PCB design check: how Cherry Blossom checks a board before fab
A board that looks right on screen can still come back from the fab with an unconnected pin or a footprint that does not fit the part. Cherry Blossom puts two checks in the path: a verification gate on every AI edit, and a design rule check before a board can be sent to PCBWay.
Design a USB-C powered board with an RP2040, a 3.3 V regulator, a microSD card slot and two status LEDs.
To check a PCB design in Cherry Blossom, you do not run a separate tool. A verification gate checks every AI edit against manufacturing rules and reports either that the circuit validated with no errors or a concrete issue, such as an unconnected pin or a missing footprint. Before a board can be ordered through PCBWay, a design rule check (DRC) runs again on the current build, and the order is refused if it fails.
This fits boards you design in Cherry Blossom. Footprints come from real part data rather than a model's guess, so the pads are drawn from the part itself.
It does not fit if you want to check a board you already drew elsewhere. Cherry Blossom cannot import KiCad, Altium, EAGLE or other design files, so an existing design is better checked with your ECAD's own DRC and your fab's design-for-manufacturing (DFM) checker.
Where it fits
- You are designing the board in Cherry Blossom.
- You want every AI edit checked against manufacturing rules.
- You want pads drawn from real part data, not a guess.
- You want DRC to run before a board can be ordered.
Where it doesn’t
- You want to check a board you already drew elsewhere.
- You need to know a filter's cutoff. Cherry Blossom does not simulate.
- You need signal-integrity, high-speed or RF sign-off.
How it works
Real part footprints
When the agent picks a part, it uses the part's real footprint data instead of drawing pads from memory.
Gate checks each edit
After every AI edit the gate reports "Circuit validated: no errors" or names the problem, such as an unconnected pin. It fixes nothing on its own, so you ask the agent and the gate runs again.
Review it yourself
The Schematic, PCB, 3D and BOM tabs show the build the gate checked. Look for what rules cannot express, such as a connector on the wrong edge.
DRC before ordering
To order boards, the build has to be current and pass DRC. If it fails, the order is refused and the failed checks are listed.
What does a PCB design check catch?
A design check compares a board against rules before you pay for it. Some rules are about geometry: trace width, clearance between copper, drill sizes. Others are about the circuit: a pin that connects to nothing, a part with no footprint, a net that was meant to join two parts and does not. KiCad's manual describes its own DRC as checking for incorrect and missing connections, copper clearance and minimum width violations. Every serious ECAD has a check like it.
When an AI drafts the board, these checks matter more, because nobody placed each part by hand and noticed the problem on the way. That is why Cherry Blossom runs them inside the design loop rather than leaving them to the end.
What does each check cover?
Verification gate
When it runsAfter every AI edit
What it tells youValidated with no errors, or a named issue such as an unconnected pin or missing footprint
Footprints from real part data
When it runsWhen the agent picks a part
What it tells youPads come from the part's data, not a guess
Stale build check
When it runsBefore ordering
What it tells youRefuses the order if the last build is older than the board's current files
Design rule check
When it runsBefore ordering
What it tells youRefuses the order and lists the failed checks
Your own review
When it runsWhenever you like
What it tells youWhat rules cannot express: part choice, placement, whether the board does its job
| Check | When it runs | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Verification gate | After every AI edit | Validated with no errors, or a named issue such as an unconnected pin or missing footprint |
| Footprints from real part data | When the agent picks a part | Pads come from the part's data, not a guess |
| Stale build check | Before ordering | Refuses the order if the last build is older than the board's current files |
| Design rule check | Before ordering | Refuses the order and lists the failed checks |
| Your own review | Whenever you like | What rules cannot express: part choice, placement, whether the board does its job |
You can also export Gerbers and run them through your fab's DFM checker, or export the KiCad project and run KiCad's DRC with your own rules.
When is another tool better for checking a PCB?
To check a board you already designed, use the DRC in your own ECAD with your manufacturer's rules loaded, then your fab's DFM checker on the Gerbers. Our guide to AI PCB design rule checks compares KiCad's DRC, fab checkers and AI review tools, and explains which catches what.
Cherry Blossom does not simulate circuits, so it will not tell you whether a filter has the right cutoff or a regulator is stable. For that, see circuit simulation software. It is also not built for signal-integrity, high-speed or RF sign-off; see high-speed PCB design software for tools that are.
Passing every check is not the same as a board that works. Read what the agent built before you send it to fab, the same way you would read a colleague's design.
What does it cost?
The checks come with the plan, with no separate charge. Pro is $20 a month with 4M AI credits and 600 AI actions a day. Ultra is $140 a month with 32M credits and the frontier models. Usage past the allowance is $5 per 1M credits, only if you turn it on. The AI is included, with no API key and no per-seat licence.
The honest limits. Cherry Blossom is an early beta. You change a board by asking the agent, not by dragging traces yourself, so fine manual layout happens after a KiCad export. It is not a circuit simulator, it has no real-time multi-user editing, and it is not built for high-speed or RF sign-off.
Questions
To check a PCB design before manufacturing, run a design rule check with your manufacturer's rules, then run the fab's DFM check on the exported Gerbers, and read the design yourself for anything rules cannot express. In Cherry Blossom the first part is built in. A verification gate checks every AI edit against manufacturing rules and reports either that the circuit validated with no errors or a named issue, such as an unconnected pin or a missing footprint. Footprints come from real part data. Before a board can be sent to PCBWay, the build must be current and pass DRC, or the order is refused with the failed checks listed. Cherry Blossom only checks boards designed in it, because it cannot import KiCad, Altium or EAGLE files. It does not simulate circuits and is not built for high-speed or RF sign-off.
No. It cannot import KiCad, Altium, EAGLE or other design files, so it only checks boards designed in Cherry Blossom. For an existing board, use your ECAD's DRC and your fab's design-for-manufacturing (DFM) checker.
No. It reports what it found. You ask the agent to fix each issue in the chat, and the gate checks the new build.
The order is refused and the failed checks are listed, so you can ask the agent to fix them and try again. The same happens if the build is older than the files on screen.
Yes. Export the editable KiCad project, open it in KiCad, and run DRC there with your own rules or your fab's rule file.
Other use cases
Describe your board. See what comes back.
Schematic, layout and a verification gate, in the browser. Exports to Gerbers and KiCad.
