I Ordered an AI-Designed PCB. Here's What Arrived.
Measuring whether an AI-assisted PCB design workflow can produce circuit boards that are accurate enough to manufacture without manual redesign.
The question
Can AI design a PCB that’s ready for manufacturing?
AI-powered PCB (printed circuit board) design tools promise to accelerate one of the most time-consuming parts of building hardware. From generating schematics to laying out traces and routing components, they’re beginning to automate work that has traditionally required careful engineering review. What remains unclear is whether those designs are reliable enough to move beyond the screen and into the hands of a manufacturer.
Why this matters
The very thought of opening KiCad causes a slight panic attack whenever I get the bright idea of creating a PCB from scratch. After a year of learning electronics, I’ve managed to successfully design, order and assemble two PCBs. The first had more traces than necessary, but it worked. The second was missing a label but was good enough for me to share in a PCB exchange.
My latest idea is my most ambitious project yet, a custom macro-pad. Why a macro-pad? For years, I promised myself that I would never get into the hobby of assembling mechanical keyboards. However, my cyber deck project had other plans and required me to put together one from scratch. Fortunately, the macro-pad used for my cyber deck project came with a PCB and components already assembled. But while looking at YouTube videos for how to connect the keycaps, I stumbled upon a few videos on how to create PCBs for a macro-pad. Consider me inspired because here I am now on a quest to figure out how to create my own.
As a self-taught electronics enthusiast, I didn’t have the luxury of learning how to design PCBs in a classroom. YouTube and various chats with ChatGPT and Claude were my teachers. But at some point, you have to get past creating circuits that can make a LED glow and graduate to more complex designs. The team at Flux.ai reached out to see if I’d be interested in trying their AI-powered PCB design tool. Rather than build another blinking LED board, I figured we’d put it through a real test by designing a custom macro-pad from scratch.
How to follow this experiment
This experiment hasn’t began yet. When it does, updates will appear on the timeline as they happen — not on a schedule. Subscribe to the Pretty Wired Labs YouTube channel to be notified, or come back to the Experiment Log to check status.