This episode continues where the last one left off, diving into Part 2 of Seve's blog post “13 Things I Wish I Knew Before Building an Autorouter.” 🧠⚡ Seve (founder of tscircuit) and Matt (founder of atopile) explore the deep technical challenges of auto-routing printed circuit boards using code, compiler toolchains, and caching, rather than traditional schematics-based tools.
In this second half, they unpack:
Why caching is crucial for speeding up PCB auto-routing
Visualization as a debugging superpower
The power of PyInstrument and visual profiling tools
Why recursive functions and Monte Carlo methods often fail in optimization
Game dev tricks (like greedy A*) adapted for PCB pathfinding
The difference between grid-based vs intersection-based routing math
Why keeping results grounded in physical space (like millimeters) makes debugging easier
Using animation to catch stupid behavior before it goes live
How a meta-router manages multiple strategies in parallel
Insights from CNC machines and high-fidelity spatial modeling
This episode is packed with Seve and Matt's hands-on experiences, hard-won insights, and sharp advice for anyone building or using modern, code-first electronics design tools.
🛠 Whether you're a PCB engineer, systems architect, or startup founder in the hardware space, this conversation is pure gold.
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