An illustrated guide to electronic circuit design covering fundamentals of conduction and semiconductors, analog and digital circuits, microcontrollers, and practical PCB design. The book progresses from basic electrical principles through circuit building blocks to applications in digital systems and embedded software.
A developer created a compact texting device by combining a $20 4G wireless hotspot, a Clicks keyboard, and a sharp display, then installed Linux using the OpenStick project and created a custom PCB to integrate the components into the Clicks case form factor.
OrthoRoute is a GPU-accelerated PCB autorouter plugin for KiCad that uses Manhattan lattice routing and the PathFinder algorithm to handle high-density boards with thousands of nets. Developed to route a complex 17,600-pad backplane that existing autorouters couldn't handle efficiently, it leverages KiCad's new IPC plugin system for improved performance and flexibility compared to traditional Python-based routers.
A fast Rust-accelerated A* autorouter for KiCad PCB design files, compatible with KiCad 9 and 10. Available as a GUI plugin and command-line tool, featuring multi-layer routing, differential pair support, power plane handling, signal integrity optimization, and post-route verification.
An article describing AI-powered automation for PCB routing and placement in KiCad, a free open-source electronics design tool. The automation pipeline analyzes schematics to extract design intent, then uses KiCad's Python scripting interface to automatically place components and route connections, reducing manual design work from days to minutes. The approach was tested on real-world boards including an aerospace avionics project.
OpenAI's announcement of Astra, an LLM model that automates PCB layout in KiCad, sparked concern among embedded engineers about job displacement. The article argues that while LLMs will likely automate routine design tasks like schematic and board layout work, the future of engineering lies in systems-level thinking, requirements development, and verification—skills where human experience remains irreplaceable.
A hardware designer discusses troubleshooting PCB impedance calculations for a Sensor Hub RF layout with a colleague named Paul. The confusion stemmed from misunderstanding KiCad's layer visualization and selecting different board stackup options in JLC's calculator, which significantly affected trace width calculations for achieving 50-ohm characteristic impedance.
Practical PCB Design is a guide that teaches electronics makers how to transition circuits from breadboards to production-ready PCBs. Based on a university course, it covers schematic creation, layer design, component placement, design verification, and manufacturer collaboration using software-agnostic concepts.
An illustrated educational guide covering electronic circuit design from fundamental principles through practical applications, spanning conduction, semiconductors, analog and digital circuits, microcontrollers, and PCB design techniques.