Designing a complete product in Flux is an iterative process that keeps the electronics, PCB layout, enclosure, firmware, and manufacturing constraints in one project.
- PCB-first: Define requirements → design and verify the schematic → size and lay out the PCB → route and review it → build the enclosure around the finished board, connectors, controls, mounting holes, and keepouts. This is best when electrical architecture, signal integrity, cost, or board density drives the product.
- Enclosure-first: Define how the product is held, mounted, accessed, and manufactured → establish the enclosure shape and internal mechanical envelope → place ports, controls, indicators, and fasteners → design the PCB to fit those fixed interfaces. This is best when ergonomics, appearance, installation constraints, or an existing housing drives the design.
Neither workflow is strictly linear. Flux lets the PCB and enclosure be reviewed together in 3D, so mechanical collisions, inaccessible connectors, inadequate cable clearance, and assembly problems can be corrected through successive revisions. A typical product then progresses through schematic verification, PCB layout, mechanical fit checks, prototypes, bring-up, and EVT/DVT/PVT refinement before manufacturing release.
No project changes were made in this session. Execution stopped because your ACUs ran out.