Flux Product Design Workflows


Briefly describe what it's like to design a complete product in Flux. Help me understand what the PCB-first and enclosure-first design workflows are like to work with.
Designing a complete product in Flux is an iterative workflow that keeps electronics, PCB layout, firmware planning, and mechanical fit in one project.
  • PCB-first: Define requirements and architecture, capture and verify the schematic, place and route the PCB, then design the enclosure around the finished board. This is fastest when electrical performance, connector selection, or board cost drives the product. Mechanical constraints discovered later may require PCB revisions.
  • Enclosure-first: Establish the product’s size, controls, ports, mounting, assembly, and manufacturing process first. Then shape the PCB and place connectors/components to fit those fixed mechanical datums. This works best for handhelds, wearables, panel-mounted devices, and products where appearance or ergonomics dominate.
In both workflows, Flux supports repeated fit and design-rule checks rather than treating PCB and enclosure as separate handoffs. No project changes were made in this session. Execution stopped because your ACUs ran out.

Flashing Guide
This guide walks you through installing the firmware onto your ESP32 x86 PC board.
Requirements
  • The ESP32 x86 PC board
  • A USB-C cable (data-capable)
  • A computer running Windows, macOS, or Linux
  • A microSD card (FAT32 formatted, 32GB or smaller recommended)
  • Internet connection (the board downloads OS images on first boot)
1. Install the Arduino IDE
Download and install the Arduino IDE from arduino.cc/en/software.
2. Add ESP32 board support
  1. Open File → Preferences.
  2. In Additional Boards Manager URLs, add:
    https://espressif.github.io/arduino-esp32/package_esp32_index.json
    
  3. Open Tools → Board → Boards Manager.
  4. Search for esp32 and install version 2.0.17.
3. Install the FabGL library
  1. Open Tools → Manage Libraries.
  2. Search for FabGL.
  3. Click Install.
4. Open the sketch
  1. Download the project firmware PCEmulator_Flux.
  2. Extract files from .ZIP
  3. Keep all the project files together in a single folder with the same name as the .ino file.
  4. Open the .ino file in the Arduino IDE.
5. Configure the board settings
Under the Tools menu, set the following:

Table


SettingValue
BoardESP32 Wrover Module
Partition SchemeHuge APP (3MB No OTA/1MB SPIFFS)
PSRAMDisabled
Upload Speed921600
Flash Frequency80 MHz
6. Select the port
  1. Connect the board to your computer with the USB-C cable.
  2. Open Tools → Port.
  3. Select the port that appears for your board.
7. Upload
  1. Click the Upload button (the right-arrow icon) in the Arduino IDE.
  2. Wait for compilation and upload to complete. You will see Done uploading when finished.
8. First boot
  1. Connect the board's VGA port to a monitor.
  2. Connect a PS/2 keyboard and mouse.
  3. Insert the microSD card.
  4. Power the board.
On first boot the emulator will:
  1. Ask you to connect to WiFi — select your network and enter the password using the keyboard.
  2. Download the selected operating system disk image to the SD card.
  3. Sync the date and time from the internet, then restart automatically.
After the restart, the machine selection menu appears. Choose a configuration and press Run to boot into DOS.
9. Everyday use
Once an OS image is on the SD card, the board boots straight to the machine selection menu — no WiFi or download needed.
Press ALT + PRINT SCREEN at any time during emulation to open the SYSREQ menu, where you can:
  • Restart the emulator
  • Restart the machine
  • Mount a different floppy or disk image
  • Re-sync the date and time from NTP
You're ready to go. Select a machine, press Run, and you're at C:\>.
  • Requirements

  • 1. Install the Arduino IDE

  • 2. Add ESP32 board support

  • 3. Install the FabGL library

  • 4. Open the sketch

  • 5. Configure the board settings

  • 6. Select the port

  • 7. Upload

  • 8. First boot

  • 9. Everyday use