Everything you need to know about using the IGES AI Platform — from your first prompt to production-ready exports.
The IGES AI Platform lets you design real hardware products using AI. Simply describe what you want to build using text or voice, and the platform generates 3D mechanical designs, PCB layouts, schematics, and circuit simulations — all from a single prompt.
Quick Start:
The prompt bar at the bottom of the screen is your primary way to interact with the platform.
Design Mode Selector
On the left side of the prompt bar, choose between:
Text Input
Type your design description. Max 2000 characters. The character count shows at the right end of the input.
Examples: "Design a waterproof enclosure for a Raspberry Pi with ventilation slots" or "Design a 5V 2A USB power supply with overcurrent protection"
Voice Input
Click the microphone button to start voice dictation. The input ring turns red while listening, and three animated bars show active listening. Confirmed text appears in white, interim text in red. Speech is automatically transcribed to the prompt field.
Generate Button
Click DESIGN or press Enter to submit your prompt. The button shows a gradient (cyan → amber) when ready, and changes to "Working..." with a spinner during generation.
Iterative Design
You can send follow-up prompts to modify existing designs without starting over. For example, after generating a box, type "add a hinge to the lid" or"make the walls 3mm thicker". The AI remembers your session context.
The mechanical panel displays AI-generated 3D CAD models. It occupies the left side of the workspace and can be resized by dragging the divider between panels.
Header Controls
3D View Navigator
A 3x3 button grid in the bottom-right corner lets you switch between preset camera angles:
Export Options
The electronics panel shows PCB layouts and schematics. It occupies the right side of the workspace and has three view modes.
View Modes
PCB shows the board layout only. SCH shows the schematic only. SPLIT shows both side-by-side. A colored dot appears on tabs with ready content.
PCB Layer Control
Click the Layers button to toggle visibility of individual PCB layers:
3D PCB Viewer
Switch to the PCB 3D view mode in the mechanical panel to see a realistic 3D rendering of your PCB with components, solder mask, copper traces, and silkscreen. The viewer auto-colorizes board layers — green for the substrate, copper for traces, black for IC packages.
Multi-Sheet Schematics
Complex designs with many components may generate multiple schematic sheets. Sheet tabs appear at the top of the schematic view — click each to switch.
Export & Manufacturing
When you submit an electronics design, the platform runs an automated 8-stage pipeline that takes your text description through to production-ready files. The pipeline bar appears above the electronics panel showing each stage as a clickable pill.
0. Brief
Click the Brief tab to review your design description, character / word count, and writing tips before launching the pipeline.
1. Netlist
Your text is converted into a structured netlist of components, pins, and nets — then a per-IC verification pass confirms every chip's pinout against its real datasheet, and an audit step closes any orphan nets.
2. Parts (BOM)
Each component is matched against ~17,000 industry-standard parts including the official Espressif and community libraries (RP2040, modern ESP32 variants, sensors, and more).
3. Schematic
Production-grade schematic with semantic IC layout — power on top, ground on bottom, analog/clock/reset on the left, comm/digital on the right. Decoupling caps and pull-ups grouped with their parent IC.
4. PCB Layout
Components packed into a tight rectangle with no wasted space. Multi-layer routing with dedicated power and ground planes, RF nets prioritized, copper pour, and 45-degree corners.
5. DRC
Automated PCBWay-compatible design rule check verifies clearances, trace widths, drill sizes, and short circuits — with auto-fix retries for common violations.
6. Simulation
SPICE, electromagnetic, thermal, and signal-integrity analyses with interactive waveform and field viewers.
7. Override
Make targeted changes to specific components without regenerating the entire design.
8. Export
Download production-ready Gerber files, BOM, pick-and-place data, and 3D models — or hand off directly to PCBWay for manufacturing.
Complex Designs
For complex electronics (motherboards, satellite systems, EV controllers), the pipeline automatically detects complexity and switches to multi-block mode. The design is decomposed into functional blocks (power, CPU, memory, I/O, etc.) which are designed individually then merged into one combined PCB.
Share your projects with team members for collaborative design. Multiple users can view and work on the same project simultaneously with live presence indicators.
Sharing a Project
Click the Share button in the header bar (visible when a project is active). Enter a collaborator's email address and choose their role:
Presence Indicators
Colored avatar dots appear next to the project name showing who is currently viewing. A green dot indicates an active user. Up to 5 avatars are shown — additional users are counted as "+N".
Shared Projects
Projects shared with you appear in your sidebar with a purple "shared by [name]" label. You can remove yourself from a shared project at any time.
Toggle between dark and light mode using the / icon in either panel header. The theme switch is global — it applies to the entire interface including panels, sidebar, dialogs, prompt bar, and header.
Dark Mode
Near-black background with colored accents
Light Mode
Clean white background with high contrast
Each viewer has its own background-color picker so you can match the look that works best for your design — readability for white-paper schematics, dark-mode for eye comfort, blueprint blue for a classic engineering feel, or any custom color.
Click the small color swatch in the header of any viewer to open the picker. Each viewer remembers its selection independently:
Independent Backgrounds
Color Presets
Quick choices include classic White, Black, Light Gray, Dark Gray, plus colorful options like Blueprint Blue, Engineering Green, Studio Cream, and a free-form custom color picker for anything else.
Export all your design files in a single ZIP package. Available from the export menu in either panel, this bundles PCB files, schematics, 3D models, BOM, and Gerbers into one download.
Included Files
The platform adapts to phone and tablet screens automatically. On mobile devices:
Three status indicators in the top bar show the health of each system:
Server connection
Mechanical design ready
Electronics design ready
SYS pulses green when the backend server is reachable. MECH lights up when a 3D preview is loaded. ELEC lights up when a PCB or schematic preview is available.
Your designs and data are protected by multiple layers of security, compliant with California privacy law (CCPA/CPRA).
Your Privacy Rights (CCPA/CPRA)
Access these rights via Profile & Settings in the account menu, or programmatically via /api/privacy.
All design panels support zoom and pan for detailed inspection.
Click and drag to pan. Use scroll wheel to zoom.
Drag with one finger to pan. Pinch with two fingers to zoom.
Use / at bottom-left (20% – 800%). Click to reset zoom and position.
Click your avatar in the top-right corner to access account options:
Be specific in your prompts
Include dimensions, materials, voltages, and current ratings. "Design a 50x30mm aluminum enclosure with M3 mounting holes" works better than "design a box".
Use iterative design
Start with a basic design, then refine with follow-up prompts. "Add ventilation slots to the top panel" or "replace the regulator with a more efficient one".
Complex designs use multi-block pipeline
For motherboards, satellite systems, or EV controllers, the AI automatically breaks the design into functional blocks. Each block gets its own netlist, BOM, and schematic before merging into one combined PCB with proper power sharing.
Check DRC before manufacturing
Always run the Design Rule Check (stage 5) before exporting Gerbers. The auto-fix system will attempt to resolve common issues like clearance violations.
Collaborate with your team
Use the Share button to invite collaborators by email. They'll see the project in their sidebar and can view or edit depending on the role you assign.
Need more help? Contact us at [email protected]
IGES AI Platform · Version 1.0.3