"Hardware is hard" is the mantra of anyone who has ever tried to ship a physical product. But it gets even harder when you see the software bill.
If you are launching a startup, an Altium Designer license plus an Altium 365 subscription can cost as much as the monthly budget of a small engineering team. For a "garage" stage or a bootstrapped team, this is often a deal-breaker.
There is a myth: "To build a professional electronics development process, you need expensive enterprise software." Today, we are busting that myth. You can build the same (and sometimes even more convenient) workflow absolutely free using KiCad and PCBHub.
Here is a step-by-step guide on how to set up a "virtual lab" for your team for $0.
Step 1. Choose Your Weapon: KiCad instead of Altium
Ten years ago, KiCad was a "toy." Today, it is the de facto standard for Open Source Hardware. It is used by engineers at CERN, Raspberry Pi, and thousands of startups.
It is free, cross-platform, and has no limits on board size or layer count. But there is a problem: KiCad is desktop software. How do you show the schematic to a manager, investor, or a colleague who doesn't have KiCad installed? How do you discuss changes without taking a million screenshots in Telegram?
This is where PCBHub comes in.
Step 2. Organize a "Cloud" for Hardware (Workspaces)
Forget about folders in Google Drive named Project_New_Final_v3. That is the path to manufacturing errors.
In PCBHub, you create a Workspace — this is your digital headquarters.
Centralization: All your boards and schematics live in one place.
Access: You add team members once, and they have access to all relevant projects.
Privacy: Your files are secure; this is not a public hosting site for open-source only.
This turns file chaos into a structured project library.
Step 3. Version Control Without the Pain (Versions)
Most electronics engineers hate Git. And that’s okay—Git was created for text, not for visual schematics.
PCBHub offers a visual versioning system that everyone understands.
You upload a project archive (schematic, board) — this is Version 1.0.
Made edits? Upload again — the system creates Version 1.1.
Time Machine: You can always see who updated the project and when. At any moment, you can open an old version and see how it was before.
No one will mix up files for production ever again.
Step 4. Design Review: Comment Like in Google Docs
This is the "killer feature" that saves hours of calls.
Instead of writing in a chat "That capacitor on the left near the processor is wrong," you open the schematic directly in the browser.
Click on a specific component or pin.
The system places a Point.
You write a comment: "Replace the LDO with a switching regulator, this will overheat."
The comment is tied to the location and the version. The engineer sees the point, fixes it, and you close the issue.
Step 5. Built-in Task Manager (Task Board)
You don't need Jira or Trello to route a single board. That’s unnecessary context switching.
PCBHub has a built-in Kanban Board. You create tasks right in the project context:
"Check USB line impedance" (Status: In Progress, Priority: High).
"Order components for prototype" (Status: To Do, Assignee: Ivan).
The entire process — from idea to ordering boards — lives in one browser tab.
Conclusion: What Do You Get?
Savings: You saved at least $3,000-$5,000 per year on licenses.
Speed: No file transfers, feedback is instant.
Transparency: You always know which version is current and who is working on what.
Professional electronics development no longer requires corporate budgets. It only requires the right tools.