RLC Circuit Drawing Generator

This skill generates professional circuit diagrams from natural language descriptions using Python's Schemdraw library.

When to Use This Skill

• User asks to draw or create a circuit diagram
• User describes a circuit with resistors, capacitors, inductors, or power sources
• User needs an educational circuit illustration
• User wants to visualize an RLC circuit topology

Workflow

1. Parse the circuit description - Identify components, values, and topology
2. Determine layout - Series, parallel, or mixed arrangement
3. Generate Schemdraw code - Create Python script using library conventions
4. Render to image - Execute script to produce SVG output

Input Format

Users can describe circuits in natural language:

• "Draw a series RLC circuit with R=100Ω, L=10mH, C=1μF powered by 12V DC"
• "Create an RC low-pass filter with a 10kΩ resistor and 100nF capacitor"
• "Show a parallel LC circuit with L=1mH and C=100pF"

Layout Convention

Preferred layout: Vertical component arrangement on the right side.

    ┌───────────────────┐
    │                   │
   (+)                [R₁]
  (SRC)                 │
   (-)                [L₁]
    │                   │
    └────────⏚────────[C₁]
           (GND)        │
                        │

• Power source: Vertical on left side, positive terminal on top
• Components: Arranged vertically on the right side using .down()
• Ground: Reference point on the return path (bottom)
• Labels: Include component designators and values (R₁ 10kΩ) - use default positioning

Schemdraw Code Generation

Use the bundled references for syntax:

• references/schemdraw-guide.md - Component elements and methods
• references/circuit-patterns.md - Common topology templates

Basic Structure (Vertical Layout - Preferred)

Important: The ground must be connected to the source negative terminal to form a complete circuit.

Labeling: Use .label('text') without specifying loc - Schemdraw's default positioning handles placement intelligently based on element orientation.

import schemdraw
import schemdraw.elements as elm

with schemdraw.Drawing() as d:
    d.config(unit=3, fontsize=12)

    # Start with power source (vertical, positive up)
    source = d.add(elm.SourceV().up().label('V₁\n12V'))

    # Top rail to the right
    d += elm.Line().right().length(5).at(source.end)

    # Components arranged vertically using .down()
    d += elm.Resistor().down().label('R₁  100Ω')
    d += elm.Inductor().down().label('L₁  10mH')
    d += elm.Capacitor().down().label('C₁  1μF')

    # Return path with ground
    d += elm.Line().left().length(3)
    d += elm.Ground()

    # Connect back to source negative terminal
    d += elm.Line().left().tox(source.start)
    d += elm.Line().up().toy(source.start)

    d.save('circuit.svg')

Rendering

After generating the Schemdraw code, save it to a .py file and render:

python scripts/render_circuit.py circuit_code.py output.svg

Or run the generated Python directly if Schemdraw is installed.

Components Reference

Output

• Default format: SVG (scalable, web-friendly)
• Alternatives: PNG, PDF (specify in render command)
• Location: Same directory as the Schemdraw script, or user-specified path

Example Files

See assets/examples/ for working templates:

• simple-resistive.py - Basic resistor circuit
• rc-series.py - RC series circuit
• rl-series.py - RL series circuit
• rlc-series.py - Full RLC series circuit
• rlc-parallel.py - Parallel RLC circuit