Guide
The single most common objection to AI in PCB design is "how do I know it is right". The answer is not that the AI is trustworthy. It is that the checks that have always caught these errors still run, they are deterministic, and they do not care which tool produced the design.
Quick answer
ERC and DRC are the two automated checks that make AI-assisted PCB design safe to use. ERC runs on the schematic and finds connectivity errors: unconnected inputs, conflicting drivers, missing power flags, unpowered parts. DRC runs on the board and finds physical violations: clearance, trace width, annular ring, courtyard overlaps, unrouted nets. Neither is AI, both are deterministic, and both work on designs produced by any tool. If you route with a cloud AI service, you can and should re-run DRC in your own CAD tool afterward against your fabricator's real capability rules, not the defaults.
Last reviewed: 2026-08-09 · By ProtoFlow Engineering Team
| Check | Runs on | Typical findings | When to run it |
|---|---|---|---|
| ERC | The schematic | Unconnected inputs, two drivers on a net, missing power flags, unpowered parts | Before layout starts |
| DRC | The board | Clearance, trace width, annular ring, courtyard overlap, unrouted nets | After every routing pass |
| Footprint verification | Each component | Wrong pitch, wrong pad size, pin 1 misplaced | When a part is added |
| Fabricator capability check | Manufacturing output | Rules tighter than the fab can build | Before you send gerbers |
| BOM / sourcing check | The parts list | End-of-life, no stock, wrong package variant | Before you order |
Skip the comparison shopping. Try the free one first and see if it does the job.
Download for DesktopElectrical rules checking is unglamorous and it catches the errors that cost the most. An enable pin left floating. A net with two outputs driving it. A power symbol that was never flagged as a power source, so half the design is silently unpowered. A part placed but never connected. These are trivial to fix at the schematic stage and expensive to find on a fabricated board.
This matters more, not less, with AI-drafted schematics. An AI draft gets you a plausible circuit quickly, and plausible is exactly the failure mode ERC is built to catch, because it checks connectivity mechanically instead of reading the design the way a human does and filling in what it expects to see.
If you route with a cloud service like Quilter or DeepPCB, the routed board comes back in a standard format, which means you can open it in KiCad, ProtoFlow, or whatever suite you already use and run DRC with your own rules. Do that. A routing service checks against the constraints it was given; only you know what your fabricator can actually build.
Set your DRC rules from the fabricator's published capability, minimum trace and space, minimum annular ring, minimum drill, and check the results violation by violation. Bulk-clearing DRC warnings is how a board that "passed" arrives unbuildable.
Neither ERC nor DRC verifies that the circuit does what you intended. A design can be perfectly connected, perfectly routed, fully DRC-clean, and completely wrong: the wrong regulator topology for the load, a divider that sets the wrong feedback voltage, a missing bulk capacitor. Rules checks verify structure, not intent.
That gap is where engineering judgment stays permanently, and it is why the honest framing of AI in this workflow is acceleration rather than autonomy. The tool drafts and checks; you decide whether the thing is correct.
| Criteria | ProtoFlow | Cloud AI routing service |
|---|---|---|
| ERC on the schematic | Yes, in the editor, before layout. | No, they start from a finished board. |
| DRC on the board | Yes, locally, with your own rules. | Internal checks against given constraints. |
| Where the design lives | Local files on your machine. | Uploaded to the service. |
| Re-check their output | Open the returned board and run DRC. | Recommended, in your own tool. |
| Cost | Free. | Free tier, paid at production scale. |
Reviewed on: 2026-08-09
Yes. Automated routing services return the board in standard formats, so you can open it in KiCad, ProtoFlow, or your existing suite and run DRC with your own rules. You should always do this, because the service checks against the constraints it was given rather than your fabricator's real capability.
ERC checks the schematic for connectivity errors, such as unconnected inputs, conflicting drivers, and missing power flags. DRC checks the physical board for rule violations, such as clearance, trace width, annular ring, and unrouted nets. You need both, at different stages.
It needs the same review any draft needs, applied properly. Run ERC, verify every part against its datasheet, and check the topology against your requirements. AI drafts fail in a specific way, they look reasonable, which is exactly what mechanical checks are good at catching.
No. ERC verifies that the design is connected correctly. Simulation verifies that it behaves correctly. A design can pass every rules check and still be the wrong circuit, so SPICE and bench testing remain part of the flow.
Schematic to PCB with AI: What Actually Automates, and What Does Not
What AI can and cannot automate between a finished schematic and a manufacturable board: netlist transfer, footprint assignment, placement, routing, and DRC, with the tools that handle each step.
AI PCB Autorouters Compared: Quilter vs DeepPCB
A source-checked comparison of AI PCB autorouters in 2026: Quilter vs DeepPCB, and how AI schematic capture with ProtoFlow feeds a clean board into either one.
How to Make a PCB Schematic with AI (2026)
A practical, step-by-step guide to designing a PCB schematic with AI in 2026, from a plain-English prompt to real parts, validation, and a KiCad-ready export.
Evaluate the workflow directly with your own circuit scope and compare review-ready output speed.
Download ProtoFlowDesign rule checking used to be a reason to buy a commercial seat, and it is not anymore. KiCad ships full ERC and DRC as open-source software, and ProtoFlow runs both locally in a free desktop application on native KiCad files. Between them, every check described on this page is available at no cost, on macOS, Windows, and Linux, with the design staying on your own machine.
That matters most for the people who need it most: students, makers, and small hardware teams sending their first boards to fabrication, where a single avoidable respin costs more than the software ever would have.
