Let’s be honest: teaching hardware design is awesome, but grading it is a nightmare.
If you are a professor or a TA, you know the drill. A student emails you a file named Final_Project_v2_REAL_FINAL.zip. You have to download it, unzip it, open KiCad or Eagle (hoping you have the same libraries installed), and try to find the error they are talking about. Then you write a long email trying to describe a specific capacitor in the top-left corner.
It’s 2025. Why are we still doing this?
Enter PCBHub. Think of it as Google Docs for your schematics. It runs in the browser, it’s instant, and it actually makes collaboration fun. Here is how it changes the game for your class.
Point, Click, Comment (No More "Where is C4?")
Text feedback is terrible for visual work. Telling a student "check the trace width on the 5V line" is vague.
With PCBHub, interaction is visual.
The Point: You spot a mistake? You don't describe it. You click right on the component or trace. This drops a Point.
The Comment: You leave a note attached to that point: "This regulator needs a heatsink footprint, not just a TO-92."
The Fix: The student sees the marker exactly where you put it. No confusion. No "I couldn't find what you meant."
It’s like using a red pen on paper, but smarter.
The "Chain of Work" (Versions done right)
Students rarely get it right on the first try. And that’s okay—that’s learning. But tracking that progress is usually a mess of overwritten files.
In PCBHub, every student has their own Version Chain.
The Journey: Student uploads Version 1.0 (The "It barely works" draft). You give feedback using Points.
The Evolution: They fix it and upload Version 1.1.
The Comparison: You can flip between versions instantly. You see the timeline of their hard work.
For teachers, this is a superpower. You don't just grade the final result; you grade the process. You can see exactly how they solved the problems you pointed out in the previous version.
Documentation that Actually Gets Read
Usually, the lab manual is a PDF on a learning portal, the schematic is in KiCad, and the datasheet is in a browser tab. It’s chaotic.
PCBHub puts everything in one Workspace.
For Teachers: Upload the assignment requirements directly into the project's Documents section.
For Students: They can keep their datasheets, calculations, and notes right next to the design.
It’s a single "hub" for the whole semester. No more "Professor, I lost the instructions."
Real Discussion, Less Panic
Hardware is hard. Students get stuck.
Instead of waiting for office hours, students can start a Discussion right inside the project.
Student: Drops a Point on a microcontroller pin. "Hey, did I hook up the SPI bus correctly?"
Teammate/Teacher: Replies instantly. "Swap MISO and MOSI."
This creates a feedback loop that happens before the assignment is due, not after. It turns a solitary struggle into a team effort.
PCBHub isn't just a viewer; it's a classroom upgrade.
No software to install. (Works on any laptop).
Visual feedback with Points and Comments.
Clear history with Versions.
All materials in one place.
Ready to modernize your engineering course? Stop managing ZIP files. Start managing designs.