QWE AI Academy Can you actually order from The Grid this week?
That’s the only question that matters if you’re holding a board file right now. CircuitHub’s public unveil of The Grid – a factory-scale robot line in South Deerfield, Massachusetts that builds PCBs on demand – kicked up a lot of US-vs-Shenzhen noise. Fine. You still need a quote path, not another reshoring essay.
Below is the hands-on CircuitHub flow: native upload, BOM reconcile, Grid/Priority when the design fits, order. Sourced from the live app and official docs.
Quick context (skip if you just want the click-path)
The Grid has been running quietly for about five years. Levitating movers haul each board and its parts between paste, place, solder, and inspect robots; routing is per-board rather than per-changeover batch – described on the CircuitHub site and in CEO Andrew Seddon’s announce thread.
One public head-to-head from that unveil (as published then; your quote will differ): five assembled 4-layer motor-controller boards at $630 delivered in the US in 4 days, versus a typical Shenzhen quick-turn ballpark of ~$465 including shipping/tariffs in ~9 days. They’re also talking ~5× capacity expansion on the Massachusetts site. Customers named in press/posts include a leading EV maker and a top AI lab. You never visit the floor – the web quote engine picks Grid vs Conventional.
Hands-on: land a Grid quote
Goal: a live quote that shows Grid / Priority (or Grid Proto / Value Proto when you qualify), then place the order. Sequence matches the official quickstart.
1. Upload native design files (not Gerbers alone)
- Open app.circuithub.com/upload or New project.
- Upload original schematic + board data. Supported: Altium (.SchDoc + .PcbDoc, optional .PrjPcb), KiCad (.kicad_pro / .kicad_sch / .kicad_pcb), Fusion 360 CAM ZIP / EAGLE-compatible, or a single ODB++ / IPC-2581 archive.
- Name the project → Continue. Import is usually a few minutes.
Gerbers alone cannot create a project. Attach them alongside ODB++/IPC-2581 if you want fab from Gerbers – the system still wants the richer design data first.
2. Board viewer + Board tab
- Check outline, layers, holes, placements in the viewer.
- Open Board: thickness, copper weight, material, finish, customs. Edits here override file detection.
- Spot-check refdes vs what you actually want populated.
3. Reconcile every BOM line
No complete quote until every line is resolved.
- Approve manufacturer part numbers – including auto-matches.
- Mark true DNP refs as Do Not Place.
- CircuitHub purchase vs your consignment, per line.
- Add substitutes when stock or MOQ is ugly.
- Verify package, value, electricals, MPN.
Ship dates track parts available at quote time. Swap a part later and Priority can disappear.
Pro tip: Bias toward parts CircuitHub already stocks in volume. Unique late reels are the boring reason a “3-day” path slips – the line still waits on the slowest component.
4. Quantity, service option, place order
Enter board count. Price, ship date/range, and line (Grid or Conventional) update live.
From the service options docs:
- Priority – specific ship date; reserves fast Grid capacity when the design fits.
- Value Proto (only when shown) – Priority-style path for ≤10 boards: 75% off fab + assembly; parts stay full price; shipping excluded. Easy to misread the headline discount.
- Standard / Flexible – ranges instead of a hard date; Flexible often trades schedule freedom for cheaper assembly.
Order → design confirmation → check “I’ve reviewed and approved” → shipping, payment, optional PO → Place order. Watch the order page; answer factory questions fast.
That’s the whole loop. Most of what people call magic is just the quote engine putting you on The Grid when geometry and parts allow it – and refusing when they don’t.
Common pitfalls that kill a Grid quote
Docs are blunt here. The assembly-lines page is the source news posts skip:
| Constraint | What happens |
|---|---|
| Any 01005 | Not supported on The Grid |
| Lots of 0201s | Less suitable; Priority may go away |
| Board > 215×199 mm (if ≥1.6 mm thick) or > 205×150 mm (thinner) | Outside Grid size envelope; thinner boards also sit on smaller panels (worse unit economics at volume) |
| Heavy through-hole / hand / finishing | Engine steers you to Conventional |
| Gerber-only upload | Project won’t create |
| Unresolved BOM or scarce MPNs | No complete quote / slipped dates |
Grid Proto (when offered) is narrower still: USA fab only, SMT only, 2 or 4 layer at 1.6 mm, black soldermask, qty 1-10, max 215×199 mm. Conventional on the product table goes up to about 508×360 mm, allows heavier THT, higher qty, and 2-4 week windows.
What a “good” result looks like
On a design that fits, Priority is days-not-weeks US assembly with turnkey parts + fab + place. Marketing copy on the how-it-works page has claimed 81% of full turnkey orders ship within 3 days as standard – as of that page; this may have changed, so trust the live quote. Capacity is constrained; Priority is not a promise on every board every day.
Density, layers, odd finishes, and part lead times move both price and date more than any blog benchmark.
When NOT to force The Grid
- Your stack needs packages or outline limits from the table above.
- You’ve got a lot of through-hole, odd-form, conformal coat, or complex finishing.
- Thousands of identical boards, no schedule pressure – pure COGS often still favors classic offshore or CircuitHub Conventional volume.
- You only have Gerbers and won’t export ODB++/IPC-2581 or reopen native Altium/KiCad.
If the live quote never offers Grid/Priority, stop fighting it. Change packages/size/THT on the next rev, or take the Conventional line already priced.
FAQ
Is The Grid only for prototypes?
No. Same system covers one-offs through large batches when panelization and capacity fit.
Do I still get tariffs and China shipping delays?
Say you’re shipping five turnkey boards to a US office. Assembly happens in Massachusetts, so you drop the “finished boards stuck on a dock + tariff surprise” stack for that leg. Grid Proto forces USA fab; other options may still use global fab. Parts remain global supply-chain – a missing reel hurts here the same way. Speed is the usual win; lowest delivered dollar is not guaranteed.
Why did my quote only show Conventional?
People assume the engine “hates” startups. Usually it’s simpler: oversize/thin panel rules, dense 0201s or any 01005, heavy THT, quantity/panelization, or Grid capacity that day. Read the assembly-line note on the quote. Trim what you can, or order Conventional and design the next spin for Grid-friendly packages. Value Proto is not a separate lobby – it only appears when you already qualify for Priority and you’re at ≤10 boards, with the 75% off applying to fab+assembly only.
Next: export the Altium or KiCad project you already have, upload at app.circuithub.com, finish the BOM, and see whether Priority/Grid shows up for this board before you redraw anything.