Ants: routing and our own terms (from Nov 2026)

Placement

Deciding where each part physically sits on the board. Done after the schematic, before routing. Sets the puzzle routing has to solve.

How it looks

Real image: CORE3588, rendered by KiCad from our board file

A real placement: the right edge of CORE3588 (15 x 22.5 mm). Every part sits where Sam put it; the copper between them came later.

1U2, a power chip (a buck converter that makes a lower voltage).
2L1, its coil, placed right beside it: the two work as a team.
3R11, R10 (resistors that set the output voltage) and C9, C10 (capacitors), lined up beside the chip they serve.
4U3, a second copy of the same circuit, placed the same way below.

Stage 5 of the journey; it comes after the schematic and before routing by Ants. A whole-board placement shown as a map is a floorplan.

If routing later proves a region impossible, a small move is made: a placement ECO.