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What Makes a Perfect PCB Design Prompt

Practical guide to writing prompts that get quality results from Flux. We’ll talk about the anatomy of a good prompt and how you can use different LLMs to come up with a great prompt.

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November 7, 2025
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Is Your Hardware Startup Idea Worth Building?

Is Your Hardware Startup Idea Worth Building?

Are you creating the right hardware solution for the problem that truly matters? Learn how to validate ideas, prototype fast, and use modern tools to turn concepts into successful products.

But the world has changed. The cost to experiment has collapsed. AI is leaving the cloud to run on devices the size of a thumbnail. Sensors that once cost hundreds now sell for pennies. For the first time, small teams can move with the creative velocity that software startups have enjoyed for decades. The gap between idea and reality has never been smaller.

And yet, most hardware startups still fail. Only about twenty percent of hardware projects on Kickstarter reach their funding goal, and many of those never ship. Among venture-backed companies, few make it past their first product.

They fail because they mistake building for learning. They fall in love with the object instead of the problem it solves. In software, you can fix mistakes overnight. In hardware, your mistakes ship with the product - literally.

So how do you tell a promising idea from a doomed one? You can’t predict success, but you can evaluate your idea through a few simple, revealing lenses.

1. Is the Pain Big Enough?

Most failed startups didn’t build the wrong product. They built the right product for a problem nobody cared about.

The first filter is pain. Would your users notice if your product disappeared tomorrow? Would they try to hack together a replacement because it mattered that much? A “nice to have” idea might work in software, but in hardware, where every prototype costs time and money, it’s a fatal flaw.

Look for problems that are deeply felt, not just acknowledged. If you can’t name the specific moment your user feels that pain, you haven't dug deep enough.

2. Can You Reach Your User?

A brilliant idea is useless if you can’t get it into people’s hands.

Ask yourself: how quickly can I put a prototype in front of ten real users? If the answer involves resellers, trade shows, or corporate pilots, your learning loop is already too slow.

The best founders start where their users already are. They spend time in the workshop, the clinic, the lab, or the kitchen. They observe people in their natural context and test ideas directly. That’s where clarity comes from. If you can’t easily access your early adopters, you’ll waste months designing in the dark.

3. Can It Become a Business?

A beautiful prototype can still make a terrible business.

Before you commit, stress-test the economics. Can you build it at a margin that leaves room to scale? Is there a recurring element, consumables, data, upgrades, or community, that compounds value over time?

If your business model relies entirely on one-time sales, you will be running uphill forever. Hardware margins are thin, so your value has to run deep. The goal isn’t just to make an object; it’s to build a system that sustains itself and the people behind it.

Where Great Hardware Ideas Come From

The best ideas rarely come from brainstorming. They come from lived experience.

Tony Fadell didn’t build Nest because he wanted to make thermostats cool. He built it because he was frustrated by how wasteful and outdated they were. Frank Wang started DJI after crashing his own helicopter and realizing flight should be simple. Nirav Patel created Framework because he hated throwing away laptops that should have been repairable.

The common thread is proximity. These founders were close to the problem. They understood it deeply enough to recognize what “better” looked like.

If you’re forcing an idea, it’s probably not the right one. The ideas worth building are the ones that won’t leave you alone.

From Questions to Experiments

Once you have clarity on these questions, it’s time to learn through prototypes. Each build should have a clear learning goal. You are not building to finish; you are building to learn.

  • A quick 3D print can test ergonomics and usability.
  • A simple functional mockup can prove technical feasibility and confirm it solves the core pain.
  • A higher-fidelity version can test perceived value, aesthetics, and pricing.

The point is intentionality. Know what you are trying to learn from each version before you start building. Every successful hardware company runs on validated learning.

Every prototype closes a gap between what you think is true and what actually works in the real world.

For example, you could start prototyping a product idea right now. Try it for yourself:

Create a solar-powered IoT environmental sensor node. The goal is to design a compact and energy-efficient PCB for outdoor environmental monitoring applications.

The device should be powered by a small solar panel with a built-in Li-ion battery charging and protection circuit. It will include sensors for temperature, humidity, air quality (CO₂ or VOC), and light intensity. The design should use a low-power microcontroller such as an ESP32, STM32L0, or nRF52, and communicate via LoRaWAN or Wi-Fi. The circuit should incorporate proper power management, voltage regulation, and an ultra-low sleep current design, with a USB-C port for debugging and charging.

Generate a complete schematic with labeled subsystems, including power, sensors, microcontroller, and communication sections. Produce a compact PCB layout optimized for solar and battery integration, along with a suggested component list that includes part numbers. Provide design notes for a waterproof enclosure and antenna placement, and include a manufacturability and testing checklist to ensure production readiness.

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Speed Is Your Advantage

Speed used to be hardware’s enemy. Now, it's the ultimate advantage.

Teams that can run five iterations in a few months will outlearn those that spend a year polishing a single version. The best companies make iteration a habit, not a milestone. Whoop tested its early wearables on professional athletes who cared more about results than polish. Oura shipped multiple versions before getting the form factor right.

Iteration speed compounds. Each cycle teaches you more about your market, your users, and your path to scale.

Speed is also a lifesaver in a crisis. Like when Agri-iO’s key component was discontinued, they used Flux to design a custom solution in just a few days. Instead of facing months of delays, they had a working prototype in under a week, allowing them to fulfill a major contract and secure their supply chain. Read the full article.

“I used Flux to ask questions about which pins to connect and to get examples for specific designs. It suggested components and configurations. Flux reduced the amount of review work needed, and overall, it was a wonderful experience.” Michael van Niekerk, Co-Founder and Head of Technology, Agri-iO

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Build the System, Not Just the Object

Every great hardware company eventually realizes it is not just building a device. It’s building a system, the user, the problem, the workflow, and the feedback loop that connects them.

When evaluating your idea, it’s crucial to consider more than just the feasibility of building it. Instead, think about these key questions:

  • What problem am I learning about?
  • How quickly can I learn?
  • If I’m right, can it scale into something lasting?

Hardware will always require patience, but the leverage has changed. Intelligence is spreading into the physical world, with the tools to design and test now open to everyone. The cost of curiosity has never been lower.

If you have an idea that keeps you up at night, now is the time to build it.

The Tools Have Finally Caught Up

A decade ago, hardware design was fragmented and slow. Now, the ecosystem is built for speed.

Tools like Flux let teams design circuits in the browser, simulate instantly, and collaborate in real time. You can go from concept to a tested board in days. Prototyping services deliver parts overnight. The bottleneck is no longer the tooling; it’s how clearly you define what to test next.

The frontier isn’t in the cloud anymore. It’s in your hands. For anyone with an idea that keeps them up at night, the tools are finally ready for you.

Don't just build faster, learn faster. Start bringing your idea to life at flux.ai

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October 30, 2025
Choosing the Right Platform to Build Your Project

Choosing the Right Platform to Build Your Project

This guide helps you choose the best hardware platform—Arduino, Raspberry Pi, ESP32, or others, by comparing power, connectivity, and scalability for your project.

In this post, we’ll break down the most well-known platforms and how to decide which fits your project best.

Key considerations before choosing a board:

  • Complexity & compute: Need to read a sensor or run a camera feed? Arduinos handle simple tasks (e.g., toggling LEDs), while a Raspberry Pi runs Linux and can multitask or process images. ESP32 lands in between—more powerful than Arduino, less complex than Pi.
  • Connectivity: ESP32 and Raspberry Pi include built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Most Arduino boards require add-ons. If internet/cloud features are essential, lean toward ESP32, Pi, or Particle.
  • Power: Battery-powered? Go microcontroller. Arduino and ESP32 are low-power and start instantly. Pi draws more current and needs proper shutdown, less ideal for mobile or remote use.
  • Real-time needs: Arduinos (and ESP32) are great for real-time control. Pi isn’t real-time and lacks analog inputs, external components are needed.
  • Community & support: Arduino and Raspberry Pi have massive ecosystems. ESP32 and Adafruit have solid support too. If you’re new to hardware, this matters.
  • Scalability: Arduino and ESP32 are open and easy to embed in custom hardware. Raspberry Pi is harder to scale (unless you use a Compute Module). Particle is fast to deploy but ties you to their ecosystem.

Let Flux’s AI Guide Your Choice

If you’re not sure which board to choose, Flux’s AI can help. It understands these platforms and trade‑offs. Describe your project in plain language and it will ask clarifying questions, compare options, and even suggest components and reference designs based on your needs.Flux’s AI can:

  • Clarify requirements like real‑time control, wireless connectivity, power budget and compute needs.
  • Compare microcontroller boards versus single‑board computers for your specific use case.
  • Suggest parts, modules and reference designs that fit your chosen platform.
  • Generate a starter schematic and block diagram so you can start designing immediately in Flux.

Prompt Examples

Try asking Flux’s AI:

“I want to build a battery‑powered temperature logger that sends data over WiFi. Which board should I use?”
Try it now
“Compare ESP32 and Raspberry Pi Pico for a low‑power wearable that needs Bluetooth.”
Try it now
“Help me design a prototype around Arduino Nano that could scale to a custom PCB later.”
Try it now
“Which microcontroller would be best for a small robot that needs real‑time motor control and wireless communication?”
Try it now

The AI will walk you through the decision, suggest parts and generate a starting design file you can modify.

{{start-designing-with-flux-ai}}

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Quick platform overview

Arduino

Arduino is a microcontroller-based platform known for its simplicity and approachability. Boards like the Arduino Uno are ideal for real-time tasks such as reading sensors or controlling LEDs. You write code in C/C++ using the Arduino IDE, and it runs directly on the hardware without the need of an operating system.

Pros

  • Super easy to get started with, strong community, tons of libraries, ultra-low power, fast boot-up.
  • Great for early prototypes, simple control loops, or wearables.

Cons

  • Very limited compute and can’t handle multitasking, networking, or complex logic.
  • Classic boards don’t include Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, so wireless adds extra cost and complexity.

Best for

  • First-time hardware builders, projects with tight power budgets, or prototypes that don’t need connectivity.

One example project is SmokeSensor Shield which used to monitor chimney smoke and provide feedback to stove.

SmokeSensor Shield by tpetrovic2, an Arduino Uno shield used to monitor chimney smoke and provide feedback to stove.
SmokeSensor Shield by tpetrovic2, an Arduino Uno shield used to monitor chimney smoke and provide feedback to stove.

Raspberry Pi

The Raspberry Pi is a full Linux computer in a small form factor. It can run Python, connect to a monitor, and handle USB peripherals, ideal for complex prototypes, especially when you need a GUI, internet access, or heavier processing like image or audio.

Pros

  • Powerful compute, native wireless (on newer models), great for software-heavy projects or anything needing a display or camera.
  • Huge support and open-source software ecosystem.

Cons

  • Not real-time, no analog inputs, relatively high power draw, needs proper shutdown.
  • Supply issues can also be a concern.

Best for

  • Projects with a software focus, multimedia or ML requirements, or when fast prototyping with a familiar OS matters.

Raspberry Pi has many use cases, including this Pico Smart Automation Controller project which enables intelligent control for sensors, relays, and devices.

Pico Smart Automation Controller by vasy_skral,a compact and versatile automation system which enables intelligent control for sensors, relays, and devices.
Pico Smart Automation Controller by vasy_skral - a compact and versatile automation system which enables intelligent control for sensors, relays, and devices.

ESP32

The ESP32 strikes a balance: it’s a 32-bit dual-core microcontroller with built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. It has much more power than Arduino but doesn’t run an OS like the Pi. It’s great for IoT applications where you want connectivity, battery efficiency, and scalability.

Pros

  • Strong wireless out of the box, decent compute for a microcontroller, sleep modes for low-power operation, programmable via Arduino IDE or Espressif IDF.

Cons

  • Steeper learning curve than Arduino.
  • Some quirks in peripherals (e.g., analog input accuracy), and wireless features require careful power management.

Best for

  • Connected products, battery-powered IoT sensors, or startups wanting to go from prototype to production without switching chips.

The ESP32 is one of the more widely known microcontroller, so that means you can find from the simplest to more advanced projects and templates, like these Dual Ultrasonic Water Level Monitoring System and ESP32 Robot Controller project.

Dual Ultrasonic Water Level Monitoring System by jharwinbarrozo, which monitors water levels in two tanks using ultrasonic sensors and an ESP32 microcontroller.
Dual Ultrasonic Water Level Monitoring System by jharwinbarrozo which monitors water levels in two tanks using ultrasonic sensors and an ESP32 microcontroller.

Particle

Particle combines hardware and cloud into one platform. You get microcontroller boards with built-in connectivity (Wi-Fi, LTE, etc.), plus tools for remote management, firmware updates, and data collection, all managed via Particle Cloud.

Pros

  • Rapid cloud integration, OTA firmware updates, scalable fleet management, production-ready modules.
  • Great docs and prototyping tools.

Cons

  • Vendor lock-in, recurring cloud costs, less flexibility long-term.
  • Not ideal if you need full hardware/software control.

Best for

  • Startups that need to deploy small connected fleets quickly and don’t want to build cloud infrastructure from scratch.

Particle has their own great specific use cases, and this Robo project gives you a great idea where to start.

Robo Project by Particle - a mobile robotic platform 4 motor-wheels controlled by L293D drivers, and an HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensor for obstacle detection.
Robo Project by Particle - a mobile robotic platform 4 motor-wheels controlled by L293D drivers, and an HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensor for obstacle detection.

BeagleBone & others

BeagleBone boards are Linux-capable computers like Raspberry Pi but with a focus on industrial use and I/O. Boards like the BeagleBone Black have built-in PRUs (real-time units) and tons of GPIO—perfect for robotics, automation, or anything requiring lots of sensors.

Pros

  • Open hardware, Linux OS with real-time capabilities, high I/O count, better support for industrial interfaces.

Cons

  • Smaller community, less plug-and-play than Pi, fewer beginner resources.

Best for

  • Industrial applications, robotics, or open-source purists who need a Linux board with real-time control.

Other notable platforms and ecosystems

Beyond the “big names” above, here are several other hardware platforms and ecosystems that a small hardware startup might consider, each with niche strengths:

  • BeagleBone (BeagleBoard): Another family of Linux‑powered single‑board computers, similar to Raspberry Pi but with different trade‑offs. Some models include dual real‑time co‑processors (PRUs) and very high I/O counts. If you require many sensors/actuators and open‑hardware design, a BeagleBone board may be a better fit.
  • Adafruit ecosystem: Not a single platform, but a company/community producing many development boards, kits, and the popular Feather format. These often incorporate chips like ESP32 or Arduino‑compatible MCUs, packaged in convenient small‑form factor boards with “wings” for expansion. For teams with more software background, Adafruit is a gentle entry point into hardware.
  • Other microcontroller platforms (STM32, NXP, TI, etc.): If your startup has strong engineering resources and needs a specific capability (very high performance, special peripherals, extreme power constraints), you may explore MCUs beyond Arduino/ESP32. These typically require more embedded firmware expertise and are less beginner‑friendly, but they can offer highly optimised results for production hardware.
  • NVIDIA Jetson & specialised boards: If your project involves heavy AI or video processing at the edge (e.g., real‑time image recognition in a camera), platforms like NVIDIA Jetson Nano/Orin or Google Coral may be appropriate, they offer GPU/TPU accelerators. But they fall into the “power‑hungry, costly, complex” category, so only choose if you have a specialised high‑compute requirement and the budget for it.

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Which platform is right for you?

Ultimately, there’s no one‑size‑fits‑all answer. The “best” platform depends on your project’s unique requirements and constraints. As a small hardware startup founder, you want to maximise development speed and flexibility while ensuring a viable path to scale. Here are some guideline decision‑paths:

  • For quick, low‑cost prototypes of simple devices: Start with Arduino (or a similar 8‑bit microcontroller board). If you just need to read a few sensors and toggle outputs, Arduino will get the job done with minimal fuss. It’s inexpensive, easy to learn, and has a large community. Just remember its limitations; be ready to upgrade if your needs grow.
  • For battery‑powered IoT sensors or wearables: Consider ESP32 (or a similar low‑power microcontroller with built‑in connectivity). Its Wi‑Fi/Bluetooth saves you from adding extra modules. It also supports sleep modes for conserving power. ESP32 is ideal if you need connectivity but don’t want the overhead of a full Linux OS. Many startups use ESP32 in prototypes that transition directly into products.
  • For projects requiring multimedia, GUI, or heavy processing: Raspberry Pi is the top choice. If you need to attach a camera, display graphics or run multiple software components (database, web server, UI), the Pi’s computing power and Linux environment are indispensable. Use Raspberry Pi when a microcontroller just isn’t enough firepower or when development speed with high‑level languages matters. Do plan for power supply and potentially a UPS or battery shield for safe shutdown in remote units.
  • If you need an out‑of‑the‑box cloud solution: Particle might be your friend. For a founder whose expertise lies more on the application side than deep firmware/hardware, Particle provides a ready pipeline from device to cloud with minimal configuration. Use it to get a connected prototype up fast. Just be mindful of long‑term costs and lock‑in, and have an exit‑strategy or plan for transitioning to your own infrastructure if you scale.
  • When you require extensive I/O or open‑hardware Linux boards: Look at BeagleBone. If Raspberry Pi doesn’t give you enough I/O pins, or if open‑hardware design is a priority, BeagleBone boards can be a better fit. They’re niche, but for industrial or robotics projects involving many motors/actuators/sensors they shine.
  • For beginners or community support focus: The Adafruit ecosystem (Feather boards, CircuitPython) is fantastic. If your team is just getting started with hardware and has more of a software background, Adafruit’s boards and tutorials are a gentle entry point. Use them to prototype quickly—and if things work, you can later design a custom PCB around the same microcontroller.

Start Building with Flux’s AI

Ready to pick a platform and start building? Open Flux, create a new project and ask the AI to help you choose a board. From there you can explore component options, generate schematics and iterate quickly — all without leaving your browser.

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October 23, 2025
Prompting Guide: Working with Flux from Idea to Schematic

Prompting Guide: Working with Flux from Idea to Schematic

This guide shows how to collaborate with Flux at the schematic stage. You’ll learn how to describe your intent clearly, guide the AI through design decisions, and review results so each iteration gets smarter.

If you haven’t seen what’s changed, read the launch blog for the full story.

This guide shows how to collaborate with Flux at the schematic stage. You’ll learn how to describe your intent clearly, guide the AI through design decisions, and review results so each iteration gets smarter.

Flux isn’t magic — it’s more like a fast, thoughtful engineering intern. With the right direction, it can turn your idea into a manufacturable schematic while you stay in control of the design. Flux also can't generate a full board in one go. Instead, make sure to split the process in steps and use AI to get you to the next stage. Let’s start by learning how to work with Flux to:

  • Define your project requirements with Flux
  • Review Flux’s plan and provide more details
  • Go block by block to build out the schematic diagram

This workflow allows you to move fast while keeping control. The sections below walkthrough how to write great prompts.

1. Define your project requirements with Flux

Start by describing what you're building, why it matters, and who it's for. This gives Flux enough context to generate a reasonable plan that typically includes system-level architecture. After the initial prompt, with planning mode activated, Flux will generate a plan you can approve or modify. Then, click start to watch it work.

The following prompt template works well for kicking projects off because it sets intent (why), scope (what), and constraints (how).

Use this formula:

Make me a {what it is} with {connectivity}, powered by {power} for {application}.

Followed by detailed info:
{detailed what it is}
with {detailed connectivity}, powered by {detailed power}.

Example:

Make me a {portable stereo Class-D speaker} with {Wi-Fi and Bluetooth}, powered by {a multi-cell Li-ion/LiPo battery} for {consumer use}.

It should be a compact stereo system with dual Class-D amps (2×10–25 W), basic DSP or MCU tone controls, dual-radio Wi-Fi + BLE (2.4 GHz 802.11 b/g/n plus BLE 5.x), and a Li-ion/LiPo BMS with balancing and pack monitoring.
| Bad example | Good example | | :--- | :--- | | “Make a smart light sensor.” | “Design a portable light sensor to log daily sunlight over Wi-Fi. Powered by a 3.7 V 2000 mAh Li-ion battery with USB-C charging.” | | Reasoning: No power or communication details. Results will be vague. | Clear goals, connectivity, power source—all anchor the design. |
| Bad example | Good example | | :--- | :--- | | “Build a power supply for my robot.” | “Design a 5V 2A buck converter input stage with a passive pi filter to suppress 120 mV ripple from a 1 m cable. Prioritize low noise and 90%+ efficiency.” | | Reasoning: No voltage, current, or noise targets. | Clear constraints and goals, leaving room for implementation decisions. |
| Bad example | Good example | | :--- | :--- | | “Design a main control board for an industrial robot.” | “Design a main control board for a robotic manipulator operating in a humid industrial kitchen. It must drive four 24 V BLDC motors (2 A each) with isolated feedback, withstand 60 °C ambient, and maintain EMI compliance for mixed-signal IO.” | | Reasoning: No detail on power, load, or safety requirements. | Real-world context, system-level detail, and constraints. |

Tips

  • Prompts like “build a BLDC driver with everything” are too vague—Flux may chase irrelevant solutions.
  • You don’t need to name parts. Describe intent and relationships—Flux will pick reasonable defaults.

2. Review Flux’s plan and provide more details

The plan that Flux generates typically benefits from more specificity on the systems and subsystems before you approve it. So, be sure to review and make sure everything makes sense before you have Flux start executing the plan. At this stage you can follow Flux’s initial system-level architecture suggestion and let it help you reason through the role of each block, interfaces, and signal flow.

flux generated plan for a project, waiting for the engineer to start and implement the plans

Use this formula for providing more details:

- Power: [voltage rails, current needs]
- Communication: [interfaces between blocks]
- Environment: [thermal, ingress, EMI, etc.]
- Etc.

Design goal: [priorities or trade-offs]

Example:

- Audio block: drives two 10–25 W Class-D amplifiers using a stereo signal path. Includes simple EQ via a low-cost DSP or microcontroller, and volume control from a rotary encoder. Accepts I²S or analog input.

- Connectivity block: dual-radio module (Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n and BLE 5.x) for audio streaming and pairing. Includes antenna interface, UART/SPI communication with MCU, and audio over I²S.

- Power block: multi-cell Li-ion/LiPo battery with BMS. Provides 3.3 V rail for logic, 5 V rail for radio, and higher-voltage boost for amplifier rails. Supports charging via USB-C with protection. Battery input with boost converters and LDOs as needed

- Communication: UART/SPI for control, I²S for audio signal path

- Environment: Consumer-grade enclosure, ambient temp 0–40 °C, continuous playback for 8+ hours

- Design goal: Balanced power and audio performance
flux asking for additional requirements from the user in order to proceed with generating the plan

Why this works: Each block has a role, the interfaces are clear, and design priorities are actionable. This helps Flux recommend components and validate architecture.

Tip: Stay at the system level. Don’t worry about exact pin counts or part numbers yet.

3. Go block by block to generate your schematic diagram

With the architecture in place, pick one block and go deep. This is where you can ask Flux to draft a schematic or layout based on specific inputs and constraints.

Flux typically works best when you break up schematic generation step by step picking one block at a time and going deep. This is where you can ask Flux to draft a schematic or layout based on specific inputs and constraints.

Flux can research components, place them into the schematic, and wire up the nets for you. Although sometimes the resulting layout might look different than you’d expect, you can always jump in and organize things however you like.

Use this formula:

We’re designing the [block name] for this project.

Inputs:
- [Power inputs and characteristics]
- [Signal inputs, interfaces, or control lines]

Requirements:
- [Functional goals—e.g., voltage regulation, signal processing]
- [Performance targets—e.g., power budget, timing, noise]
- [Constraints—e.g., size, cost, runtime, safety]

Protection:
- [What to protect against—e.g., ESD, reverse polarity, EMI]

Design goal:
- [Overall priority—e.g., efficiency, safety, manufacturability]

Example:

Let's design the power management block.

Inputs:
- 3.7V Li-ion battery (2000 mAh)
- USB-C input for charging

Requirements:
- Charge controller with input current limit and battery protection  
- Boost to 3.3 V for digital logic and 5 V for gas sensors  
- 48-hour runtime target at ~50 mA average current  
- Battery voltage and charge status monitoring via I²C

Protection:
- ESD on USB-C  
- Reverse polarity and over-discharge protection

Design goal: Efficient, compact, and safe for consumer use

Tip: Link datasheets or PDFs for reference—Flux can match its design to those specs.

4. Understanding Flux’s two modes for planning or one-off edits

Flux AI operates in two complementary modes—one for exploration, one for precision. Use the planning mode when you’re exploring ideas or starting from scratch. It’s great at figuring out workflows and proposing architectures.

Use the single task mode by disabling planning when you need control—editing one block, fixing small issues, or checking results. To disable planning mode, hover over the AI icon at the bottom of the chat menu and click on “disable planning”.

| Mode | Description | Best use | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Planning | Handles complex, open-ended tasks by chaining together steps like part research, schematic planning, layout preparation, and early checks | Early-stage ideation, proof-of-concept builds, or anything that needs to be broken down into sub-tasks | | Single task | Executes single, well-defined actions such as rewiring nets, replacing parts, running design checks, or editing footprints | Polishing a design, making precise changes, or reviewing and validating specific elements |

5. Common pitfalls

After helping hundreds of users in the Flux Slack community, we’ve noticed some common stumbling blocks when working with the AI. Most of these are easy to fix once you know what to look out for.

Here are a few patterns to avoid:

  1. Over-specifying too early
    Don’t lock in unnecessary details before validating your concept. Let the AI help you explore options.
  2. Being too vague
    Prompts without power, environment, or application context are hard to act on. The more relevant detail you include, the better the AI performs.
  3. Skipping constraints
    Without voltages, sizes, or thermal needs, Flux will make guesses that may not match your requirements.
  4. Ignoring follow-up questions
    Treat AI clarifications as helpful nudges—they often help reduce back-and-forth.
  5. Letting errors pile up
    If something seems off, don’t wait. Refine your prompt and re-run the block instead of continuing with bad assumptions.

The earlier you correct course, the faster you get to a working design.

6. Known rough edges

Flux’s AI is improving fast, but there are still a few areas where you may need to step in. We want to be upfront about what’s working well—and what still needs a human touch.

Here’s what to expect:

Known limitations:

  • Wiring gaps: Sometimes the AI misses a connection or leaves a net unconnected.
  • Placeholder or generic parts: Not every component will be production-ready out of the gate. Replace with specific parts once the concept is locked in.
  • Partial BOMs: Passive components, filtering, or protection may be missing. Ask the AI to review and fill in what’s missing based on your specs or linked datasheets.

What’s next?

Flux is rapidly growing its AI capabilities to support:

  • Change PCB sizing and layer stackups
  • Generate net classes and design rules
  • Optimize part placement
  • Route traces with design constraints in mind

Ready to try it?

Every great board starts with a clear idea. Whether you’re designing your first schematic or refining a production layout, better prompting leads to better results.

Use this guide to help Flux work like the engineering intern you’ve always wanted—fast, reliable, and just a prompt away.

👉 Open Flux and see how far your next idea can go.

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October 17, 2025
The First AI Hardware Engineering Intern

The First AI Hardware Engineering Intern

Flux moves from one-off actions to executing multi-step workflows including researching parts, creating schematic designs, placing and routing, and running checks. Think of Flux as a capable intern — fast, explainable, and eager to learn, but still needing oversight and occasional help.

With this release, Flux can take your requirements, generate a complete plan, and execute multi-step workflows right inside the editor. It researches components, builds schematics, places and routes parts, and runs checks along the way — pausing for your feedback when it needs direction.

Think of it as your first AI intern: fast, explainable, and eager to learn — but still guided by someone who knows the craft. Flux works transparently, explains its reasoning, and remembers how you like to work.

It’s the biggest step yet toward the first true AI hardware engineer.

This new functionality is available now. Log in to Flux today to take it for a spin. Full workflow capabilities will roll out gradually over the coming days.

Make a detailed plan with Flux

Start by telling Flux what you need to build. Flux now understands design requirements—the goals, constraints, and specs that define your project. Describe the functionality, power targets, interfaces, layer count, or components you want to use, and Flux will turn that into a complete, step-by-step plan.

You’ll see a clear outline of the plan: parts research, schematic creation, layout, checks, and milestones for review. From there, simply tell Flux about any desired changes—add details, reorder tasks, or lock decisions—and it will refine the plan for you. It’s up to you how in the weeds you get.

Next, click “Start” and Flux will begin get to work, sharing progress and decisions along the way, and checking in with you at key points to get your feedback.

Try these prompts:

“Design a sub-25 × 25 mm wearable PCB with Bluetooth, an accelerometer, and on-board battery charging.

It must include a BLE SoC (OTA-capable), a low-power accelerometer with interrupt/wake, power-path + charging for a 1-cell Li-ion/LiPo, and headers/pads for programming and test.

Power: 1-cell Li-ion/LiPo with on-board charger (5 V USB input) optimized for low quiescent current.”

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“Design a compact field-oriented control (FOC) BLDC motor driver board.

It must include Bluetooth Low Energy for wireless control and data-logging.

The key subsystems are: power stage and gate drive, sensing, MCU selection, comms, and protection to thermal/mechanical stress.

Power: USB-C PD at 12 V (with local regulation as required).”

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“Design a low-noise electret microphone preamplifier for a 24-bit ADC, integrated into a consumer household device.

It must have switchable 20–40 dB gain, correctly sized coupling capacitors with a ~20 Hz high-pass, an output anti-alias RC for ~20 kHz bandwidth, and thorough decoupling plus pop-suppression.

Follow the op-amp, microphone, and ADC datasheets and industry best practices; use the 3.3 V analog rail and make cost-effective component choices without asking for spec confirmation.

Power: USB-C 5 V input (with local regulation as required).”

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Execute multi-step workflows

When you approve a plan, Flux doesn’t just hand you suggestions—it gets to work.It now executes full workflows inside the editor, acting like an extension of your team that can solve real problems while keeping you in the loop.

Flux handles the structured parts of the process—researching components, wiring schematics, placing and routing parts, and reviewing its own work for correctness—while you focus on the decisions that need human judgment.

You can think of it like having an intern on your team who works fast, communicates clearly, and never forgets a detail. Feel free to close your browser or go for a walk, Flux will keep working in the background, and drop you a line when it’s time to check in.

What Flux can now execute inside the editor:

  • Add, replace, and connect components in schematics
  • Update part properties and validate alternates
  • Place components on your layout (coming soon!)
  • Route nets with awareness of your rules and constraints
  • Run ERC/DRC checks and surface issues for review

Stay in control at every step

Flux is built for collaboration. Every plan, action, and decision it makes is visible and explainable so you can review, guide, and adjust as it goes.

You can pause execution, modify the plan mid-flow, or roll back using version history. Lock regions, nets, or components to prevent changes, or ask Flux to revisit a specific step. And because Flux runs inside a full browser-based ECAD, you can jump in and edit anytime—make manual tweaks, move parts, or add your own changes without breaking its flow.

Teach Flux how you work

Flux doesn’t just follow instructions—it learns through your conversations and feedback. When you correct something or clarify how you like to work, Flux can ask if you want to remember it. You choose whether that learning should apply just to the project you’re in or across your entire account.

Over time, Flux picks up the same kind of tribal knowledge your team already shares—naming conventions, layout habits, design rules—and starts applying them automatically. You can refine what it remembers, edit entries, or forget things entirely through the Knowledge Base.

It’s how you teach Flux to work the way you do—so it keeps getting smarter, faster, and more aligned with your standards. Learn more.

Join the new era of hardware design

The new planning and execution architecture inside Flux is designed to scale—so the agent you’re working with today will keep getting smarter and more capable over time.

This is just the beginning. You can already fork your projects and have Flux explore multiple directions in parallel. Soon you’ll be able to delegate even broader, more complex, assignments to Flux, and have it build even more advanced boards.

We envision a future where Flux is not just one AI intern, but a coordinated group of AI engineers, each with their own specialization, that seamlessly integrate with your team. The endgame is a world where hardware teams are infinitely scalable: totally parallel, deeply collaborative, and still human-led.

Hardware is entering a new era—where AI becomes part of the team, instead of part of the toolkit.

It starts here. Give Flux a job, review the plan, and help define how engineers and AI build hardware together.

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October 7, 2025
The Hardware Founder’s Bookshelf

The Hardware Founder’s Bookshelf

Hardware raises the stakes, iteration is slower and costlier, so you can’t stumble on business basics or customer insight. Winning teams de-risk the business model and iterate fast. This bookshelf helps sharpen judgment and give technical founders the tools to build companies people love.

Here’s the hard truth: most hardware startups don’t fail because they can’t build a prototype or find a manufacturer. While still difficult, technical execution is getting easier every year—modern tools, AI included, are streamlining that part of the journey. What kills most teams are the missed fundamentals:

  • Are you building something people truly want?
  • Is there a market large enough to sustain you?
  • Do you have a defensible advantage?

Hardware raises the stakes because iteration is slower and costlier. You can’t afford to stumble on business basics, design fundamentals, or customer insight. The teams that win are the ones that maximize their rate of learning—by de-risking the business model while iterating the product as fast as possible.

That’s why we put together this bookshelf. It’s not just about engineering or manufacturing (though you’ll find the best guides here). It’s about sharpening judgment, broadening perspective, and giving technical founders the tools to build companies people love.

Company Building at Founder Speed

For hardware founders, the hardest part usually isn’t the prototype—it’s building the company around it. These books focus on judgment, focus, and leadership: how to move fast without losing clarity, protect the details that matter, and make the calls that keep a small team alive. They’re about operating at founder speed when time, money, and attention are always scarce.

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From Prototype to Factory Floor

Hardware doesn’t forgive sloppy execution. Once you leave the lab, mistakes multiply—costs rise, timelines slip, and quality issues get baked into production. These books help founders treat manufacturing as part of the product itself: learning to engage suppliers early, de-risk decisions, and build systems that scale without collapsing under their own weight.

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Electronics, Without the Folklore

Every hardware founder eventually gets burned by the basics. Power rails, grounding, EMI, provisioning flows—these are where folklore and half-remembered rules can cost you entire boards. These books turn “tribal knowledge” into principles you can rely on, helping you avoid expensive surprises and design products that actually hold up in the field.

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Design Thinking & Product Insight

Great hardware isn’t just about circuits and enclosures—it’s about making something people actually want to use. These books teach the fundamentals of design thinking, product discovery, and usability. For hardware founders, they’re the bridge between technical execution and customer love—the difference between a product that works and a product that wins.

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Stories That Keep You Going

Building hardware is a long, uncertain grind. Sometimes what you need isn’t another playbook—it’s proof that others have walked this road before. These books capture the culture, discipline, and stubbornness of teams who built under pressure, kept their vision intact, and shipped work that mattered.

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Get Support from a Community of Hardware Founders

These books shape how we think at Flux, but the real progress comes from learning together. That’s why we created the Flux Hardware Slack Community. It’s where founders connect to:

  • Swap advice, share book recommendations, and compare notes on what’s working (and what isn’t).
  • Find peers who understand the unique grind of building hardware, so you don’t have to figure it all out alone.

You can also book design reviews with the Flux team to receive actionable feedback before you head to production. Please let us know if there are other resources you’d like us to provide that could your hardware startup become a massive success! We’re here to help.

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September 25, 2025
Flux + GPT-5 (Beta)

Flux + GPT-5 (Beta)

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.

In the right scenarios, it’s already delivering sharper reasoning, smarter reviews, and more accurate design decisions than anything we’ve shipped before. We wanted to get it into your hands immediately so you can explore what’s possible alongside us. It’s early, it’s raw, and we want you to push it. Break it. Tell us where it shines.

Try It Now

You can start using it right away. Open any project in Flux and launch Copilot. Click the model dropdown at the top of the chat panel, select “Next-gen” and then give it a real challenge. Some great starter prompts to see its strengths include:

“Perform a top-to-bottom schematic review for correctness, completeness, and robustness. Assess power, clocks/resets, signal interfaces, analog paths, protection, and passive choices.”
“Replace all low-stock parts with alternatives that meet the same constraints.”

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What’s New and Better

The upgrade isn’t just that GPT-5 is a newer model. It brings a different caliber of intelligence to Copilot:

  • Stronger reasoning and planning for complex, multi-step problems.
  • More accurate part and constraint decisions, often with clearer explanations.
  • Sharper design reviews that catch subtle issues and propose fixes.
  • Richer, more verbose answers that lay out assumptions, tradeoffs, and edge cases.

These improvements land harder in Flux because Copilot already has deep, live context on your design—down to parts, pins, nets, properties, constraints, and stackups—so reinforcement models and LLMs can work side-by-side from the canvas up to system architecture. And because Flux is built for agentic workflows—stepwise actions, constraint-aware edits, and iterative design loops right where you work—GPT-5 isn’t starting from scratch; it applies improved reasoning directly to your schematic or layout. Layered on top is a knowledge base of industry best practices and embedded design/process checks, so your AI partner starts from seasoned experience and turns that context into answers that are immediately relevant and actionable.

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Early Win from the Weekend

In just 48 hours of testing, we saw moments that made us stop and say, “This is new.”

Design a low-noise microphone preamplifier for an electret condenser mic feeding a 24-bit ADC. You must calculate the bias network, gain-setting resistors, coupling capacitors, input high-pass cutoff, output anti-aliasing RC, and decoupling layout. Follow the op-amp and microphone capsule datasheets, ADC input requirements, and industry best practices. It will be integrated into a design. Supply: 3.3V analog rail. Mic bias: 2.0 V through resistor, current ~0.5 mA. Target gain: 20 dB to 40 dB switchable. Bandwidth: 20 Hz to 20 kHz. Input noise target: as low as practical. Include pop-suppression considerations and star-grounding strategy.

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In this case Flux took a plain-English prompt and produced a full low-noise mic preamp to a 24-bit ADC—calculating the right bias, gain, and filter values, choosing real parts, then placing and wiring the entire block with decoupling, VCM bias, and star-ground best practices. It even audited itself (fixed missed ties, made gain legs switchable). The result is a ready-to-review schematic 80% away from layout built end-to-end—complex, competent, and fast.

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Getting the most from “Nex Gen” model in Flux

  • Read the whole answer. The “Next Gen” model is verbose on purpose—the assumptions, edge cases, and self-checks are where the value lives.
  • Front-load context. In your first message, share goals; rails & loads; key interfaces (e.g., USB-C: CC1/CC2, D+/D−, SBU); constraints (cost/size/EMI); and manufacturing rules of thumb. Keep answering follow-ups to deepen the design.
  • Scope tightly. When wiring schematics, tackle one rail, one bus, or one block at a time.
  • Plan before you act. Validate the change plan against requirements before applying edits—changing the plan is cheaper than undoing work.

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What’s Next

Right now GPT-5 powers Copilot’s chat, but this is just the beginning. We’re already working on:

  • Tighter loops between chat and in-editor actions.
  • More constraint-aware placement and routing.
  • Datasheet-to-design transformations in minutes.
  • Smarter, in-context automated fixes.

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.

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August 11, 2025