Prepare your input board file

Instructions for creating an input board file for Quilter, covering required elements, recommended constraints, and optional parameters.

The input board file is the most crucial input to Quilter, defining the degrees of freedom that it can explore when completing your layout job.

Quilter comprehends the existing layout objects in your PCB files, including stack-ups, design rules, keepouts, pours, component footprints, and more. All design elements within the user-defined board outline (pre-placed components, routed traces, copper pours, rooms, etc.) can be designated as fixed constraints and will not be modified by Quilter during layout.

You can find more information on each of the design parameters described below in the Design Parameters section of our documentation.

Required design parameters

Here are the required design parameters for all layout jobs. Make sure to include them in the board file you upload to Quilter:

• Board Outline You need to define a single valid board outline for Quilter to work with. Currently, Quilter can't define or resize the board outline for you, so you must do it yourself. To ensure Quilter recognizes the outline, define it on a specific layer:

  • In Altium, use Mechanical Layer 1 (Mechanical 1)

  • In KiCAD, use the Edge.cuts layer

Quilter only supports one closed board outline. Components with keepouts or other polygon zones defined on the same layer as the board outline can confuse Quilter's parser.

• Component Footprints Quilter doesn't manage your component footprints, so you need to pre-load them into your board file before submitting. Quilter can't automatically try or choose from multiple footprints or packages for the same component.

• Netlist Lastly, Quilter requires a valid netlist that matches the uploaded schematic. For the best results, please ensure your netlist is up to date with the latest version of your schematic.

Recommended design parameters

Here are some design parameters that aren't strictly required, but are recommended for most layout jobs:

• Pre-placing components (like connectors) Quilter won't move any components you pre-place within the board outline, and will automatically route the rest.

Quilter can't automatically distinguish connectors from other unplaced components, we strongly recommend pre-placing them to prevent your USB connector from ending up in the center of your board.

• Not-yet-supported physics constraints Quilter can't handle all physics constraints in all designs yet. If your physics constraint isn't listed in Circuit Comprehension, Quilter won't give it special attention and will route it like a generic low-voltage, low-speed signal. For this reason, we recommend pre-placing and pre-routing any sensitive design elements that Quilter doesn't support yet (like trace antennas or high-speed signals over 6GHz).

Optional design parameters

• Keepouts You can define placement or routing keepouts that Quilter will respect during the design generation process. Read more in Keepouts.

• Copper pours Quilter can preserve and utilize pre-defined pours for external (currently supported) and internal (coming soon) copper layers. Read more in Preserved pours.

• Placement regions Quilter supports the use of placement regions ("Rooms" in Altium) to constrain component placement. Read more in Placement regions.

More parameters coming soon

• Custom stack-ups Soon, you will be able to specify custom stack-ups in your input file that Quilter will use when generating candidates. Read more in Stack-ups.

• Custom fabrication rules You will also be able to specify custom fabrication rules in your input file that Quilter will use when generating candidates. Read more in Fabrication rules.

The fewer design parameters you lock down within your input file, the more flexibility you allow Quilter to explore. If Quilter fails to generate a fully complete candidate for your layout job, try removing fixed design parameters in your input board file.

Reference example

BHASA