3D Printed PCB (Experimental)

Fair Warning

• This is experimental. It might not work at all.

• It's also a work in progress, so things may change.

• I haven't tried this yet, but I wanted to put this out there in case anyone wanted to try it out.

The idea here is to be able to create a PCB using KiCAD, Inkscape and OpenSCAD. There are two different methods available: 1) print raised traces, cover with copper foil and cut away the excess; 2) print with recessed traces, cover with copper foil and sand off the excess. These two methods are demonstrated in YouTube videos included below.

Limitations

1. This is for PCB designs with a single copper layer on the bottom of the board.

2. The traces need to be reasonably thick.

3. Through-hole only; no surface-mount.

KiCAD PCB Editor Export

1. File->Export->STEP/GBL/BREP/XAO/PLY/STL.

2. Select Format: STL.

3. Under "Board Options", make sure only "Export board body" and "Cut vias in board body" are checked.

4. Set the filename and hit "Export".

5. File->Plot.

6. Plot format: PDF (SVG output doesn't work very well for me, so this is a work-around).

7. Under "Include Layers", make sure only "B.Cu" is checked (or B.Cu and F.Cu for both sides)

8. Under "Plot on All Layers, make sure only "Edge.Cuts" is checked. (This will make it possible to align and size the two outputs in OpenSCAD).

9. Set an output directory and hit "Plot".

Convert PDF to SVG

In Inkscape, open the PDF(s) created in the above section, and save it as an SVG file(s).

Render in OpenSCAD

Open brd.scad and set the following parameters:

• w - This is the board width. It'll be the board width in mm from KiCAD. (Inspect->Show Board Statistics)

• l - This is the board length. It'll be the board height in mm from KiCAD.

• h - This is the board thickness in mm.

• t - This is the trace depth, either raise or indented.

• style- Indicates whether to generate raised, indented or grooved traces.

• stlPath - The path to the board STL from KiCAD. This can be either an absolute or relative path.

• copperPathBottom - The path to the SVG created in InkScape. This can be either an absolute or relative path

• copperPathTop - The path to the SVG created in InkScape. Only used for grooved style and only if you want double-sided

• traceOffset - The amount, in mm, to grow or shrink the traces

• holeOffset - The amount, in mm, to grow or shrink the holes

• grooveWidth - The width of the groove (only for grooved style)

NOTE: Due to the method being used to alter the hole size, holeOffset will alter the perimeter of the board as well. This shouldn't be a problem for small offset values, but might affect the size of the board for larger values.

Rendering Styles

• The "raised" style renders the bottom traces so that they project above the board surface.

• The "indented" style renders the bottom traces so that they're cut into the board.

• The "grooved" style renders the bottom (and optionally top) traces so that only their outlines are cut into the board. It's possible to print a double-sided board using this style, since all gaps are narrow, allowing bridging.

In all cases, the board is rendered with the bottom facing upward.

Create a Board With Raised Traces

The following video shows the method for creating raised traces by applying foil and cutting away the excess.

Create a Board With Indented Traces

The following video shows the method for creating raised traces by applying foil and sanding off the excess.

Create a Board With Grooved Traces

There isn't a video for this, but it should just be a matter of cutting along the outlines of the traces. The excess can either be peeled off or left in place.

Updates

2026-09-03: Updated board layout, added parameters to adjust trace and hole size, uploaded image of proof-of-concept board.

2026-09-04: Updated OpenSCAD source, changed the "raised" parameter to "style", added a "grooved" style, added an STL of a grooved example file.

2026-09-05: Added the option of including top copper layer for the grooved style. Included top copper SVG. Included example STL with top and bottom copper.