Built by engineers who got tired of stringing by hand

Branch is a lightweight AutoCAD plugin for solar stringing automation. We built it because we were spending more time on tedious drafting than actual engineering.

Our mission

Solar engineers spend too much time on repetitive CAD work—manually drawing string lines, counting modules, measuring wire runs. It's tedious, error-prone, and it hasn't changed in decades.

We built Branch to fix that. It's a focused AutoCAD plugin that automates solar stringing, homerun routing, and circuit length export—so you can spend your time on actual engineering instead of drafting.

No platform lock-in, no complex setup. Just install the plugin, point it at your panel layout, and let it do the tedious work.

2021

Founded

Started by Case Western Reserve University engineers who met as ThinkEnergy fellows at the Great Lakes Energy Institute.

How it works

Branch uses reinforcement learning for spatial reasoning—no customer data required, no cloud dependency for core features.

No Customer Data Needed

Unlike generative AI approaches that need training on proprietary designs, Branch uses procedural training and spatial reasoning to work with any panel layout—without ever seeing your project files.

Optimized Routing

Specialized algorithms handle string optimization, homerun path planning with k-means clustering, and NEC-compliant stringing—all running locally inside AutoCAD.

Where We're Headed

We're starting with solar stringing in AutoCAD and expanding into more of the solar design workflow—additional documentation, more inverter types, and deeper integration with design tools.

Long term, the same spatial reasoning approach can extend to 3D building systems and other engineering disciplines.

100%

Code compliant

Customer data needed

2,900+

CEC modules

Precise

Wire lengths

Our values

The principles that guide everything we do.

Engineer-First

Built by solar engineers, for solar engineers. Every feature solves a real problem we've dealt with ourselves.

Honest About Scope

We do stringing, homerunning, and cable exporting really well. We don't pretend to be more than we are.

Always Improving

We ship updates based on user feedback. If something's missing, tell us—we're probably already working on it.

Meet the team

Solar engineers and software developers from Cleveland, Ohio.

Evan Haug

Co-Founder & CEO

Electrical and solar engineer from Case Western Reserve University. Former ThinkEnergy fellow at the Great Lakes Energy Institute.

Ben Trabold

Co-Founder & CTO

Software engineer from Case Western Reserve University with expertise in cloud computing and web application security.

Jake Prusky

Co-Founder & CPO

Product leader from Case Western Reserve University focused on building intuitive engineering tools.

Backed by

Supported by leading accelerators and organizations in energy and technology.

Black & Veatch

Enterprise customer and design partner for solar drafting automation.

UChicago Transform

Cohort 3 of the Polsky Center's data science and AI startup accelerator.

DOE American-Made

Winner of $150,000+ in prizes from the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Prize.

Get in touch

Have questions? We'd love to hear from you.

Or email us directly

contact@leafautomation.ai