Open Hardware at CERN in practice: electronics

Friday 9 May 2025, 14:00 → 17:00 Europe/Zurich

503/1-001 - Council Chamber (CERN)

The CERN Open Source Program Office (OSPO) invites you to a half-day event which will provide a complete picture of the journey from idea to commercial Open Source Hardware (OSHW) at CERN. The target audience is electronics designers, and anybody with an interest in OSHW at CERN and elsewhere. This event will focus on Printed Circuit Board (PCB) design, manufacturing, test and interaction with companies for procurement and commercialisation.

14:00 → 14:10 Welcome and introduction

This quick presentation will provide an introduction to the event, whose main purpose is to take designers on a journey from design idea to commercial Open Source Hardware (OSHW) in the CERN context. We start with the importance of Free and Open-Source Software (FOSS) tools for Printed Circuit Board (PCB) design, and a presentation of KiCad, which now benefits from commercial support at CERN. We then move on to the support you can expect from CERN’s electronics design office and from the IT department. Whether you design collaboratively or on your own, you can use the Open Hardware Repository to share your designs and related information with the world, either throughout the design process or at the end. The Knowledge Transfer (KT) group helps you maximise the impact of your designs outside CERN. In collaboration with the CERN Open Source Program Office (OSPO) they provide guidance including interaction with companies and recommendations for the use of the CERN Open Hardware Licence (OHL). Procurement is an essential part of the process. This is when you change hats, stop designing and start purchasing hardware. The CERN procurement service helps you in this important part of the journey. We will finish with two examples putting it all together: radiation-tolerant lighting and White Rabbit. Then we will have a bit of time for discussion in the meeting room. Those who want to continue are welcome to join us after the event in nearby restaurant #1 for more informal discussion, hopefully on the terrace if the weather is good!

Speaker: Javier Serrano (CERN)

14:10 → 14:25 KiCad: a Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) tool for Printed Circuit Board (PCB) design

This presentation introduces KiCad, a powerful, free and open-source software suite for Printed Circuit Board (PCB) design. With robust features, active development, and growing community support, KiCad is a viable alternative to proprietary tools. We'll highlight key capabilities, recent improvements, and examples of successful designs to show why it's well-suited for use at CERN.

Speaker: Roberto Fernandez Bautista (CERN)

14:25 → 14:40 The CERN Electronics Design Office

Speaker: Raphael Berberat (CERN)

14:40 → 14:55 IT support for Electronics Design Automation (EDA) tools

Speaker: Christos Gentsos (CERN (IT-CA-GES))

14:55 → 15:10 The Open Hardware Repository

Speaker: Dimitris Lampridis (CERN)

15:10 → 15:30 Coffee break

15:30 → 15:40 Knowledge Transfer (KT) at CERN and Open Hardware

Speaker: Benjamin Frisch (CERN)

15:40 → 15:50 The CERN Open Hardware Licence

Speaker: Dane Tacchini (CERN)

15:50 → 16:00 Support for Open Hardware in CERN's Open Source Program Office (OSPO)

Speaker: Hamza Boukabache (CERN)

16:00 → 16:15 Procurement of Open Hardware

Speaker: Josh Davison (CERN)

16:15 → 16:30 Putting it all together: radiation-tolerant lighting in CERN's Proton Synchrotron (PS)

Speaker: James Devine (CERN)

16:30 → 16:45 Putting it all together: White Rabbit

Speaker: Adam Artur Wujek

16:45 → 17:00 Discussion session

Speaker: Evangelia Gousiou (CERN)