Electronics Architect — Design & Simulate Power Systems

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Total Median Power

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Total 99th %ile Power

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System Median Efficiency

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System 1st %ile Efficiency

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Select a component to view histograms

Compliance & Component Derating

Select standard guidelines to evaluate operating margin limits

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0 Evaluated

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0 Compliant

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0 Warnings

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0 Overstressed

Designator	Type	Status	Actual	Rated	Limit	Stress %

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Select a component row to view detailed derating analysis, standard parameters, and design mitigations.

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Welcome to Electronics Architect! This comprehensive guide walks you through every feature — from placing your first component and drawing wires, to running Monte Carlo simulations, derating analysis, and collaborating with your team.

1

Getting Started

Interface overview, layout regions, and first steps

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Electronics Architect helps you design, analyze, and optimize DC and AC power distribution networks. Here's the layout:

Application layout overview showing sidebar, canvas, toolbar, and panels

Component Library (left sidebar) — Organized into four categories: DC Power (sources, regulators, converters), Mixed Domain (passives, protection), AC Power (transformers, rectifiers, motors), and Utility (connectors, annotations). Drag any component onto the canvas to place it.
Canvas (center) — Your design workspace. Place components, draw wires, and build your power tree. Supports a configurable grid with snap-to-grid alignment.
Toolbar (top) — Organized into five sections: Edit (undo/redo/clear), View (zoom/fit/presentation/routing/align/theme), Analysis (tolerance/Monte Carlo/derating/ambient temp), File (save/load/cloud/share/export), and Discover (AI analysis/calculators/articles/settings).
Analysis Panel (below component library) — Collapsible sections for live Power Budget, AC Power Analysis (when AC components are present), Efficiency Breakdown per regulator stage, and Warnings with DRC flags.
Properties Panel (floating, right side) — Draggable and resizable. Edit the selected component's electrical, thermal, tolerance, and part parameters. Includes interactive efficiency curves for SMPS and IV curves for diodes.

lightbulb First time here? Click the Replay Tour button (❓ icon in the toolbar) to launch an interactive guided walkthrough of all major features. Press ? anytime to view keyboard shortcuts.

2

Placing & Connecting Components

Drag-drop, draw wires, wire routing styles, select and move

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Building a power tree is as simple as drag, drop, and wire:

Two components being connected via a wire on the canvas

Add a component — Drag any item from the sidebar and drop it onto the canvas. You can also double-click a component in the sidebar to place it at the center of the current view.
Draw a wire — Click an output port (small circle on the right side of a block), then click the input port of another block. The wire routes automatically between the ports.
Wire routing style — Toggle between Orthogonal (right-angle) and Spline (smooth curve) routing using the routing button in the View toolbar section.
Select — Click a component to select it. Hold Shift to add to the selection, or drag a selection box on empty canvas space to select multiple items.
Move — Drag selected components to reposition them. Use the Align tool (T) in the toolbar to snap selection to grid, with direction options: Both, X only, or Y only.
Delete — Select a component or wire and press Delete or Backspace.
Annotations — Use the Text Box component (Utility category) to add labels, notes, and documentation directly on the canvas.
Pan & Zoom — Scroll to zoom. Middle-click drag or Alt+drag to pan. Click Fit to View to auto-zoom to fit all components.

lightbulb Use Ctrl+D to quickly duplicate selected components with all their properties intact.

3

Available Components

DC sources, AC power, converters, loads, passives, and utility blocks

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The component library includes everything you need to design complete DC and AC power networks, organized into four categories:

⚡ DC Power

Component	Description
Voltage Source	DC power input (battery, wall adapter, USB). Set voltage and max current capacity.
Load	Single-port current sink. Set required voltage and current draw.
Multi-Port Load	Complex IC/SoC load with multiple supply rails (e.g. Vcore, Vio, Vaux). Adjustable port count.
Linear Regulator (LDO)	Linear dropout regulator. Low noise, simple, but less efficient at large Vin–Vout drops. Includes dropout analysis.
SMPS (Buck/Boost)	Switching converter. High efficiency. Supports buck, boost, and buck-boost topologies. Interactive efficiency curve in properties.
Op-Amp	Operational amplifier for signal conditioning. Models quiescent current draw and supply requirements.
Charge Pump	Capacitor-based voltage doubler or inverter for low-current auxiliary rails.
Diode	Standard diode for rectification or OR-ing circuits. Models forward voltage drop with optional Shockley equation (Is, n, Rs).
Zener Diode	Voltage reference and clamp with breakdown regulation. Interactive IV curve visualization.

🔌 Mixed Domain

Component	Description
Resistor	Fixed or variable resistance for voltage dividers, current limiting, and pull-up/pull-down networks.
Fuse	Overcurrent protection with configurable current rating. Blows to protect downstream circuits.
Inductor	Energy storage element for LC filters, impedance matching, and AC reactive power analysis.
Capacitor	Decoupling, bulk storage, and filtering with ESR modeling. Supports AC reactive analysis.
Ground	Ground reference node (0 V). Connect to define return paths for circuit analysis.

🔄 AC Power

Component	Description
AC Source	AC mains supply. Configurable single-phase (1φ) or three-phase (3φ) with RMS voltage and frequency.
Transformer	Galvanic isolation and voltage step-up/down with configurable turns ratio and efficiency.
Rectifier	AC-to-DC conversion. Full-bridge or half-bridge topology with ripple and efficiency modeling.
Inverter	DC-to-AC conversion for motor drives or grid-tie applications.
PFC	Power Factor Correction. Active PFC stage that shapes input current to improve power factor toward unity.
AC Load	AC consumer with real and reactive power. Configurable power factor and impedance.
Motor	AC motor — induction or synchronous. Supports 1φ/3φ phase configuration with slip and mechanical load modeling.

🔧 Utility

Component	Description
Off-Page Connector	Cross-sheet signal link. Name identically on each sheet to establish the connection across pages.
Text Box	Annotation block for labels, notes, and documentation directly on the schematic canvas.

lightbulb Hover over any component in the sidebar to see a detailed tooltip describing its purpose and typical use cases.

4

Editing Properties

Voltage, current, thermal, tolerance, efficiency curves, and IV characteristics

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Click any component to open the Properties Panel — a floating, draggable panel on the right side of the screen:

Name / Designator — Give each component a descriptive label (e.g., "Main 3.3V Rail"). Designators auto-increment (U1, U2, …).
Electrical parameters — Set voltage, current, power, and resistance based on the component type. Values support engineering notation (e.g., type "10k" for 10,000 Ω, displayed as "10 kΩ").
Thermal parameters — Set junction temperature limit (Tj Max), thermal resistance (θJA), and ambient temperature. The simulation flags components that overheat.
Tolerance — Add ±% or absolute tolerances to any value. Choose a distribution type: Uniform, Normal (Gaussian), or Triangular for Monte Carlo analysis.
Efficiency — For regulators (LDO/SMPS), set the conversion efficiency. SMPS components include an interactive efficiency curve canvas with an operating point indicator.
IV Curves — Diodes and Zener diodes feature interactive IV curve visualizations. Toggle between fixed Vf mode and the Shockley equation model (Is, n, Rs parameters).
Find Parts — For regulators and passives, click 🔍 Find Parts to search for real components and auto-populate MPN, manufacturer, and package fields.

lightbulb Invalid inputs (e.g., negative voltage) are caught automatically — the field flashes red and the value is clamped. The properties panel is resizable: drag its edges to adjust.

5

Power Analysis

Live power budget, AC analysis, efficiency breakdown, and thermal warnings

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The analysis panel (below the component library) updates in real time as you build your design:

Power analysis panel showing budget, efficiency, and warnings

Power Budget — Four summary cards: Source Power, Load Power, Dissipation (losses), and system-wide Efficiency with a visual progress bar. All values update live as you add or modify components.
AC Power Analysis — Appears automatically when AC components (AC Source, Transformer, Motor, etc.) are present. Shows Apparent Power (S in VA), Real Power (P in W), Reactive Power (Q in VAR), and Power Factor with a progress bar.
Efficiency Breakdown — A per-stage table showing each regulator's name, type, input voltage, output voltage, output current, power dissipation, and individual efficiency (η).
Warnings — DRC flags for dropout violations, thermal limit exceedances, overcurrent conditions, and missing connections. A badge count shows the total number of active warnings. Green checkmark (✓) means the system is healthy.

lightbulb Overheating components glow orange or red on the canvas. Click any warning to jump to the affected component. Set the global ambient temperature (T_A) in the toolbar for accurate thermal calculations.

6

Derating Analysis

Component stress evaluation against industry reliability standards

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Derating analysis checks whether each component in your design is operating within safe stress limits according to industry reliability standards:

Derating analysis showing compliance status and stress percentages

Launch — Click the Derating button in the Analysis section of the toolbar to run a full stress evaluation.
Standards — Choose from derating standards: NASA GSFC Goddard (space-grade) or IPC-9592 Commercial (general electronics).
Summary Cards — At the top, three color-coded cards show the count of Compliant (green), Warning (amber), and Overstressed (red) components.
Stress Table — Lists every evaluated component with columns: Designator, Type, Status badge, Actual operating value, Rated limit, Derated limit, and Stress % with a visual bar.
Detail Panel — Click any row in the table to see a detailed breakdown including the derating curve, standard parameters, and recommended design mitigations.
Export — Download the derating report as a CSV spreadsheet or a formatted PDF for design reviews and compliance documentation.

lightbulb Derating is essential for high-reliability designs (aerospace, medical, automotive). Even for commercial products, keeping stress below 70–80% significantly improves long-term reliability.

7

Finding Real Parts

Search by MPN, compare options with pricing, and apply to your design

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Select a component and click 🔍 Find Parts in the Properties panel to search for real-world components:

MPN Search — Search by manufacturer part number or keyword (e.g., "TPS54308", "LM1117") to find specific components.
Automatic requirements — The search pre-fills Vin, Vout, Iout, dropout margin, and thermal context from your component's current properties.
Filter & Sort — Filter results by quality grade, package type, temperature range, and obsolescence status. Sort by price, availability, or specifications.
Distributor Data — Results include distributor names, stock levels, and pricing for both prototype (Qty 1) and production (Qty 1,000) quantities.
AI Recommendations — If you configure an AI API key (Settings → AI Provider), you'll get intelligent part suggestions based on your full design context.
Apply a Part — Click "Apply" next to any search result to populate the component with real-world parameters (MPN, manufacturer, package, efficiency, etc.).

8

Tolerance & Monte Carlo Analysis

Worst-case analysis, statistical simulation, and distribution modeling

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Real components have manufacturing tolerances. Electronics Architect lets you model these rigorously:

Monte Carlo analysis results with summary cards and histograms

Tolerance Mode (toolbar dropdown) — Switch between Nominal (Nom), Minimum (Min), and Maximum (Max) to see how your design performs at the extremes of all component tolerances simultaneously.
Component Tolerances — In the Properties panel, add ±% or absolute tolerances to voltage, current, and resistance values. Choose a statistical distribution: Uniform, Normal (Gaussian), or Triangular.
Monte Carlo (MC) button — Runs thousands of randomized simulations. Each iteration varies every tolerance-enabled parameter within its range according to its distribution. Results include:

Summary Cards — Median power, 99th percentile power, median efficiency, and worst-case (1st percentile) efficiency across all iterations.
Histograms — Per-component distribution charts for voltage, current, power dissipation, and junction temperature — showing where your design concentrates statistically.
Export — Download results as CSV for spreadsheet analysis, or as a formatted PDF report for design reviews.

lightbulb For the most realistic Monte Carlo results, use Normal distribution (most real-world manufacturing processes are Gaussian) and set at least ±1% tolerance on all components.

9

Saving & Exporting

Local files, cloud storage, BOM with pricing, PDF, and image export

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Multiple ways to save and share your designs:

Local Save/Load (Ctrl+S) — Save as a .JSON file to your computer. Works without an account. Use Ctrl+Shift+S for Save As.
Cloud Save (requires sign-in) — Save designs to the cloud and access them from any device. Includes optional revision notes (like Git commit messages) to track what changed. Free tier: 3 designs. Pro tier: unlimited.
Export BOM — Generate a Bill of Materials CSV listing all components with values, MPN, manufacturer, package, and quantity. Choose between Qty 1 (Prototype) or Qty 1,000 (Production) pricing tiers.
Export Image — Download your power tree as a high-resolution PNG or SVG. Choose the export theme: match current, force light, or force dark.
Print / PDF — Print your design or save as PDF. Configure page size (A4/A3/Letter), orientation, and margins via the Page Setup modal.

lightbulb Use Page Setup (⚙ icon in the File toolbar section) to configure page size, orientation, grid settings, and even add a custom watermark (Pro feature) before exporting or printing.

10

Sharing & Collaboration

Share designs, collaborate with edit locks, and work in team workspaces

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Electronics Architect supports real-time design sharing and team collaboration:

Design sharing modal with permissions and invite controls

Share a Design — Save your design to the cloud, then click the Share button (📤 icon in toolbar). Enter a collaborator's email and choose a permission level:
- View — Read-only access to inspect the design.
- Edit — Full editing access with edit-lock coordination.
- Clone — Recipient gets their own independent copy.
Shared with Me — Open Cloud Designs and switch to the "Shared with Me" tab to see all designs others have shared with you.
Edit Lock — When multiple users have edit access, the toolbar shows a Read-Only banner. Click Request Edit to take the editing lock, or Release Edit to let others make changes.
Team Workspaces — Create a team to share a dedicated workspace. Team features include:
- Invite members by email with roles: Admin, Editor, or Viewer.
- A shared "Team Designs" tab in the Cloud Designs modal.
- Activity log tracking team member actions.
- Team management: rename, transfer ownership, or delete the team.

lightbulb Team Workspace plans start at $15/month per seat ($150/year — save 17%). Each team member gets all Pro features plus shared design access.

11

Sheets & Organization

Multi-sheet designs, off-page connectors, and presentation mode

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Large designs can be split across multiple sheets for clarity:

Sheet Tabs — The tab bar at the bottom of the canvas lets you add, rename, and switch between sheets. Each sheet maintains its own independent set of components and connections.
Add Sheet — Click the + button in the tab bar. Right-click a tab to rename or delete it.
Off-Page Connectors — Use the Off-Page connector component (Utility category) to link signals between sheets. Name them identically on each sheet to establish the connection.
Text Annotations — Use Text Box components to add section labels, revision notes, or design intent documentation directly on each sheet.
Presentation Mode — Click the presentation icon (🖥 in the View toolbar) to enter a clean, full-screen view with the sidebar and toolbar hidden. Perfect for design reviews or demos. Press the floating Exit Presentation button to return.

12

Account & Billing

Sign in, Free vs Pro vs Team, trials, and subscription management

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Sign in to unlock cloud features and personalize your experience:

Sign In — Click "Sign In" in the top-right corner. Supported methods: Google OAuth or email/password registration.
Free Tier — Up to 3 cloud saves, 1 AI analysis call, 3 revision history snapshots per design. Ad-supported. Access to all core design and analysis features.
Pro Tier ($10/mo or $100/yr) — Unlimited cloud saves, 25 AI analysis calls/month, 50 revisions per design, no ads, custom canvas watermarks, and priority support. Includes a 7-day free trial.
Team Tier ($15/mo per seat or $150/yr) — All Pro features plus shared team workspace, role-based access control, 200 revisions per design, activity logging, and team management.
Manage Subscription — Go to Account Settings → Customer Support → Manage Subscription to view billing details, update payment method, or cancel via the Stripe billing portal.
Delete Account — Account Settings → Customer Support → Delete Account. Confirm by typing your email. This permanently removes all data including cloud designs, revisions, and team memberships.

13

Keyboard Shortcuts

Quick reference for power users

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Action	Shortcut
Select all	`Ctrl`+`A`
Copy / Paste / Cut	`Ctrl`+`C` / `V` / `X`
Duplicate	`Ctrl`+`D`
Undo / Redo	`Ctrl`+`Z` / `Y`
Save locally	`Ctrl`+`S`
Save As	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`S`
Delete selected	`Delete` or `Backspace`
Zoom in / out	`Scroll` wheel
Pan canvas	`Middle-click` drag or `Alt`+drag
Fit to view	Click fit icon in toolbar
Align / Tidy	`T`
Selection box	Drag on empty canvas
Multi-select	`Shift`+click
Show shortcuts	`?`

14

AI Analysis

AI-powered design explanations, architecture suggestions, and part recommendations

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Electronics Architect includes AI-powered analysis tools to help you understand and improve your designs:

✨ Explain My Design — Click the Explain button in the Discover toolbar section to get an AI-generated summary of your power architecture, including efficiency analysis, thermal concerns, and improvement suggestions ranked by severity (info, warning, critical) with confidence scores.
💡 Suggest Architecture — Click the Suggest button to receive AI-recommended topology changes, alternative component choices, and reliability improvements based on your full design context.
Suggestion Cards — Each AI insight is displayed as a dismissible card with a severity badge, confidence score, affected component reference, and a detailed explanation with recommended actions.
AI Part Search — When searching for parts in the Find Parts modal, AI recommendations provide intelligent suggestions based on your design's voltage rails, current requirements, and thermal constraints.
Configure AI — Open Settings (⚙ icon in toolbar) to choose your AI Provider (Google Gemini, Anthropic Claude, or OpenAI GPT), enter your API key, and toggle AI features on or off.

lightbulb Free accounts include 1 AI analysis call. Pro subscribers get 25 AI analysis calls per month. Upgrade to unlock the full power of AI-assisted design review.

15

Version History

Track, preview, and restore previous design revisions

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Every time you save a design to the cloud, a snapshot of the previous state is automatically preserved as a revision. This gives you a full history of your design evolution:

📜 Revision Notes — When saving, you'll be prompted to add an optional note (like a Git commit message, up to 200 characters) describing what changed. This makes it easy to find specific versions later.
👁️ Preview — Click the history icon next to any design in the Cloud Designs modal. Hover over any revision and click Preview to temporarily view that version on the canvas. A banner appears with "Back to Current" to return.
♻️ Restore — Click Restore on any revision to revert your design. This is non-destructive: your current state is saved as a new revision first, so you never lose work.
✏️ Edit Labels — Click the edit note icon to add or update the revision note on any snapshot at any time.

lightbulb Revision limits vary by tier: Free keeps the last 3 revisions per design, Pro keeps 50, and Team keeps 200. Oldest revisions are automatically pruned when the limit is reached.

16

Guided Tour & Tips

Interactive onboarding, tooltips, and dark/light theme

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Electronics Architect includes several features to help you get productive quickly:

Guided Tour — On your first visit, a welcome modal offers to launch an interactive step-by-step walkthrough of the interface. The tour highlights each major area (sidebar, canvas, toolbar, analysis) with explanations and tips.
Replay Tour — Missed the tour or want a refresher? Click the ❓ (help) icon in the Discover section of the toolbar to replay the guided tour at any time.
Component Tooltips — Hover over any component in the sidebar for a detailed description of its purpose, parameters, and typical use cases.
Toolbar Tooltips — Every toolbar button has a descriptive tooltip. Hover to learn what each button does before clicking.
Dark / Light Theme — Toggle between dark mode and light mode using the theme button (🌙/☀ icon) in the View toolbar section. Your preference is saved automatically and persists across sessions.
Engineering Calculators — Access standalone calculators (buck converter, PCB trace width, resistor divider, and more) via the Calculators link in the Discover toolbar section. Opens in a new tab.
Technical Articles — Browse the knowledge center with in-depth engineering articles via the Articles link in the Discover toolbar section.

lightbulb The theme setting also affects exported images. Use Page Setup → Export Theme to override: choose "Match Current", "Force Light", or "Force Dark" for exports regardless of your UI theme.

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Reference Design Templates

Pre-built power architectures — click any template to load it onto the canvas

build Architecture Suggestions

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Keyboard Shortcuts

Selection

Edit

File

History

Canvas

🔍 Find Parts

Part Filters

⚙️ Settings

📄 Document Settings

grid_on Grid Settings

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Export Options

build Architecture Suggestions

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AI Limit Reached

📈 Monte Carlo Analysis Report

Select a component to view histograms

Voltage (V)

Current (A)

Power Dissipation (W)

Junction Temp (°C)

📊 Stress & Derating Analysis Report

Compliance & Component Derating

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👤 Account Settings

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📖 Help Center

Getting Started

Placing & Connecting Components

Available Components

Editing Properties

Power Analysis

Derating Analysis

Finding Real Parts

Tolerance & Monte Carlo Analysis

Saving & Exporting

Sharing & Collaboration

Sheets & Organization

Account & Billing

Keyboard Shortcuts

AI Analysis

Version History

Guided Tour & Tips

☁️ Cloud Designs

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Reference Design Templates

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