# AI is Collapsing CAD Discover how AI is breaking down the silos between electrical, mechanical, and firmware engineering. Learn how Flux unifies hardware design in one conversation. Written by [Matthias Wagner](https://flux.seobdtools.com/natarius) Published Sep 2026 - 2 min read ![AI is Collapsing CAD](https://flux.seobdtools.com/p/assets/blogs/ai-is-collapsing-cad/main.webp) ## Hardware was split up because people were split up AI is collapsing the walls between engineering disciplines that split CAD apart in the first place. That changes more than how hardware gets built and who gets to build it. Electrical engineers got layout tools. Mechanical engineers got CAD. Firmware engineers got IDEs. The tools were separated because the expertise was. AI doesn’t have that constraint. An agent can reason like an electrical engineer, then a mechanical engineer, then a firmware engineer, all in one conversation. Once the expertise isn’t locked inside separate people, there’s no reason for it to live in separate tools. ## Our customers got there first Our customers are designing a device: a sensor that mounts to a bike frame or a controller that has to fit inside a wall box. And many of them are already trying to force it together on their own, bouncing between ChatGPT, Claude, and Codex for the circuit, the enclosure, and the firmware, copying and pasting between tools that have no idea the others exist. They’re not waiting for the industry to catch up. ## The whole device, in one place Enclosure and mechanical design now live inside Flux, right alongside your schematic, layout, and firmware. Describe the enclosure in chat, and the agent designs it around your actual hardware, so the connectors line up and the mounting holes land where they should. Preview it in 3D, export it to print, or get live quotes from JLC3DP and PCBWay without leaving the session. One agent. One chat. The whole device. It’s early, and there’s a lot still coming, including thermal analysis and mechanical stress testing. But the direction is set. [Start building your prototype in Flux →](https://flux.seobdtools.com/p) ## You can just build things now CAD serves tens of millions. PCB tools, a few hundred thousand. But the largest group has always been the people trying to build hardware anyway, and most of them stall before they ever hold a prototype. Not for lack of ideas. Because every tool expected them to already be an expert across domains. We’re building for them. That’s why we’re not building a better PCB tool anymore. We’re building the AI hardware engineer. If you’ve ever had an idea for a device, you no longer need three specialties to build it. You need one conversation. ## About the author [Matthias Wagner](https://flux.seobdtools.com/natarius) Founder & CEO at Flux Matthias is the Founder and CEO of Flux, a hardware design platform that's revolutionizing how teams create and iterate on circuits. Find him on Flux [@natarius](https://flux.seobdtools.com/natarius). Let’s start building Build your big idea together with Flux. All you need to do is describe what you want to make, or what problem you want to solve. Flux will work with you to make it a reality. ![Close-up photo of a PCB made with Flux, with an ESP32 module, buttons, and a microSD slot.](https://flux.seobdtools.com/p/assets/blogs/miscellaneous/sidebar-cta-pcb.webp) [Try it Free](https://flux.seobdtools.com/signup) ## Related Content [ ![Teal isometric illustration of a populated circuit board in its mechanical enclosure, with an aligned lid inside a shield and closed lock outline](https://flux.seobdtools.com/p/assets/blogs/ai-hardware-design-no-training-on-your-data/main.webp) ### Your Design Is Your Company. Flux Does Not Train on It. 4 Min Read](https://flux.seobdtools.com/p/blog/ai-hardware-design-no-training-on-your-data)[ ![Teal isometric illustration of a robot arm joint with its exploded enclosure and motor controller board, connected to three cloud computers that show simulation results](https://flux.seobdtools.com/p/assets/blogs/bring-your-own-software/main.webp) ### Bring Your Own Software to Flux 7 Min Read](https://flux.seobdtools.com/p/blog/bring-your-own-software)[ ![Teal isometric illustration of a PCB, motor, bearings, and fasteners beside a parts bin draining chips toward a distant data center server rack](https://flux.seobdtools.com/p/assets/blogs/component-shortage-ai-boom-bom/main.webp) ### The AI Boom Is Eating Hardware's Parts. Fix Your BOM in Hours. 5 Min Read](https://flux.seobdtools.com/p/blog/component-shortage-ai-boom-bom)[ ![Flux, an AI hardware engineer pointing out the dos and don'ts when prompting.](https://flux.seobdtools.com/p/assets/blogs/prompting-guide/main.webp) ### Prompting Guide: Working with Flux from Idea to Schematic 9 Min Read](https://flux.seobdtools.com/p/blog/prompting-guide-working-with-flux-from-idea-to-schematic)[ ![Top 20+ Flux Copilot Prompts (Refreshed)](https://flux.seobdtools.com/p/assets/blogs/top-copilot-prompts-3/main.webp) ### Top 20+ Flux Copilot Prompts (Refreshed) 8 Min Read](https://flux.seobdtools.com/p/blog/top-20-flux-copilot-prompts-refreshed)[ ![What Makes a Perfect PCB Design Prompt](https://flux.seobdtools.com/p/assets/blogs/how-to-write-a-perfect-pcb-design-prompt/main.webp) ### What Makes a Perfect PCB Design Prompt 8 Min Read](https://flux.seobdtools.com/p/blog/what-makes-a-perfect-pcb-design-prompt) See All (6) ## Let’s start building. Let’s build your idea together. All you need to do is describe what you want to make, or what problem you want to solve. Flux will work with you to make it a reality. [Try it Free](https://flux.seobdtools.com/signup) ![Close-up of a Flux-designed printed circuit board](https://flux.seobdtools.com/p/assets/homepage-v2/mission-visual.webp)