Your first circuit board
This walkthrough takes a small board from a starter template to a zip you could send to a board house, and finishes with the board sitting in a case in the Model workspace. You will touch every Electronics step under the mode dial once. The Electronics workspaces are included on Pro and in the trial.
Before you start
- A HelioCad Pro account
- A new project
- 1
Start from a template
Switch to the Schematic workspace from the green Electronics segment of the mode dial and choose Start from a template → ESP32 breakout. A complete schematic lands on the sheet: the module, a 3.3 V regulator, decoupling capacitors, a USB connector and a status LED. The steps under the mode dial show Circuit as the current step.
Tip: Press P at any time to open the parts library and browse the 22,000 parts by picture.
- 2
Change one thing by asking
Click the AI orb and type: add a second LED on GPIO 4 with a 1 kΩ resistor. HelioAI places the two parts from the library, wires them, checks its own connections and applies the change as one undo step.
- 3
Check the circuit
Click Check. The Checks tab lists any findings in plain language — a floating reset, a missing pull-up — each with a Fix button. Run the design review from the same tab for the deeper checks: decoupling, regulator output capacitor, ESD on the connector. Fix what it finds and the Circuit step ticks itself off.
- 4
Update the board and set the outline
Click Update board. The PCB workspace opens with every part placed and a ratsnest between the pads. Choose Outline → Fit to parts, then drag a corner to give the connector some room. Arrange moves the parts into a sensible first layout.
- 5
Route it
Click Autoroute. Tracks draw in on both layers; the clearance check and a straightening pass run afterwards. Add a ground pour from the dock so the bottom layer becomes a ground plane, then open the Nets tab and click GND to see it highlighted.
Tip: Prefer routing by hand? Press the Route tool, click a pad and drag; the shove router moves other tracks out of your way.
- 6
Check the board and look at it in 3D
Open the Check capsule in the dock for the design rules, then 3D to see the board with the library models of every part. Rotate it; this is the view the fit check uses later.
- 7
Make it
Switch to the Make it step and click Outputs. Tick Gerbers, drill files, part positions and the parts list and download the zip. Open the BOM editor to see prices and stock from the distributors; the sourcing assistant proposes alternates for anything low on stock.
- 8
Put it in a case
Switch to the Model workspace and choose Make a case. An enclosure builds around the board with standoffs at the mounting holes and openings for the connectors. Click Show board in case, then Fit check: it reports lid clearance, parts against walls and any connector without an opening.
What you built
A checked, routed board with fabrication files and a priced BOM, sitting in a case that was generated from it — and the habit of letting the steps under the mode dial tell you what comes next.
Follow along in HelioCad
Open a workspace and build it as you read. It runs in your browser — no install required.
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