There are actually two steps to the design process:
- First, requirements. In ato, you define how your circuit is connected and the requirements for the components that sit within it. From there, we generate a netlist and a BOM.
- Second, the netlist is turned into an actual object during the layout operation. We use KiCAD's layout tool in our case. There are infinitely more dimensions in the real world than there are instructions in a computer. So we do need that second step to point the requirement to one implementation in the real world. But technically there could be a quasi infinite implementations that fit the requirements written in ato.
The manufacturing files are a combination of the ato output files, like the BOM and the KiCAD output files, like the gerbers.
If there are effectively infinite ways to produce a PCB layout that fits the requirements written in Ato, how is the second step done automatically in the final part of the demo video? If it's not done automatically, then how do you ensure the output of the compiler is compatible with any pre-existing PCB layout?
- First, requirements. In ato, you define how your circuit is connected and the requirements for the components that sit within it. From there, we generate a netlist and a BOM.
- Second, the netlist is turned into an actual object during the layout operation. We use KiCAD's layout tool in our case. There are infinitely more dimensions in the real world than there are instructions in a computer. So we do need that second step to point the requirement to one implementation in the real world. But technically there could be a quasi infinite implementations that fit the requirements written in ato.
The manufacturing files are a combination of the ato output files, like the BOM and the KiCAD output files, like the gerbers.