Your engineers use CATIA to sketch, constrain, and model all features. You describe the part to Flux. The AI engineer then models the design, checks it, and gets the item made.
Flux gives your team an autonomous hardware engineer. Provide a requirement. The AI outlines a design plan and chooses the parts. It drafts a schematic, performs board routing, develops the mechanical parts, and generates the firmware. The software confirms its own work through design rule checks and simulation. Your engineers then receive files ready to manufacture.
CATIA is software from Dassault Systemes for computer-aided design, manufacturing, and engineering, 3D modeling, and product lifecycle management.[3]
CATIA V5 is an industry standard in sectors such as automotive, aerospace, and industrial equipment.[2]
CATIA V5 has tools to create, validate, and modify any type of surface, from freeform surfaces to mechanical shapes.[2]
CATIA combines modeling and simulation, from concept to manufacturing, on one platform.[1]
CATIA V5 makes toolpaths for CNC machining.[2]
Explain the part or the modification using ordinary language. Flux develops a parametric model and chooses a suitable CAD kernel for every part. It performs stress, thermal, and airflow simulation, then gives you STEP, STL, or 3MF files. Your engineers check and modify the output. Flux functions within your web browser.
| Feature | Flux | CATIA |
|---|---|---|
| Requirements and specification | The AI engineer turns your idea into requirements and a product specification, and checks the design against them. | Captures stakeholder needs and models system requirements.[4] |
| What it is | AI hardware engineer providing its own design tools | CAD, CAM, CAE, and product lifecycle management software[3] |
| Where it runs | Use your web browser without installing anything. The cloud stores your projects. | Windows desktop software, and a cloud version on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform[3] |
| Who does the design work | The Flux agent. Your engineers review and edit. | Engineers model and validate product systems.[5] |
| How a part is made | You explain the part. Next, the AI engineer codes the parametric model. Finally, your engineers check and update it. | Your engineers model each part in the tool[2] |
| Mechanical CAD | Kernel agnostic and built in. Design an enclosure or a complete robot arm. | Built in[2] |
| Mechanical simulation | Airflow, thermal, and stress finite-element simulation | Simulation and analysis[2] |
| Mechanical manufacturing | Quotes for CNC machining, 3D printing, sheet metal, and laser cutting, along with 3MF, STL, and STEP files | CNC toolpaths for machined parts[2] |
| CNC toolpaths and G-code | The AI engineer writes the toolpaths, the G-code, a toolpath preview, and a setup sheet for the parts that it designed. | CATIA V5 generates toolpaths for CNC machining.[2] |
| Quotes and orders | Quotes and orders for boards, 3D printing, CNC machining, and wire harnesses, from the project. | 3DEXPERIENCE Make connects CATIA users with on-demand manufacturing providers.[9] |
| Import from other tools | Imports complete projects from Altium, OrCAD and Allegro, KiCad, PADS and Xpedition, CADSTAR, Eagle, Fusion Electronics, EasyEDA, DipTrace, and SOLIDWORKS PCB. Flux imports Labcenter Proteus SDF netlists with Specctra board exports. IPC-2581 revision B and C files become board projects with reusable footprint parts. IDF 2.0 and 3.0 board files become board projects with the outline, cutouts, drilled and mounting holes, part placements, and 3D part heights. | Controls imported CAD data in 3DEXPERIENCE.[7] |
| Versions, branches, and merges | Full change history. The AI engineer forks a design into a second version, keeps both, and merges the changes that you pick. | Manages design changes and revisions.[6] |
| Who reviews the work | Electrical, mechanical, layout, and firmware engineers work as a whole team on one live project using a browser | Several users can work on the same project at the same time[2] |
| Product images, videos, and documents | Product images, product videos, datasheets, and regulatory documents, made from the design in the project. | CATIA Live Rendering creates images for product documentation and marketing.[10] |
| Tool licenses | Your Flux plan provides parts data, mechanical CAD, the editor, simulation, and manufacturing files. You do not need to buy anything else. | Separate modules for part design, assembly, drafting, surfacing, and more[2] |
| And electronics as well | ||
| Schematic and parts | Built in. Picks from 734,000+ public parts. | Creates electrical schematics and systems architecture.[5] |
| High-speed design | The AI engineer plans DDR topology and timing budgets, routes differential pairs and length-matched buses, tunes length and skew, fans out BGAs with blind, buried, and microvias, and sets trace impedance from your stackup. It checks the routed board with S-parameters, TDR, eye diagrams, crosstalk analysis, and a signal integrity, power integrity, and EMC review. Your engineers review and edit. | Not in CATIA[1] |
| Parts and sourcing | 734,000+ public parts, with live prices and stock from distributors | Not in CATIA[1] |
| Simulation and design rule checks | SPICE, power delivery network, full-wave electromagnetic, signal integrity, thermal, and mechanical simulation, plus design rule checks | SIMULIA provides structural simulation for CATIA designs.[8] |
| Firmware | Writes firmware for the board it designed | Not in CATIA[1] |
| Wiring harnesses | Included by default. Inside one project, Flux designs the board-to-board wiring harnesses: connectors, pinouts, and wires. | Electrical and fluid systems design[1] |
| Manufacturing files | Gerber, ODB++, IPC-2581, bill of materials, pick-and-place, and more; Flux can check the files before you order, including copper gaps, silkscreen, board outline, BOM, and pick-and-place files. | Creates electrical manufacturing drawings and reports.[5] |
Start a Flux project free and describe the device you want to build.
Flux builds complete assemblies and single parts, placing every part into one model. Designs range from an enclosure or a bracket, ending with a complete robot arm.
Flux positions each part on the real board to accommodate its cutouts, connectors, and mounting holes. The agent can adjust the mechanical parts and the board at the same time.
A single library for the complete product contains chips and connectors, mechanical hardware such as standoffs and screws, and devices not located on the board.
Flux stores each part as editable CAD code and a STEP file. Your engineers can examine and edit the code.
Load your mechanical parts. Instruct Flux in plain words to revise them. Finally, have the parts manufactured.
The request, as typed in Flux
“The holder must cover a much taller power supply. Make the bent side flange 40 mm deeper. Keep the 4.4 mm hole in the flange where it is. Then cut five 5 x 30 mm vertical vent slots in the new part of the flange, 15 mm apart and centered on the flange width.”
Upload complete projects, 3D models, and part libraries. The software transfers parts, placement, and schematics, as well as routing from most formats.
Engineers can instantly edit imported designs. Flux follows commands such as "move the USB cutout 3 cm left" or "make the enclosure tighter" to apply the changes.
Flux prepares the files necessary for your manufacturer. For the board, you receive Gerber, ODB++, IPC-2581, bill of materials, and pick-and-place. For the mechanical parts, it exports STEP, STL, or 3MF.
Kernel-agnostic CAD
Traditional CAD programs depend on one geometry kernel, passing its limitations to every part. Much like it is model agnostic, Flux is kernel agnostic. The AI engineer finds a suitable kernel for each part. If a kernel fails to make a feature, the AI engineer switches to another kernel. Finally, the AI engineer merges every part into a single model.
CAM and additional CAD tools read the exact, standard geometry cleanly. It is strong for multi-part assemblies and machined parts.
Smooth and curvature-continuous surfaces for consumer and hand-held products.
To enable native-quality exchange with SolidWorks, NX, Solid Edge, and Onshape, it uses the kernel inside these tools.
Inspectable surface quality. Before the part enters tooling, zebra stripes, curvature maps, and curvature combs prove that all surfaces are smooth.
Verification lab
Flux does much more than just generate designs. This AI engineer applies professional-grade solvers to simulate and test its own work. It then delivers these results to you.
Perform finite-element stress analysis on brackets, enclosures, and mounts.
Simulate heat and airflow for enclosures and boards before you build them.
Cooling and airflow through the enclosure ensure heat sinks, vents, and fans operate before the first prototype.
The AI engineer runs and reads SPICE simulations for analog, power, and mixed-signal circuits.
Analyze the routed board with full-wave simulation for antennas, crosstalk, impedance, and S-parameters.
Run manufacturing and electrical rule checks on every board and schematic.
It reviews every part datasheet to verify the design complies with pinouts, ratings, and limits.
Manufacturing
To price circuit boards and assembly, 3D printing in plastic and metal, CNC machining, sheet metal, laser cutting, injection molding, casting, and wiring harnesses, Flux acquires estimates directly from fabricators. This AI engineer weighs pricing against lead times. It verifies the design using rules from each fabricator. It also keeps quotes current when engineers modify the design.
Craftcloud 
JLC 3D printing 
PCBWay 3D printing 
Shapeways 
OSH Cut 
SendCutSend JLCPCB PCBWay 
OSH Park 
AISLER 
MiniProto One project holds the firmware, the board, and the mechanical parts. The agent can edit the board and also the mechanical parts together. Engineers never need to move files across a code editor, a mechanical tool, and an electronics tool.
Engineers do not install software or administer a license server. Flux operates from a modern web browser on any computer.
Send a URL to share a project. Several engineers can apply changes concurrently. No one sends files via email or questions which version is up to date.
The product receives new AI models and new features. You do not install another version, and you do not move your projects.
The Flux library offers 734,000+ public parts. You start without creating a part library.
Send a link to invite engineers. Project-level permissions and single sign-on govern who sees what.
One platform
Instead of disconnected CAD applications, Flux gives engineers one AI-native engineering platform. Every discipline collaborates inside the same project, uses the same data, and relies on the same AI engineer.
Requirements and part research, plus schematic capture and simulation.
Placement, routing, design rule checks, stackups, and the wiring harnesses between the boards.
Firmware created for the board Flux designed, such as Arm Cortex-M, RISC-V, AVR, or Pico, then built, analyzed, and unit tested.
Model-agnostic AI
Flux integrates frontier AI models into an advanced agent system dedicated to CAD and EDA. The AI models perform the reasoning. Flux adds workflows, project context, and engineering tools to build working hardware from this reasoning.
Adaptive breaks every engineering job into separate tasks. It sends each task to a model that gives strong results for the price. Frontier models process the hard design decisions. Fast, low-cost models handle the routine work. Independent tasks execute in parallel. As a result, complete devices build faster. Your team communicates with one AI engineer. Behind the scenes, Flux directs the task assignments.
Inside Flux, your team can use the frontier models it already trusts.
Flux provides all models with project context, specialized engineering tools, and workflows.
When an upgraded model becomes available, your team uses it on the current engineering platform.
Keep your engineering capacity independent of any one model provider.
Adaptive selects the correct model for each engineering step. These steps range from deep design decisions down to routine checks.
For learning and evaluation, with light AI usage and unlimited manual editing.
For active hardware projects, with included AI usage and additional usage available.
For larger projects and heavier AI usage, with hands-on support from experienced electrical engineers.
For teams on shared projects, with pooled AI usage, member seats, and priority support.
Eligible individual plans include a free trial. Teams subscriptions start paid; trial and pricing terms depend on your current offer. See all plans
Not ready to pick a plan? Start for free
Use CATIA if your engineers plan to manually model surfaces and parts. Select Flux so an AI engineer can develop the board, the mechanical parts, and the firmware before your engineers review them.
Request a demo from our team, or view individual plan offers.
