Image: youtube.com · Video thumbnail: YouTube: Can AI Design a USB 3.0 Hub? Claude + KiCad, Part 1
A 4-layer USB 3.0 hub designed with Claude and KiCad
A hardware engineer tests whether Claude can design a real USB 3.0 hub: reading datasheets, picking parts, drawing a 10-page schematic and, when the autorouter failed, routing 452 connections.
Credits
- Video channel Moonlight Robot Source ↗
Earliest dated source:
The full story
A hardware engineer with ten years' experience tests whether Claude can design a real USB 3.0 hub in KiCad, checking each step. Starting from a fresh laptop and a new Claude account, Claude installed KiCad, Git, Python and the KiCad MCP server and made a small LED test board.
In part 2 it read the datasheets, chose every part, checked stock and prices and drew a 10-page schematic, catching a flaw in its own plan (one chip couldn't drive the USB-C lane switch without a microcontroller). Human review still found mistakes its checks missed. In part 3 the free autorouter produced 2,841 errors, the board went from four to six layers, and Claude was stuck at about 56 of 452 connections for days until the engineer changed how he guided it.
How it was done
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Sources
From the maker's own write-up or code. We summarise what they report; we haven't tested it ourselves.
- YouTube: Can AI Design a USB 3.0 Hub? Claude + KiCad, Part 1Video channel: Moonlight RobotPublished
Part 1: setup and a test board.
- YouTube: Claude + KiCad: AI Reads Datasheets and Draws a USB 3.0 Schematic | Part 2Video channel: Moonlight RobotPublished
Part 2: datasheets and schematic.
- YouTube: Claude + KiCad: The Autorouter Failed, So AI Routed 452 Wires | Part 3Video channel: Moonlight RobotPublished
Part 3: routing 452 connections.