J1]    [R1]   [D1]  │
│    ○○     ▫▫     ▫▫    │
└────────────────────────┘
Shortcut Action
Click + drag Move footprint
R Rotate 90°
F Flip to back side

Step 6 — Define the Board Outline

  1. In the Layer panel, click Edge.Cuts to set it as the active layer.
  2. Select the Draw Rectangle tool from the toolbar.
  3. Click and drag to draw a rectangle around all three footprints.
  4. Leave some margin (~50 mil) between footprints and the edge.

Step6 Outline

Step 7 — Route Traces

  1. Press X to activate the Route Trace tool.
  2. Click on J1 pad 1 to start a trace → route to R1 pad 1 → click to finish.
  3. Click on R1 pad 2 → route to D1 anode pad → click to finish.
  4. Click on D1 cathode pad → route to J1 pad 2 → click to finish.

As you complete each trace, the corresponding ratsnest line disappears.

Action Input
Start / add vertex Left-click
Finish on pad Left-click on target pad
Cancel Right-click or Esc

Step 8 — Run DFM Check

  1. Go to Tools → DFM Check.
  2. Click Run DFM.
  3. Review the results:
    • 0 errors = ready to export
    • If errors appear, double-click each one to zoom to the issue and fix it.

Step8 Dfm

Step 9 — Export Fabrication Files

Gerber export

  1. Go to File → Export → Gerber…
  2. Select layers: F.Cu, F.SilkS, F.Mask, Edge.Cuts.
  3. Choose an output folder.
  4. Click Export.

BOM export

  1. Go to File → Export → BOM…
  2. Save as LED_Board_BOM.csv.

The BOM contains:

Designator Value Footprint Layer
R1 330Ω R_0805_2012Metric Top
D1 Red LED_0805_2012Metric Top
J1 Power PinHeader_1x02_P2.54mm_Vertical Top

Verify with Gerber Viewer

  1. Go to Tools → Gerber Viewer.
  2. Open the generated F.Cu.gbr file.
  3. Verify traces and pads look correct.

Done!

You have completed a full design cycle:

Project → Schematic → PCB → Route → DFM → Export
Deliverable File
Project LED_Board.prjxml
Schematic LED_Board.schxml
PCB LED_Board.pcbxml
Gerber files F.Cu.gbr, F.SilkS.gbr, F.Mask.gbr, Edge.Cuts.gbr
BOM LED_Board_BOM.csv

Quick Reference — Shortcuts Used

Action Shortcut
Save Ctrl+S
Undo Ctrl+Z
Place wire W
Route trace X
Rotate R
Flip F
Cancel / Select Esc
Delete Del

Next Steps

Now that you know the basic workflow, explore more:

Topic Link
Add net labels and power symbols Wiring & Nets
Multi-layer routing with vias Routing
Add a ground plane Zones & Planes
Preview in 3D 3D Viewer
Import KiCad / Altium projects Projects & Files
All keyboard shortcuts Shortcuts