KiCad-EM-Stackup-Exporter-KESE (RolandThsive)ECADConfidence: Medium

After 17 rounds of bug fixing to export KiCad boards (versions 4 to 10) into EM and STEP models, KiCad 5 boards with renamed copper layers were refused until layers were read by number, and KiCad 5 zone fills came out half a pen too thin. The PR adds an independent check that compares every copper layer of the model with the board's copper shapes, clean on 70 KiCad 10 boards.

Impact Analysis

Persona

Electrical Engineer

Team Size Impact

5x Multiplier

Prototype Delay

3 Days

Est. Annual Cost

$30,000

1 user · 1 month240 min
Rest of team960 min
Rest of year13,200 min

monthly_minutes × 12 × team_multiplier ÷ 60 × $75/hr = $30k/yr

$75/hr assumed rate.

Annual team-minutes decomposed from the reported monthly inputs.

Evidence & Sources

1 Sources

RolandThsive/KiCad-EM-Stackup-Exporter-KESE PR #17: Bug fixing loop: 17 rounds of fixes, KiCad 10 model accuracy

github.com

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Analyst Notes

From the Grok pain-radar digests, Oct 31-Nov 1 2026 (Oct 31 9:41 PM ET through Nov 1 7:41 AM ET digests plus the Haitch overnight edition). Verified live 2026-11-01: issue/PR read; title and state confirmed.