Open Flux now, switch Copilot to “Next-gen” and see how it handles your next design challenge. The sooner you try it, the more your feedback can shape the next leap in AI-powered hardware design.
The process of creating symbols is often too rigid and tedious to create schematics that are beautiful. That’s why, today, we’re introducing parametrically programmable schematic symbols in Flux.
That’s why, today, we’re introducing parametrically programmable schematic symbols in Flux.
In modern EDA tools, creating schematics and symbols entails a manual process of drawing rectangles, squares, and lines with a mouse and cursor. Too often, we fight with symbols because they’re so hard to modify. It can feel impossible to create any sort of sane signal convention. Interconnections and signal flow ultimately devolve into lines leaving your symbol’s pins in seemingly random order and direction. How is anyone supposed to make sense of these schematics?
Flux's parametric symbols change how we view schematic symbols by offering you customization and flexibility. With parametric symbols, your team can better organize your schematic symbols by grouping pins based on functionality and logical connection, without needing to physically draw the symbol. Want all GPIO to be grouped together? Maybe you want all power pins to be on the left side of the symbol? Or, do you want all ADC channel pins to be next to each other?
Parametric symbols enable your team to make designs organized and readable. The result is a symbol that isn’t just a square with some lines, it’s a neatly organized, clearly partitioned set of functions that can be easily interpreted by anyone on the team and beyond. Don’t fight with rigid symbols. Instead, organize your symbol as you want, make the signal flow clear and intuitive, and end up with a schematic design that is simple to understand.
Parametric symbols also introduce unprecedented levels of flexibility and customization. Unlike conventional symbols that need to be completely redrawn by hand if changes are desired, parametric symbols are configurable on the fly. No more hassle and wasted time using a drawing tool to rearrange pins.
At Flux, we believe your design should be declarative, not imperative. You should tell your symbols how they could behave - not the other way around. Parametric symbols are our first step in realizing this reality.
Creating parametric symbols in Flux is as simple as filling out property fields in the Inspector Panel. 4 properties determine how the symbol arranges itself:
Once the symbol is created, it can be changed easily by redefining properties to your liking. That means that symbols are dynamic and configurable with little to no effort and wasted time.
To learn more about how to work with parametric symbols in Flux, check out the documentation page.
Parametric symbols are our first step towards a truly declarative workflow with Flux. Soon, you will find declarative workflows integrated into every feature, including the PCB Editor.
Want to learn more about how to start using parametric symbols in Flux? Contact sales today.
We’re excited to announce our partnership with Ultra Librarian to bring millions of high quality and trustworthy components directly to the Flux ecosystem. This partnership marks a big step towards bringing together all semiconductor manufacturers, distributors, engineers, and the whole hardware industry.
Ultra Librarian is the biggest name in the electronic components sector, boasting a repository of millions of parts from diverse manufacturers. Their commitment to maintaining an up-to-date and accessible library for PCB designers aligns perfectly with our goal to offer an efficient, user-friendly design experience. With Ultra Librarian providing access to the world’s largest online electronic component CAD library, Flux users are assured virtually unlimited access to any component they might need, directly published and accessible in real-time within the Flux platform.
Our decision to partner with Ultra Librarian was heavily influenced by the feedback from our community. You want more, high-quality, and trustworthy components available in the Flux library. So, we knew we had to do something big.
Gopu Achath, VP of Technology for Ultra Librarian, emphasizes the importance of fostering this partnership to help drive the industry forward,
“The collaboration between Ultra Librarian and Flux plays a crucial role in the evolution of electronic design. We're enthusiastic about contributing to the dynamic evolution of the CAD design space as Flux endeavors to streamline and digitize the experience. Ultra Librarian continues to lead the charge ensuring CAD models remain easily accessible across various platforms.”
Together with Ultra Librarian, we’re going to be gradually bringing all of Ultra Librarian’s manufacturers into the Flux ecosystem.
We’re starting to roll out the Ultra Librarian partnership with Monolithic Power Systems (MPS), a leader in all things related to power and semiconductors. Users will now have access to over 3,500 of the company’s parts for immediate use in their designs, as well as MPS-created reference designs for inspiration. To use MPS’s parts, simply search for Monolithic Power Systems in the component library and drop them onto your canvas.
You can also follow MPS’ Organization page to get updates for new components, references designs, and other useful materials. Here are some example MPS reference designs that you can fork in Flux today!
Following MPS, we’ll be bringing on many more of Ultra Librarian’s brands into our tool so users can access the same benefits from their favorite manufacturers.
This partnership brings the Flux community unprecedented advantages allowing engineers to interact directly with their favorite manufacturers from their Organization page, including parts, reference designs, and modules.
This partnership marks a big step towards bringing together all semiconductor manufacturers, distributors, engineers, and the whole hardware industry. We envision a future where designers and manufacturers can collaborate, where designers can find reliable, high-quality electronic components, and teams can create innovative hardware. This collaboration is a significant step towards that future.
We want to hear from you! What’s the next manufacturer you want to see brought into the Flux Library? Let us know by filling out this survey!
We couldn’t be more excited for what’s ahead!
Your team is burning time and money each time a new project begins. At Flux, we’re changing that. The New Project Launcher helps your team improve efficiency by surfacing existing templates which simplify DFM and reduce mistakes. Reduce risk, increase speed, all in a day’s work.
Your team is burning time and money each time a new project has to start from scratch. The New Project Launcher is changing that by offering a selection of pre-existing templates to choose from every time you start a new project. Templates can be anything created and shared inside of Flux, whether it comes from the Flux community, your favorite manufacturer, or just from within your organization. Here are some of our favorite templates that you’ll have access to from the Launcher to get a faster and more informed start:
The New Project Launcher embodies our philosophy of collaboration by making it incredibly simple to leverage the work of peers, experts, and industry leaders. Whether you're seeking inspiration, aiming for compliance with organizational standards, or looking to adopt best practices, these templates guide you toward a successful project from the outset.
No matter who you are, if you’re involved in hardware, you can benefit from the New Project Launcher.
Engineers gain the advantage of speed by starting projects with templates that encapsulate years of expertise and tested designs, directly from manufacturers or seasoned professionals. This means less time deliberating over the basics and more time refining and innovating.
Managers and stakeholders can find value in the distribution of best practices and standards, ensuring their teams operate cohesively, risks are minimized, and projects are propelled forward with proven methodologies. That means less risk of errors and faster times to market.
Manufacturers have the opportunity to amplify their reach and influence by making their reference designs readily available to the community. By driving the adoption of their hardware and simplifying the design-for-manufacture (DFM) process, manufacturers can help the world innovate. Learn more.
Anyone can create and distribute templates easily and limit access for just yourself, your team, or publish to the entire Flux community. Learn more about creating and publishing templates.
The introduction of the New Project Launcher is part of our commitment to simplifying the design process and reshaping the landscape of hardware design. Ultimately, though, this feature is for you, the builders, the dreamers, and the innovators.
Your engagement and feedback are what drive us forward. We invite you to explore the New Project Launcher, build on the collective wisdom of the Flux community, and contribute your own insights. Together, let's push the boundaries of what's possible in hardware design.
Today, we’re announcing Flux Enterprise, a new plan that allows enterprise hardware teams to leverage AI to iterate faster, streamline processes, mitigate risks, and enhance team efficiency. With Flux Enterprise, we’re finally bringing AI to hardware teams at enterprise companies with Flux Copilot.
{{insert-book-a-demo}}
80% of Fortune 500 companies already have employees using AI like ChatGPT for their everyday work and we’ve all seen how LLMs have been leveraged to write code. But, what about designing and building hardware?
We believe LLMs will revolutionize every step of the hardware development process from initial brainstorming all the way through production. From talking with dozens of enterprise customers across the industry, we’ve learned that you are also excited to leverage AI to streamline tedious tasks, access organization-wide knowledge, reduce design risks, and ultimately ship innovative products faster.
We also learned that enterprise customers are concerned about the security aspects of using an AI platform for hardware development. They want enterprise-grade security, privacy, and white-glove onboarding support. That’s why, today, we’re excited to be launching Flux for the Enterprise!
With Flux Enterprise, we’re finally bringing AI to hardware teams at enterprise companies with Flux Copilot. What is Flux Copilot? It’s conversational AI that lives in your project to augment your design workflow. Think of it like a senior EE that’s always available for you, 24/7.
What makes Flux Copilot different than generic LLMs like ChatGPT is that it has direct knowledge of your project’s bill of materials, netlist connections, datasheets, engineering knowledge, project requirements, and can even understand images like plots, charts, and technical diagrams - and that’s just the beginning.
Since we launched Copilot last year, it has been used by thousands of hardware teams to build PCBs for everything from industrial IoT to boards used in space! Some of our favorite enterprise use cases for Copilot include:
Whatever your use case may be, there’s no doubt that it can improve your hardware workflow to save your organization time and money.
With Flux Enterprise, we’ve taken the power of Flux Copilot and Flux Organizations and optimized them for the needs of the enterprise world. We’re augmenting our tool with white-glove onboarding support and a slew of new, advanced security features including:
We even generate SOC1 and SOC2 type 2 reports annually, so enterprises have transparency into the security measures protecting their work. The Flux Enterprise tier also allows us to support your specific needs.
We have an ambitious vision for Flux Copilot to unlock the vast human potential that is currently constrained by today’s EDA tools. We’re looking to partner with enterprise customers who are as excited as we are about pushing the boundaries of AI-driven hardware development.
Imagine a future where your most complex PCB design challenges are met with an intelligent AI assistant, capable of handling everything from component selection to compliance checks. Read on to discover how Copilot, embedded within the Flux platform, is turning this vision into a reality, liberating electrical engineers to focus on what truly matters: innovation.
If menial tasks are corroding the magic you once felt building electronics, you are not alone. Aerospace engineers once relied on protractors and books of mathematics tables, and early semiconductor circuits were laid out manually with scalpels and stencils. From computer-aided design to EUV photolithography, new tools opened new frontiers of possibility, letting engineers spend more and more time solving interesting problems instead of doing busywork.
That’s why we built an AI assistant for designing electronics: Flux Copilot. It removes the drudgery for electrical engineers, helps you move faster, and make less mistakes so you can focus on inventing breakthrough products.
When you open Flux, Copilot is waiting for you in the chat. Brainstorming how to approach a particular PCB design? Struggling to fix a stubborn bug? Just ask, and Copilot will respond instantly with suggestions tailored to your project—you can even ask it to wire up schematics or review a design. It's not just a tool; it's your design partner.
Under the hood, Copilot coordinates a team of AI models that collaborate to interpret, research, analyze, and respond to your query. When you ask a question, it remembers your chat history, accounts for project requirements, references relevant datasheets, checks parts availability, and vets comparable options before responding. By drawing on this rich context, Copilot manages its array of specialized models and evaluates results in order to generate the best response to your query.
LLMs add a new layer to the top of the software stack—transforming natural language into a programming language so you can communicate with computers in your native tongue instead of code. So the best way to use Copilot is to treat it like a partner: talking through problems, refining questions, and iterating solutions together. More conversation means more context for it to leverage on your behalf.
Copilot is a tireless deputy dedicated to accelerating your creativity. Hobbyists are using it to build side projects. Entrepreneurs are using it to add new lines of business. Teams at Fortune 100s are using it to inform designs and streamline design reviews. But we’re just getting started.
Imagine you're part of a team that's been tasked with innovating the next generation of wearable health monitors. Stringent design constraints include ultra-low power consumption, medical-grade accuracy, and real-time communication with healthcare providers. A small mistake in component selection could result in a device that fails to meet regulatory standards.
You fire up Flux and initiate a chat with Copilot:
@copilot, we're working on a medical wearable with these specs...
Copilot begins by validating your high-level requirements against current medical standards. Within moments, a list of components that meet your specifications appears on your screen. The AI also generates a basic schematic layout.
Copilot: Based on your specs, here's a rough schematic design with MCU chips, sensors, and power management ICs that fit your criteria. What do you think?
An interactive schematic layout appears on the screen alongside the chat, making it easier for you to visualize the system design. Copilot also estimates the battery life based on the initial schematic and offers to set up notifications for when certain components go on sale or get updated.
Copilot: Looks like our initial Bluetooth choice might consume too much power. How about this low-energy alternative?
The suggestion comes with a recalculated power budget, helping you make an informed decision quickly.
Once the schematic is confirmed, Copilot transitions to creating a basic PCB layout:
Copilot: We're good to go on the schematic. Let's talk PCB layout. I see your mechanical engineering team has constraints for the device enclosure. Shall we coordinate?
You agree, and Copilot generates an initial PCB layout. It also reaches out to your mechanical engineering team to get the constraints for the device enclosure. Within moments, an algorithmically generated 3D enclosure model appears on the screen, designed to perfectly fit your PCB.
Copilot: Here's an auto-generated enclosure that meets the mechanical constraints and fits the PCB layout. How does it look to the team?
After some back-and-forths between your electrical and mechanical teams, facilitated by Copilot, you arrive at a finalized design.
Copilot: Looks like we have a winner! I'll go ahead and run a mock compliance check and notify the firmware team for the final integration.
Fast-forward a few months, and your device is not only meeting but exceeding expectations. Copilot assists in generating the documentation needed for formal compliance checks and eventual mass production.
In the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Tony Stark uses his trusty AI, J.A.R.V.I.S., to build his Iron Man Armor. When Tony has an idea, J.A.R.V.I.S. is always there—relentlessly competent—to transform that idea into reality. J.A.R.V.I.S. understands what Tony needs and taps the relevant resources to make it happen, extending his agency and increasing the leverage of his decisions.
In many ways, J.A.R.V.I.S. represents the kind of AI that Copilot is evolving toward: a tool that empowers you to make anything you can dream up. But in the movies, Tony is a billionaire and J.A.R.V.I.S. is his and his alone, while Copilot is open to everyone, democratizing access to exclusive domains like electrical engineering. Imagine an MCU where everyone has a J.A.R.V.I.S. working tirelessly on their behalf to improve their lives and world. Thanos wouldn’t stand a chance. That is the kind of abundant future we seek to realize.
One day, Copilot will grok your entire supply chain. It will be able to handle any design task you want to delegate. It will accelerate your creativity by making atoms as malleable as bits. That’s how it will earn the J.A.R.V.I.S. analogy. That’s how it will help you build anything you can possibly imagine, making good on Arthur C. Clarke’s injunction that “any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
So how will you make things better by making better things? We can’t wait to find out.
We’ve been so amazed with the ways you’ve used Copilot to brainstorm, debug, and conduct part research that we’ve compiled some of our favorite prompts you can copy and paste, or modify for your own use!
Copilot prompts are natural language inputs given to a custom-trained large language model (LLM) specifically designed to understand the principles and methodology of electronics engineering, circuit design, schematic design and PCB design.
For example, if the prompt is
"How would I connect ILI9341 and SPI TFT LCD?"
the model will generate an answer in a human-like manner based on the prompt. And because Copilot lives inside the PCB design tool, not only it provides direct feedback, advice, analysis, and with your approval - it can take action, through a simple chat interface. With just press of a button, Copilot can connect components together.
The future of hardware design is already here with Flux Copilot, offering a new and faster way for hardware engineers to work, making it more fun as well. Learn more about Flux Copilot.
Feel free to share your favorites on our Slack Community.
{{top-copilot-prompts-v0}}
