Altium File Parsing, AI Design Reviews & PCB Viz Tools

About this episode

This episode discusses open-source tools for parsing Altium project files and AI-assisted design reviews.

What if you could parse your Altium project files from the command line, generate a full BOM in seconds, extract net lists as AI-readable JSON, and spin up a 3D HTML viewer with zero dependencies — all without ever opening Altium? In this episode of the OnTrack Podcast, host Zach Peterson sits down with Eli Hughes, principal at Wavenumber LLC, to dig into a suite of open-source tools he's built around Altium file formats. Eli walks through the Altium Cruncher toolset, including Mega Maid (a vacuum-cleaner-style data extractor), a 3D PCB visualizer, and a schematic viewer with animated net tracing — all self-contained HTML files requiring no install or cloud connection. The conversation goes far beyond visualizers. Eli reveals how he feeds parsed net lists directly into Claude and Codex for AI-assisted design reviews, power tree analysis, and even automatic Zephyr device tree generation — completing in minutes what used to take a full day. He also lays out his vision for a next-generation PDM system: an AI-queryable knowledge store that ingests decades of schematic history, EVK reference designs from TI, Renesas, NXP, and more, and supply chain data — so engineers can stop…

People in this episode

Host: Zach Peterson

Guest: Eli Hughes

Topics covered

• PCB design
• AI-assisted design
• workflow automation
• open-source tools
• 3D visualization
• design reuse

Keywords

• Altium
• BOM generation
• net lists
• 3D HTML viewer
• PCB visualizer
• AI design reviews
• PDM system

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Wavenumber LLC, TI, Renesas, NXP

Products: Altium Cruncher, Mega Maid, Claude, Codex, Zephyr

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