Hardware, ordered by AI. Notes from the workshop.
Which models can read a board, how to get parts ordered from inside your editor, and how Next Everything compares with the tools you already use.
Latest
AI symbol and footprint generators in 2026: who publishes accuracy?
Stillwind, PCBPartz, Librizer, Flux, CELUS, Circuit Mind, PartGenie, Zenode, SnapMagic, datasheets.md compared: output, pricing, API or MCP, accuracy.
AI models for hardwareWhich AI model is best for hardware engineering in 2026? Six models, one real benchmark
GPT-6 Astra, Claude Opus 5.5, Gemini 4 Argon, Muse Wonder, Grok 4.7, Mistral Large 4 on hardware tasks: what is measured, what is not, which to use when.
AI models for hardwareClaude vs ChatGPT for hardware design: does a 13-point gap on circuits settle it?
Claude Opus 5.5 and Fable 5.1 against GPT-6 Astra on datasheets, schematics, CadQuery, agents, cost and safety layers. A verdict per task, not one winner.
AI models for hardware
How the newest models handle parts, boards and mechanical design.
Guides
Step by step: Claude, ChatGPT and other assistants in real hardware work.
The part that is 3% lighter is the worse part. Design with what you can buy
Supply-aware design in practice. Why availability and price belong in the design loop, not after it, and how an assistant with a parts tool changes that loop.
GuidesCan Claude Code design hardware? A working repo, from datasheet to delivered parts
A practical workflow for engineers using Claude Code on a hardware repo, with KiCad, CadQuery, a BOM, and parts ordered through an MCP server you approve.
GuidesWhy can your AI read a datasheet but not order the part? MCP in five minutes
The Model Context Protocol explained for people who build hardware. Tools, resources, remote servers, which assistants support it, and the security basics.
GuidesCan Claude Code order every part for a KiCad project? One prompt, two boards
Export the BOM from KiCad 8 or 9, connect Next Everything over MCP, ask for two builds, review the picklist, approve the payment link yourself, track every box.
Comparisons
Next Everything next to the marketplaces, part libraries and quoting tools you already know.
JLCPCB vs Next Everything: one project, four carts or one?
JLCPCB, LCSC, JLC3DP and JLCCNC vs Next Everything, as of October 2026: price, scale, the JLCPCB MCP servers, and how to order a PCB from Claude.
ComparisonsOctopart vs Next Everything: can your AI search for parts, or also order them?
Octopart and Nexar vs Next Everything, as of October 2026: component search, the GraphQL API, Octocart, no official Octopart MCP yet, and AI part search tools.
ComparisonsXometry vs Next Everything: can one quote cover the boards, the prints and the brackets?
Xometry vs Next Everything as of October 2026: processes, quoting, AI and MCP access, payment, order size, and when each is the right Xometry alternative.
Comparisons10 Xometry alternatives in 2026, and which ones your AI can call
Protolabs, Hubs, Fictiv, JLCPCB, PCBWay, Craftcloud, Treatstock, meviy, the new MCP-native fab shops and Next Everything: pricing, API and MCP access, caveats.
Industry
What happened to the on-demand manufacturing platforms, and what comes next.
Why did MISUMI pay $350 million for Fictiv? The buyer wants one order, not five
MISUMI bought Fictiv for $350M (announced April 2025, closed June 2025). What each company does, what the deal signals, what changes for small hardware teams.
IndustryWhat happened to on-demand manufacturing marketplaces? Eight names, one pattern
Plethora, Voodoo, Fast Radius, MakeTime, MFG.com, 3D Hubs, Shapeways, Fictiv: what closed, what sold, why, and what the next marketplace looks like in 2026.