June 20, 2023

20+ Amazing Flux Copilot Prompts for Hardware Design

Co-founder at Flux

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Flux Copilot is the first of its kind AI assistant for hardware. It lives inside Flux and acts as an expert teammate or a senior electronics engineer available 24/7 to debug. It helps you feel like you're working with a larger team, helping you move faster, smarter, and more creatively.

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!

Illustration of a resistor with its color bands

Illustration of a resistor with its color bands

Illustration of a resistor with its color bands

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What is a Copilot prompt?

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.

Here are some of our favorite Flux Copilot prompts

Feel free to share your favorites on our Slack Community.

Initial Brainstorming

Copilot can help get you started quickly by understanding the requirements and providing guidance.

@copilot I'd like to build a smart curtain that opens or closes based on the amount of sunshine I want to enter my room. How would you approach designing this? Please ask me questions to help with the development.

@copilot I'm designing a PCB for a medical device that measures heart rate and temperature. Can you give me the list of components I will need?

@copilot I'd like to build geeky wristwatch with LED display. How would you approach building this? Please ask me questions to help me design this.

Combing Through Huge Datasheets

Copilot can understand datasheets and reference them in its responses. This means you get more accurate responses when asking Copilot questions about specific parts.

@copilot what's the max voltage I can supply to U2?

@copilot can U2 withstand intense operating temperatures even without a heatsink?

@copilot what is the maximum frequency I can reach without an external crystal on U6?

@copilot I'm a firmware engineer. How do I configure an interrupt on a pin for U4?

@copilot what are the clock requirements for U4?

Copilot as your Flux Tutor

Copilot answers questions about how to use Flux by referencing our documentation. So, instead of getting stuck and searching documentation, you can stay in the flow and get the help you need without leaving your project!

@copilot how do I know if a part has a simulation model?

@copilot how do I connect ground to these components?

@copilot I can't find part on the library what do I do?

@copilot how do I know my projects are safe and private?

@copilot how would I decrease the distance between my ground fill and my vias?

Faster Design Iteration

Copilot can connect complex parts for you, explore design options, and provide a bill of materials for a target project.

@copilot can you choose 4 digital pins on the ATMega328P-AU that I have here to use as GPIO given that I am already using some pins for reset, the external clock, UART, and I2C.

@copilot If I were to breakout 12 currently not in-use pins from the ATMega328P-AU to the 12-pin female header in my schematic, which would you choose?

@copilot how would I connect these parts to make the LED flash at 1kHz?

@copilot how would I connect RP2040 and SPI TFT LCD?

@copilot how would I connect these two HDMI connectors as a passthrough?

Reduce Design Errors

Copilot can review your design, validate calculations, or find components’ limits.

@copilot what resistor do I need to limit the current on LED1 while being driven by U1?

@copilot can you help me debugging this circuit, and help me understand if there's any problems?

@copilot can you check all my components in my schematic and tell me if I am missing any manufacturer part number fields?

Part Selection

Copilot can provide valuable recommendations to optimize your design based on constraints and specifications.

@copilot what components do I need to power a 30w speaker to this audio driver amplifier?

@copilot can you suggest a suitable ADC for microphone pickup going through an Arduino Uno?

@copilot can I use U1 to make a 20db gain op-amp?

@copilot I want to build a PCB that uses a solar panel to charge a single cell LiPo battery. I want to measure ambient pressure with a microcontroller and send that over WiFi. What are all the components I would need?

Find Alternate Parts

Copilot can offer tailored suggestions and analyze tradeoffs based on your project goals, constraints, and specifications.

@copilot can you suggest an alternative to C1 that meets the same specs but is more cost-effective?

@copilot are there any alternatives to U2 that have better availability?

Lance Cassidy

Lance is Co-Founder & CDO of Flux, a hardware design platform that’s revolutionizing how teams create and iterate on circuits. Find him on Flux @lwcassid

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Flux is a better way to build PCBs

Go 10x faster from idea to PCB by reducing busy work, never starting from scratch, and keeping your team in sync. All from the browser.

Get Started for Free

Flux is a better way to build PCBs

Go 10x faster from idea to PCB by reducing busy work, never starting from scratch, and keeping your team in sync. All from the browser.

Get Started for Free