Zuken Autorouters Embrace Collaborative AI

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

Maybe you’ve never liked autorouters; if so, you’re not alone. As Andy Buja, Zuken’s technical account manager for PCB Solutions, admits, autorouters are not perfect. But today’s autorouters allow designers a greater level of control than ever before, especially routers that incorporate collaborative AI.

In this interview, Andy discusses Zuken’s drive to integrate AI into its autorouting technology, and why this new generation of autorouters might finally break through with the greater PCB design community.

Andy Shaughnessy: You have been updating and adding functionality to your autorouters. What is Zuken’s autorouter technology, and how can it help designers address complex and high-speed challenges?

Andy Buja: At Zuken, we’ve always seen autorouting not as a one-size-fits-all solution, but as a set of smart tools that support the designer’s strategy, especially in high-speed, high-density designs. Our approach allows engineers to selectively apply automation where it provides the most value, without sacrificing control.

Today, we offer multiple routing options embedded within the CR-8000 Design Force platform and Dragon EX routing engine, as well as in eCADSTAR. These tools are designed to work alongside the designer, not in place of them. For example, once a proper layer stackup is defined and constraints are applied to critical nets—such as differential pairs, DDRx busses, and clock lines—designers can use autorouting to fan out and escape-route high-pin-count BGAs, then move directly into routing sensitive nets. The autorouter automatically generates a routing strategy based on those constraints, which the user can fine-tune to fit their workflow.

We recognize that traditional setup processes have been complex. That’s why we’re now introducing a more intuitive interface using AI, significantly reducing the setup burden, especially for less experienced users.

To continue reading this interview, which originally appeared in the June 2025 issue of Design007 Magazine, click here.