Welcome to the playlist of Technical Consultant Zach Peterson, a luminary in the field of electronics and PCB design with an illustrious career in both academia and the electronics industry. With a rich background spanning nanoparticle lasers, electronic and optoelectronic semiconductor devices, environmental sensors, and stochastics, Zach offers unparalleled insights into the world of modern engineering. Zach focuses on research, design tutorials, and deep analyses tailored for professionals, students, and tech enthusiasts alike. Prior to his work in the PCB industry, Zach taught at Portland State University, conducted extensive research, and authored over 2000+ technical articles on PCB design. An active member of IEEE Photonics Society, IEEE Electronics Packaging Society, American Physical Society, and the PCEA, Zach's expertise is now available to you through engaging videos. Subscribe to stay up-to-date with the latest advancements and learn from one of the industry's finest. #ZachPeterson #PCBDesign #ElectronicsEngineering
Curated by: Altium Academy (720 videos)
Altium Develop gives your entire team — from schematic designers to firmware engineers — real-time visibility into PCB projects so you can move from design to fab without the friction: https://www.altium.com/develop?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=ontrack-podcast&utm_content=ai-pcb-autorouting-whats-real-and-whats-hype Is AI actually ready to lay out your PCB — or is the industry getting ahead of itself? In this episode of the OnTrack Podcast, host Zach Peterson sits down with Sergiy Nesterenko, founder and CEO of Quilter, to cut through the noise around AI in PCB design. Sergiy shares why Quilter deliberately avoids large language models for layout, instead taking inspiration from DeepMind's AlphaGo — training an agent through constraint optimization and reinforcement learning rather than mimicking human designs. It's a technically grounded approach that challenges many of the assumptions currently driving hype in the EDA space. Beyond the technology, Sergiy and Zach dig into what AI tools like Quilter actually mean for PCB designers today. Rather than replacing engineers, Quilter functions more like a capable junior engineer — one that can iterate through placement and routing rapidly while the senior designer guides the process. The conversation also touches on the Jevons paradox as it applies to hardware design, why enterprise customers have far more realistic expectations than the LinkedIn crowd, and what's on Quilter's roadmap — including BGA fan-out, blind and buried via support, and a full constraint matrix. What does AI-assisted PCB design look like in practice? Hit play to find out. 👉 Resources from this Video: - Learn more about Quilter: https://www.quilter.ai/ - Connect with Sergiy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sergiynesterenko/ 💡 Stay Connected: Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more in-depth tutorials and tips from @AltiumAcademy Share your thoughts and questions in the comments below! 👉 Subscribe for more: https://www.youtube.com/@AltiumAcademy?sub_confirmation=1 Don't forget to follow us on social to stay up-to-date on the latest Altium Academy content. 👉 Follow Altium on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@altiumdesigner 👉 Follow Altium on Twitter: https://twitter.com/altium 👉 Follow Altium on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/altium/ 👉 Follow Altium on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AltiumOfficial/ The Altium Academy is an online experience created to bring modern education to PCB Designers and Engineers all across the world. Here you can access a vast library of free training and educational content covering everything from basic design to advanced principles and step-by-step walkthroughs. Join industry legends as they share their career knowledge, review real-life design projects, or learn how to leverage one of Altium's leading design tools. No matter your level of experience, the Altium Academy can help you become a better Designer and Engineer! About Altium LLC Altium LLC (ASX:ALU), a global software company based in San Diego, California, is accelerating the pace of innovation through electronics. From individual inventors to multinational corporations, more PCB designers and engineers choose Altium software to design and realize electronics-based products. #Altium #PCBDesign #AIElectronics 0:00 Intro 2:24 Quilter AI Approach Explained 6:41 CAD System Development 9:35 Polynomials & Fourier Series 14:56 AI's Role in Design Workflow ️ 17:54 AI as a Design Tool 20:27 AI Market Growth for PCB Tools 24:12 AI Hardware Company Vision 26:42 AI Tools and Design Process ️ 29:30 Quilter Calculation Process 32:18 Placement Control for Users ️ 35:00 Enterprise Design Throughput 37:32 Quilter Iteration Process 41:48 Quilter Product Development ️ 44:52 Quilter Future Development