What Flux is
Flux is an AI hardware engineer that connects the circuit, board, enclosure, firmware, and manufacturing work. Your team reviews the design in one live project, with built-in engineering checks.
Flux vs Kimi: Agent tasks, office documents, and 3D Make. One complete device in Flux.
Kimi plans multi-step tasks, creates office documents, and generates 3D web scenes, 3D models, and 3D-print files. Flux connects electronics and mechanical design in one live project, then checks the complete device for your team.
What Flux and Kimi are
What Kimi is
Kimi is an AI assistant from Moonshot AI. Its features include Agent, Slides, Deep Research, 3D Make, and scheduled tasks.[1]
Agent mode plans and completes multi-step tasks with tools such as a file system, browser, terminal, and code. It can create Word, PDF, Excel, and PowerPoint files.[2]
From 3D Make to connected electronics and mechanical design.
Kimi supports multi-step Agent tasks, office documents, and 3D Make for interactive 3D web content, 3D models, and 3D-print files. Flux is an AI hardware engineer for complete devices. It coordinates the PCB outline, mounting holes, connector cutouts, and enclosure geometry with the schematic, firmware, simulation, and manufacturing files in one live project.
| Feature | Flux | Kimi |
|---|---|---|
| Requirements and specification | The AI engineer turns your idea into requirements and a product specification, and checks the design against them. | Plans and completes multi-step tasks.[2] |
| What it is | AI hardware engineer with native tools for the full device | AI assistant with Agent, Slides, and Deep Research.[1] |
| Where it runs | Works in your browser with no software to install. Projects stay in the cloud. | Web app with agent tools for files, browser, and terminal.[2] |
| Who does the design work | The Flux agent. Your engineers review and edit. | People direct Agent tasks and review the outputs.[2] |
| Schematic and parts | Built in. Choose from 734,000+ public parts. | No built-in schematic design workspace.[1] |
| Board layout and routing | Built in | No built-in board layout and routing workspace.[1] |
| Placement and routing | The AI engineer places the parts and routes the board like an experienced designer. Your engineers review and edit. | No built-in PCB trace-routing tools.[1] |
| 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. | No built-in PCB signal-integrity analysis.[1] |
| Parts and sourcing | 734,000+ public parts, with live prices and stock from distributors | No built-in electronics parts library.[1] |
| Simulation and design rule checks | Circuit SPICE, power delivery network, full-wave electromagnetic, signal integrity, thermal, and mechanical simulation, plus design rule checks. | No built-in hardware simulation workspace.[1] |
| Firmware | Creates firmware for the board it designs | Agent mode can work with code and terminal tools.[2] |
| Wiring harnesses | Built in. Flux designs the wiring harnesses between the boards: connectors, pinouts, and wires, in the same project. | No built-in wire-harness design workspace.[1] |
| Manufacturing files | Create Gerber, ODB++, IPC-2581, bill of materials, pick-and-place, and more; Flux can check the files before you order. It checks copper gaps, silkscreen, the board outline, BOM, and pick-and-place files. | No built-in hardware manufacturing-file workflow.[1] |
| Quotes and orders | Quotes and orders for boards, 3D printing, CNC machining, and wire harnesses, from the project. | No built-in hardware quoting or ordering workflow.[1] |
| 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. | No built-in EDA project importer.[1] |
| 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. | No native hardware design version history.[1] |
| Who reviews the work | Electrical, layout, mechanical, and firmware engineers review one live browser project. | You prompt the assistant and review its responses.[1] |
| Product images, videos, and documents | Product images, product videos, datasheets, and regulatory documents, made from the design in the project. | Agent can create Word, PDF, Excel, and PowerPoint files.[2] |
| Mechanical CAD | Kernel-agnostic mechanical CAD, from an enclosure to a robot arm. | 3D Make generates 3D models and 3D-print files from a prompt or sketch.[4] |
| Mechanical simulation | Finite-element stress, thermal, and airflow simulation | No built-in mechanical simulation workspace.[1] |
| Mechanical manufacturing | STEP, STL, and 3MF files, plus quotes for 3D printing, CNC machining, sheet metal, and laser cutting | No built-in mechanical manufacturing workflow.[1] |
| 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. | No built-in CNC toolpath or G-code workflow.[1] |
| AI models | Frontier models from several providers, including Claude, OpenAI, and Gemini models | Kimi AI models, including K3.1 Pro[1] |
| Tool licenses | Your Flux plan includes the editor, mechanical CAD, parts data, simulation, and manufacturing files. | Kimi Code shares the Agent credit pool.[3] |
| Team knowledge and rules | Set team rules once. Flux applies them across projects and checks each design against those rules. | Agent mode can work with files.[2] |
| Parallel work | Flux advances work across projects in parallel and shares progress. Major changes pause for approval. | Agent Swarm runs up to 300 agents in parallel.[2] |
Considering an alternative to Kimi?
Start a Flux project free and turn your hardware requirements into a complete device.
Orchestration
Bring electrical and mechanical work together.
Flux keeps a product requirement, board, enclosure, and firmware in the same hardware project.
Start with one project brief
Flux links hardware disciplines to the same product goal.
Keep physical parts aligned
Board mounting holes and connectors inform the enclosure design.
Make progress visible
Your team can review active designs and changes in one workspace.
Share decisions
Design comments and revisions remain with the live project.
A board with a 3D-printed enclosure
Flux keeps the board outline, mounting points, and connectors aligned with the enclosure. Electrical and mechanical engineers can review the complete assembly together.
Built for teams
Keep the product design in a shared workspace.
Flux runs in the browser and gives your team one live place to design and review hardware.
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Shared design files
Keep project content, revisions, and comments in one place.
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Team engineering knowledge
Make approved parts and design decisions available across projects.
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Continue a teammate's work
Review AI output and continue work from the shared project.
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No local CAD setup
Open a project in the browser to begin work.
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Voice interaction
Speak with Flux from your phone or computer.
Customizable
Give Flux your team's design rules.
Add engineering guidance and link Flux with the services your group uses.
Organization knowledge
Save design standards and selected parts for every project.
Layout constraints
Tell Flux the board requirements and fabrication limits to check.
MCP and APIs
Connect compatible services and team web APIs to Flux.
Private credentials
Manage API keys at the organization level without showing them to the AI engineer.
Live project pages
Build project utilities for a power budget, hardware checklist, or 3D assembly.
External AI tools
Use Flux through Claude Code, Cursor, and other MCP-compatible agents.
Connect Flux to your existing services.
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Onshape -
Autodesk Fusion -
PTC Windchill -
Siemens Teamcenter -
Arena PLM -
OpenBOM -
Duro -
GitHub -
GitLab -
Memfault -
Golioth -
Particle -
Nordic nRF Cloud -
Edge Impulse -
NI SystemLink -
SimScale -
Octopart -
SiliconExpert
Make the whole device part of the design
Keep hardware work connected
Flux links the schematic, PCB, enclosure, firmware, and factory files to one product requirement.
Use the full design environment
Electrical and mechanical work happen with Flux tools in the same live workspace.
Start with integrated checks
Simulation, design rule checks, and datasheet verification are available in Flux.
Find parts from a large library
Flux includes 734,000+ public parts and live information from distributors.
Review the design before release
Check circuit behavior, board rules, and component specifications before manufacturing.
Work with your engineering team
Share the live project with engineers and reviewers through team access controls.
Model-agnostic AI
Choose from multiple model providers
Flux runs frontier models from several providers, including Claude, OpenAI, and Gemini models. Adaptive model selection chooses a capable model for each engineering task and helps deliver frontier performance at 30% lower cost.
- OpenAI
- Anthropic
- Google Gemini
- More as they ship
Get frontier performance at 30% lower cost.
Flux selects a capable model for the engineering task with the price in view. Your team can focus on the device while Flux provides the model flexibility.
Frontier AI models
- Reasoning
- Planning
- Language
Flux engineering harness
- CAD and EDA tools
- Project context
- Simulation
- Design rules
Working hardware
- Schematics
- Boards
- Enclosures
- Firmware
- Fab files
- Product videos
Use several model providers
Select from frontier models offered by different providers in Flux.
Keep project tools with the model
Flux provides design tools, project context, and standard hardware flows.
Change models without changing tools
Your engineers keep the same design environment when models are updated.
Avoid one-provider dependence
Flux stays open to multiple providers for the work your team needs to do.
Choose by capability and price
Adaptive model selection considers the needs of the engineering task and the model cost.
One platform
One AI engineer for every part of the product.
Kimi Agent and 3D Make support multi-step work and 3D outputs. Flux connects electrical and mechanical engineering to a single product design.
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Electrical engineering
Define requirements, select parts, capture schematics, and simulate circuit behavior.
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PCB layout
Place and route the board, set stackups, and run checks before fabrication.
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Mechanical design
Create enclosures and mounts around the PCB. Import STEP models and use the shared library for electronic and mechanical parts.
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Firmware
Write firmware for the target board, then build and test the code.
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Manufacturing
Use current sourcing data, request vendor quotes, and prepare production files.
Verification lab
Verify each part of the design.
Flux uses engineering simulation and checks to prepare designs for your team's review.
Circuit simulation
Analyze analog, power, and mixed-signal circuits with SPICE.
Electromagnetic simulation
Check the routed PCB for impedance, coupling, and antenna performance.
Thermal simulation
Review temperature and airflow for the board and enclosure.
Fluid simulation
Study cooling and airflow through enclosure vents and fans.
Mechanical simulation
Analyze stress on mounts, brackets, and enclosures.
Design rule checks
Check schematic and PCB rules for electrical and manufacturing needs.
Datasheet verification
Verify component connections and operating limits against datasheets.
Sourcing
Choose parts with live supplier data.
Flux compares distributor availability and pricing for electronics and mechanical hardware.
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Digi-Key -
LCSC -
Mouser -
Arrow -
Verical -
TME -
HQonline -
McMaster-Carr -
MISUMI -
JLCMC
Manufacturing
Connect your design to fabricator quotes.
Flux requests live pricing for boards, assembly, cables, and mechanical processes as the product design changes.
Circuit boards and assembly
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JLCPCB -
PCBWay -
OSH Park -
AISLER
Mechanical parts
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Craftcloud - JLC 3D printing
- PCBWay 3D printing
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Shapeways -
OSH Cut -
SendCutSend
Cables and wiring harnesses
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MiniProto
Keep hardware designs private to your organization.
- SOC 2-aligned cloud services
- Single sign-on for team access
- Permissions for each project
- The design stays your intellectual property
- Flux does not use customer data for AI training
Flux pricing
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Explore
For learning and evaluation, with light AI usage and unlimited manual editing.
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Build
For active hardware projects, with included AI usage and additional usage available.
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Pro
For larger projects and heavier AI usage, with hands-on support from experienced electrical engineers.
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Teams
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
When to use which
Use Kimi for multi-step research, office deliverables, and 3D Make outputs. Choose Flux when the PCB layout, mounting holes, enclosure, and firmware must stay connected in one manufacturing-ready project. Flux's AI engineer does design work in hours; the same work without Flux takes days or weeks.
Questions
No. Flux is model agnostic and runs frontier models from several providers, including Claude, OpenAI, and Gemini models. Adaptive model selection chooses a capable model for each engineering task.
Kimi 3D Make generates interactive 3D web scenes, 3D models, and 3D-print files from a prompt, sketch, or reference image. 4 Flux designs enclosures and mechanical parts in the same project as the schematic and PCB, so the board outline, mounting holes, and connector positions stay aligned.
Kimi Agent handles research and office files, including documents, spreadsheets, and slides. 2 Flux connects schematic capture, PCB layout, mechanical CAD, firmware, simulation, and manufacturing outputs in one live hardware project.
No. Use Flux in your browser. New capabilities and models arrive automatically, so you do not need to update them yourself.
Yes. Give teammates a project link so they can edit simultaneously. Single sign-on and project-level permissions manage access.
No. Flux does not train on customer data. Your inputs and outputs remain your intellectual property.
Take the next hardware design into Flux.
Compare plan options for your team or arrange a product demo.
Sources
- Kimi: https://www.kimi.com/
- Kimi Agent overview: https://www.kimi.com/en/help/agent/agent-overview
- Kimi Agent features and limits: https://www.kimi.com/en/help/agent/agent-features-and-limits
- Kimi 3D Make overview: https://www.kimi.com/en/help/3d-make/3d-make-overview