← PCB STUDIOPS-1 · 4 LESSONS + CAPSTONE

From circuit to spec

Turning a schematic idea into a structured spec.

  1. PS-1.1Anatomy of a board specOPEN →
  2. PS-1.2The parts libraryOPEN →
  3. PS-1.3Pins, rails, and netsOPEN →
  4. PS-1.4Why series resistors — the rules engineOPEN →
PS-1 CAPSTONE

Read the engine's mind

You will write a spec BY HAND in the Studio's JSON editor — no palette — and deliberately break it four ways to hear every validator you have met. Then you will fix it and prove your repair with arithmetic before the engine confirms it.

  1. Hand-write a "Night Light" spec, 100mm x 80mm: ldr_divider on GP26, led_5mm (red) on GP15, pushbutton on GP14 (internal pull-up, active low), slide_switch on GP16. Include every required field from Lesson 2's table. Do NOT generate yet.
  2. Predict components and traces with per-part arithmetic before touching Generate. (Check yourself afterwards: components 1 + 2 + 2 + 1 + 1 = 7; traces 2 + 4 + 3 + 2 + 3 = 14.)
  3. Generate. If the numbers differ from your prediction, find the arithmetic error — the engine is the referee.
  4. Break it four ways, one at a time, reading each message aloud: misspell led_5mm as led5mm (V6); delete divider_resistor (V7); move the LDR to GP15 (V8 — and a V5 message as well, because GP15 now has two claimants: one edit, two refusals, exactly as Lesson 3 warned); put the slide switch on GP14 (V5). Restore after each.
  5. Delete the entire peripherals array (not just its contents). Quote the message. Restore.
  6. Save the working design as "PS-1 Night Light", then download the Gerbers and open the zip: count the files (11) and find the drill file — the bridge to PS-2, where this board gets a real layout review.
OPEN PCB STUDIO →
PS-1 · From circuit to spec · iLearnSTEM Electronics