Bring your Upverter project to Flux and continue it here. Flux designs complete devices from idea to manufactured production.
Import Your Existing Project
Attach the exported project files or a ZIP file in the chat and ask Flux to import them. Each import creates a new project.
To do it in the UI:
To bring an existing design into Flux, export it in a supported project format. Then select Import → Project… from the Flux menu and upload the project files, a folder, or a ZIP file. Each import creates a new project. It does not update an existing project or part. See the supported project import formats.
This guide explains how to move an Upverter design to Flux. It compares common workflows and shows how to use Flux.
Flux includes version history, modules, and circuit simulation.
Create a Flux account at flux.ai/signup.
What you can do with your design in Flux
Flux is an AI hardware engineer. After the import, your design is a Flux project. Ask Flux to work on it. Flux works on the electronics, the mechanical parts, the firmware, and the manufacturing in the same project.
Turn the imported board into a complete device
Use the imported Upverter schematic and board as the starting point. Ask Flux to design an enclosure around the board, then write firmware for the microcontroller and peripherals in the schematic.
Use the board outline, mounting holes, connectors, and clearance needs from the imported design to shape the enclosure.
Use the imported schematic's pin assignments and connected parts to guide firmware for the microcontroller.
Review the imported design
Ask Flux to review the schematic and the board. Flux reads the datasheets of the parts and reports the problems that it finds, with a fix for each one. Flux can also make a failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) report.
Find replacement parts
Ask Flux to find replacements for parts that are obsolete, out of stock, or too expensive. Flux checks live stock and pricing from distributors and compares the datasheets before it changes a part.
Place and route the board
Ask Flux to place the components and route the board. Flux sets up the stackup and the layout rules, places the parts, routes the traces, and runs the design rule check. You can change any part of the layout by hand.
Simulate the circuit
Ask Flux to simulate a part of the schematic. Flux runs transient, AC, DC, and operating point analyses and shows the plots. See Circuit simulation.
Simulate high-speed and RF signals
Ask Flux to run an electromagnetic simulation of the routed board. Use it for the impedance, losses, and coupling of high-speed traces, and for antennas and RF feed lines. Flux reports the results with plots.
Check the board temperature
Ask Flux to run a thermal simulation of the PCB. Flux calculates the temperature of the board and its components from the power that each part dissipates, and shows the hot spots.
Design the enclosure and mechanical parts
Ask Flux to design enclosures, brackets, mounts, mechanisms, and other mechanical parts and assemblies around the board. Flux uses the board outline, the mounting holes, the connectors, and the 3D models of the parts. In the 3D view, you can cut through the model to check the clearances. See Mechanical Design.
Edit your existing STEP files
Upload a STEP, IGES, or BREP file from your mechanical team and tell Flux what to change. Flux saves the result as a new model with editable CAD code. Your original file stays unchanged.
Check the mechanical parts and the air flow
Ask Flux to analyze the mechanical parts. Flux calculates the stress and the deflection of a bracket or a housing. Flux checks the fit and the clearances between the board and the parts around it. Flux also simulates the air flow and the cooling through an enclosure with a fan or vents. Flux reports the results with numbers and images.
Write the firmware
Ask Flux to write firmware for the microcontroller on the board. Flux uses the pin assignments of the design. Then it builds, analyzes, and unit tests the code.
Design the cables between boards
Ask Flux for a cable between two connectors in the design. Flux reads the pinout from the nets, finds the mating housings, and picks the wire. Then it gets a price, the lead time, and a checkout link from a harness manufacturer.
Get quotes and order
Ask Flux for PCB quotes from manufacturers such as JLCPCB, PCBWay, OSH Park, and AISLER, and order the boards. Ask for 3D-printing quotes and orders for the mechanical parts. You can also export the Gerber, drill, BOM, and pick-and-place files. See Manufacturing files.
Flux features compared with Upverter
Flux includes features that Upverter users may recognize. It also includes version history, modules, and circuit simulation, and you can ask Flux for design help.
Browser-based integrated workflow
Flux runs in a browser and supports schematic design and PCB layout. You can continue working on the devices you already use.
Version control
Ask Flux to show the changes in the project or to restore an earlier version.
To do it in the UI:
Flux saves project changes in version history. Open an earlier version to restore it.
Library of parts
Ask Flux to search the library and add the parts to your design.
To do it in the UI:
Flux and Upverter both offer a library of parts. Search by part number or keywords, or use the filters to narrow the results.
Generic parts
Ask Flux to add generic parts now and to choose the values, packages, and MPNs later.
To do it in the UI:
Generic parts allow you to drop a generic resistor, capacitor, or inductor in your canvas and save the footprint, value, and manufacturer part number (MPN) selection for later. Once you decide which footprint, value, or MPN you need, you can directly modify the properties, and Flux will adjust the corresponding elements.
Modules
Modules let you reuse circuit blocks, such as power converters and oscillators, in other projects. A module can include parts, traces, and vias.
Example projects
Ask Flux to find public community projects and templates.
You can search public community projects in these ways:
Featured projects page: Browse community projects and templates.
Tip: you can also access this page from the menu in the top right of the Flux app.
The search bar in your profile: here, you'll find every project publicly available in Flux. It's useful when you clearly know what you're looking for.
Tip: you can type "#template" or "#project" to narrow down the results.
Built-in Simulator
Flux includes a built-in circuit simulator that runs transient, AC, DC, and operating point analyses and reports the results. Tell Flux in chat what you want to simulate.
Continue Your Upverter Project in Flux
This guide explains how Upverter workflows map to Flux.
Unified Library
As mentioned in the previous section, Flux and Upverter both have libraries, but Flux’s works a little differently. Flux has a single library where you’ll find every part you have access to. This includes all the parts you or your team has created, whether they’re private or public, in addition to parts made by the community.
Ask Flux to search the library for parts from your team and the community.
To do it in the UI:
Search the library for parts from your team and the community.
Part creation
Flux and Upverter use different workflows to create parts. In Flux, create parts and projects in the same workspace.
Pins and terminals
Ask Flux to create a new part from a datasheet or from a description.
To do it in the UI:
In Flux, to create a new part, you must first create a new project. Then, you can add as many terminals to the schematic as you need. Each terminal will generate a pad in the PCB editor that you can modify to create the desired footprint.
📖 Naming convention: pins (traditional) → terminals (Flux). Both have a similar function, but pins are called terminals in Flux.
Symbols
Ask Flux to create a custom symbol for a part.
You can also do it in the editor:
By default, Flux generates a standard rectangular symbol for each part. To use a custom symbol, you must create one yourself.
Modules
Ask Flux to publish a project to the library as a module.
To do it in the UI:
Modules can include a complete layout alongside parts and other design elements.
If instead of adding only terminals to your design, you add other parts, wires, etc., you can convert your project into a module. To convert your project into a module you need to publish it to the library.
📖 Naming convention: parts and modules are collectively referred to as components. Everything that is not a part or module is called a project.
Publishing to the library
Ask Flux to publish the part, or to publish a new version after you change it.
To do it in the UI:
Once your component is ready, it must be published to the library, which is another crucial distinction between Flux and Upverter. Since components in Flux start as projects, publishing is necessary to convert the project into a component and make it accessible in the library.
Publish a part again after you update it.
Part creation wrap-up
Ask Flux to search the library first, or to import parts from library files that you attach in the chat.
To do it in the UI:
Before you create a part, search the library. You can also import parts from KiCad.
Flux Net Labels act as Upverter Shared Net Names
Ask Flux to connect nets and give them names.
To do it in the UI:
In Upverter, you connect two nets without a wire when you give them the same net name. Flux works the same way. Start a wire from a pin that has no connection. A menu opens next to the pin. Select Create a net or connect to an existing net and type the net name. Pins with the same net name are connected. Flux shows a power symbol for a net whose Net Type property is Power. To connect a pin to ground, select Connect to the GND net.
Click a net to highlight its other instances.
Flux Layout Rules act as Upverter Inspector Panel
Ask Flux to set the layout rules for components, traces, and nets.
To do it in the UI:
Modifying component properties in the PCB editor will feel familiar to Upverter, but the way to access them and naming are different. In Upverter, a popup menu will appear when double-clicking on an element. In Flux, the layout rules menu will appear on the right when selecting an element. You can click the “Edit” button to add additional rules to modify.
Read the layout rules guide for details. Use rules to change component position, rotation, trace width, and other PCB properties.
Use selector-based rules to change multiple objects at once, such as the width of several traces on one net.
Polygon pours
Ask Flux to add copper fills and polygons.
To do it in the UI:
Flux supports both automatic full-board copper fills and custom-shaped copper areas using polygons. Full-board ground fills are created automatically when a ground symbol is placed in the schematic, and can be re-assigned to other nets to create power planes. For custom copper shapes — such as localized ground planes, split power planes, or RF structures — you can use polygons to define precise copper areas tied to specific nets.
To learn more about copper fills, how to enable or disable them, configure via stitching, or create custom copper shapes, refer to the polygons reference.
Board outline
Ask Flux to set the board outline.
To do it in the UI:
In Flux, the board outline is a separate object in the PCB object tree. Select the Layout object to edit the board outline with rules.
Use the Layout shape rule to create rectangular or circular board outlines.
Navigation
Use the middle mouse button to pan and the mouse wheel to zoom.
Configure navigation for your mouse or trackpad.
Shortcuts
To view all shortcuts, open Keyboard shortcuts from the Flux menu. Common shortcuts include:
Zoom to Fit:
0Rotate right:
]Rotate left:
[Flip a wire elbow:
FFinish a wire by double-clicking the canvas or clicking a terminal.
Wrap up
This guide covered the main differences between Upverter and Flux. Use Flux's library, collaboration features, and simulator to work on electronics and PCB designs.
Getting help
For more help, contact Flux support or visit these resources:
Flux support: Contact support if you find unexpected behavior while using Flux.
Flux video tutorials: Watch tutorials, crash courses, and recorded events. Independent Flux tutorials are also available.
Flux support: Open the Flux home page and select "Contact us."