Flux 2020: A Recap!
“Software is eating the world, but that software is running on hardware” ~someone on Twitter
When we dreamed up flux.ai, we imagined a platform that could help hardware makers create the future…a way to take the “hard” out of hardware. So, we set out to reinvent the hardware process, starting with circuit board design. We wanted to make the process collaborative. Accessible from anywhere. Internet native 👨🎤.
With our first year coming to an end, we want to take a minute to reflect — and to give you a look behind the scenes. We’d like to share what’s keeping us up at night, and all clue you into the great things that lie ahead in 2021.
Everyone knows the best collaboration happens in real-time when people are in the same room and ideas roam free. But given the 2020-accelerated trend towards remote work and the industry’s standard tools — which are slow, siloed, error-prone, and lacking interoperability — this kind of collaboration is hard to come by in hardware design. Fortunately, we’re changing that, and are making remote collaboration a first class experience.
Where We Stand at the Year’s End
Since we first started accepting private alpha users in September, usage has grown triple digits every month. But even more important than how many of you adopted Flux is how many of you made it central to your workflow.
A good amount of you use Flux seven days a week, and on average over 3.5 hours/week.
We’re elated to see Flux quickly becoming your go-to tool… not just for capturing schematics, but for those moments of inspiration when you wake up in the middle of the night and want to quickly figure out if the idea you had is viable.
How You’ve Shaped Flux So Far
We shipped 1037 changes this year, which included fixing hundreds of bugs and adding countless features and improvements. One of the things we’re most proud is of implementing features you, our community, requested. Here are some highlights:
Decisive Conversations
If you’ve worked on hardware, you know how maddening it can be to communicate with others within the context of a schematic. With Flux, we are giving people communication tools that allow them to make decisions where the work happens. That’s why we added commenting. To make it simple to ask questions, get feedback from others, and even have real-time, threaded conversations, right on your schematic.
Automatic Wiring
How often have you had to painstakingly research datasheets to figure out how to connect two parts, and then manually draw 40 wires only to find you made a mistake? No one likes that, which is exactly why we built automatic wiring. Flux leverages machine learning to help you connect parts automatically. It saves time, effort, and sanity.
This isn’t the only process we’re improving via AI. It’s the first step. We’ve got more improvements in the works that will help you build faster and get rid of those time-consuming, error-prone, repetitive tasks.
Automatic Alignment & Spacing
You spoke; we listened. The ability to quickly create clean diagrams is extremely important, and many of you asked for a feature that tackled this. That’s why now you can automatically align and evenly space elements in Flux. So that you can focus on what matters.
Import and Export with Ease
This one is simple but mighty: we’ve built an easy way for you to quickly import or export in common formats such as KiCad. This makes Flux an even deeper part of your workflow.
The Top Four Projects Built on Flux This Year
We’ve been awed and humbled by everything we’ve seen you, our community, create. Here are a few of our faves:
- 🛰 Satnogs Rotator — An automatic satellite/planet tracker that can precisely point an antenna or telescope to a moving spacecraft or track a planetary object.
- 🦾 Robotic Hand — Controller for a robotic hand using ECG.
- ⚡︎ Voltage Supervisor Sizing — A circuit designed to monitor and regulate input voltage.
- 🤖 DIY Quadruped — A 3D-printed 4-legged robot that looks like Boston Dynamics’ Spot but moves like a newborn.
The Future Is Bright
We’re excited to take on 2021 and bring you a host of new features, as well as continual improvement of existing core functionality. Here’s a sneak peek of what’s in store… if you think something is missing, don’t hesitate to tell us.
Iterate Faster with Simulation
The key thing most of you are excited about is our built-in, programmable SPICE simulator. In Q1 of 2021, we’re doubling down on making it even more powerful, adding your feature requests, like:
- Virtual oscilloscopes and probes
- Ability to work with microcontrollers
Part Sourcing & Management
Sourcing parts, checking availability, and pinpointing pricing is — to put it lightly — cumbersome. To erase this pain point, we’re planning to bring you features that handle:
- Automatic updates on price and availability from your favorite part distributors
- Automatic recommendations for which generics to use
This Is Just The Start
We know this is a long journey, and we are excited to continue sharing our learnings and thinking as we make progress.
We are grateful for all the support we have received from the community, partners, and investors. Let’s make making hardware feel magical again.
If you are interested in joining our early adopter community and influencing the direction of Flux, sign up here and follow us on Twitter.
Onward 🚀
Thanks to Hanna Rothenstein, Drew Moxon, Brooks Hassig for helping with this post.
