Students
AI PCB design for students: how Circuit Board Studio turns one sentence into a routed board
One sentence, real parts, a self-check that fixes its own layout, and an ESP32 board with every trace routed. What AI-assisted PCB design looks like for electronics students.
Anish Menon · CEO & Founder, Grout
· 8 min read
Most students meet PCB design the night before a project is due. The breadboard works, the board has to exist, and the evening goes on footprint libraries, a ratsnest that will not route and a design rule check full of red.
On 16 October 2026 we shipped Circuit Board Studio inside GroutApp: a PCB workspace with a circuit board assistant that designs a board from a plain-language description, with real parts, a schematic, routed traces and a 3D view. This post walks through one prompt from start to finish, what the assistant did at each step, where the AI runs, and how to write a prompt that gets a good first board.
Fair warning: Grout makes GroutApp. This is a product post, written to show exactly what the module does and does not do.
What AI PCB design means here
There are two things people call AI PCB design. One is an autorouter: you place every part and draw every net, and the software finds paths for the copper. The other starts earlier. You describe the circuit, and the AI chooses parts, connects them, lays them out, routes them and checks the result. Circuit Board Studio is the second kind, and it still leaves every decision in a file you can read.
That file matters for learning. The board is written as code: each part has a name, a value and a footprint, and each trace joins two named pins. A student can see that R1 and R2 are 5.1 kΩ resistors on the USB-C CC pins, change a value, and watch the PCB, the schematic and the 3D board update.
One prompt, step by step
The launch film uses one sentence: "Make it 60 × 40 mm, power it from USB-C with a 3.3 V regulator, and add the pull-ups the ESP32 needs to boot." Here is what happened.
- Create a circuit board. From the GroutApp home screen: Create new project, the Engineering tab, then Circuit board. The project opens with the board code on the left, the PCB, schematic and 3D views in the middle, and the circuit board assistant on the right.
- Pick the AI. The same model picker as the rest of GroutApp. The film uses the owner's own key with Claude Opus 5.5; Grout Cloud or a local model on this computer work the same way.
- Send the prompt. The assistant reads the existing code, then searches the parts library three times: ESP32 module, USB-C and AMS1117-3.3. It adds the three parts it found and writes the board, 63 lines of code.
- Antenna to the edge. Looking at the first layout, the assistant noticed the ESP32's antenna faced the middle of the board. It turned the module so the antenna sits at the right edge, which also gave the small parts more room.
- A failed build, fixed. That build did not come out clean: the module now stuck out 4 mm past the right edge. The assistant said so in plain words, moved the module 4.1 mm left so it fits inside the board, and rebuilt.
- Routed and checked. The final build has 13 parts and all 30 connections routed on a 60 × 40 mm board. Ground, 5 V and 3.3 V reach every pin it planned, and EN and GPIO0 each have their pull-up.
It tells you what it did not do
The most useful part of the answer was the list at the end. The assistant was clear about what the board is and is not.
- USB data lines are not connected and there is no USB-to-serial chip, so the board takes only power from USB-C. To program it through that socket you would add the chip, or a header for a programmer.
- No reverse-polarity diode or ESD protection was added. USB-C cannot be plugged in backwards, but protection diodes on the socket are still worth adding.
- No reset or boot buttons were added.
- Copper still sits under the antenna, which weakens Wi-Fi. It suggested making the board about 6 mm wider so the antenna can hang past the edge.
- The online check of the parts' real footprints failed to load, so confirm the shapes match the parts you buy.
Three views of one board
The PCB view shows the copper layout and the board outline. The schematic view shows the same circuit as symbols: the USB-C connector with its CC resistors, the regulator with its input and output capacitors, and the ESP32 module with its pull-ups. The 3D view renders the assembled board, which you can spin, and has an Edit in 3D CAD button.
The header has Starters, Parts, Run, Export and Save, and a project can be opened again from a .grtboard file.
What students at each level can do with it
- School students: start from the LED and resistor starter and see one circuit as a PCB, a schematic and a 3D board. Change the resistor and see what moves.
- Diploma and first-year students: a voltage divider, an RC filter or a regulator board, described in a sentence, then read line by line.
- Electronics and engineering projects: a first pass at an ESP32 sensor node or a power board, then the real work of footprints, clearances and current limits.
- Teachers: a way to show live how a circuit becomes a layout, and why each part is there.
Where the AI runs: cloud, your key, or your laptop
The model picker offers three places for the assistant to run. Grout Cloud gives hundreds of models paid with Merits and needs nothing to set up. Your own key connects OpenAI, Google, Anthropic or anything on OpenRouter and is billed by that provider. On this computer runs Ollama or the built-in runtime with a model you have downloaded, so the assistant keeps working on a filtered college network or with no connection at all.
A Grout account and one sign-in are required for all three. GroutApp runs on Windows and macOS.
How to write a good PCB prompt
The ESP32 prompt is short, but it works because it pins down the things a board cannot do without. Here is the pattern.
- Give the board size: "60 × 40 mm" sets the outline every part has to fit in.
- Say where power comes from and what voltage the circuit needs: "from USB-C with a 3.3 V regulator".
- Name the main chip or module, and say what it needs to work: "the pull-ups the ESP32 needs to boot".
- Add connectors, headers, buttons and LEDs you want, by name.
- Then refine in a second message: "add a programming header", "make the board 6 mm wider", "add an LED on GPIO2".
- Check the result like a reviewer: footprints, antenna clearance, current through the regulator. The assistant's notes are a good checklist.
What it does not do
- It does not replace learning electronics. The AI gets a student to a board worth checking; the code and the schematic teach them why it works.
- It does not guarantee a board is ready to manufacture. Treat the first design as a draft and review it before ordering.
- Cloud models and your own key need an internet connection; only local models run offline.
- There is no Linux build. GroutApp is for Windows and macOS.
How to try it
- Download GroutApp. Windows or macOS, then sign in with your Grout account.
- Create a circuit board. Home screen, Create new project, Engineering, Circuit board.
- Pick a model and describe your board. Use the ESP32 prompt as a template, send it, and watch the assistant work.
Frequently asked questions
Is there AI PCB design software for students?
Yes. Circuit Board Studio in GroutApp is a PCB workspace with a circuit board assistant that designs a board from a plain-language description, with real parts, a schematic, routed traces and a 3D view, written as code students can read and edit.
Can AI design a PCB from a text prompt?
It can design a complete first board. In the launch film one sentence produced an ESP32 board powered from USB-C through a 3.3 V regulator, with 13 parts and all 30 connections routed, plus a list of what to check before ordering.
Does the AI check its own board?
Yes. After each build it checks parts and nets. In the film the first build failed because the module stuck out 4 mm past the edge; the assistant moved it inside, rebuilt and routed the rest.
Which AI models does Circuit Board Studio use?
Any model available in GroutApp: Grout Cloud models, your own key from OpenAI, Google, Anthropic or OpenRouter, or a local model on this computer through Ollama or the built-in runtime.
Does it work offline?
The workspace runs on your computer. The assistant works offline with a local model; cloud and your-own-key models need a connection. A Grout account is required.