ProtoFlow - AI-powered PCB design tool for engineers and hardware teams
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ProtoFlow is the new step zero for electronic design, built for individual engineers and teams. Through its powerful AI assistant, universal component search, custom component generation, and multiplayer collaboration tools, ProtoFlow optimizes the PCB design process, slicing hours off development. The service is free to use, offers a full-suite platform, and exports smoothly to software like KiCad and Altium, allowing users at any skill level to fully optimize their hardware designs.
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Hey Product Hunt fam!
I'm Ayden, co-founder of ProtoFlow. I'm excited to display this updated version of ProtoFlow, an AI-powered EDA platform to help engineers and hardware teams move from concept to production-ready PCB design in minutes.
For those of you who don't know, ProtoFlow is built for:
- Hardware engineering teams tired of clunky, time-consuming EDA software
- Hardware developers looking to automate tedious manual routing and part matching
- Teams looking to eliminate manual footprint creation by generating custom components instantly with AI
With a simple, AI-based workflow, you can skip the friction of traditional design, validate components in real time, and collaborate with your team live. You don't need to forfeit your favorite legacy tools either; ProtoFlow exports directly to platforms like KiCad and Altium so you can choose to continue your workflow from them at anytime.
I'd love your honest feedback, especially:
- What are the biggest bottlenecks and most time-consuming tasks in your current design workflow?
- What specific features would make you immediately switch your team over to ProtoFlow?
Try it here: https://www.protoflow.ai/
The universal component search is a really smart move, so many schematic tools bury that step behind clunky libraries. Glad it exports cleanly into KiCad too, that keeps it useful without locking anyone in.
The universal component search is a really smart call, that alone used to eat so much time when I was pulling together schematics in KiCad. Love that it exports cleanly into existing workflows too.
Honestly the universal component search is a game changer, found parts in like two seconds that usually take me forever to dig up. Slick that it drops right into KiCad too.
AI-assisted PCB design is a niche that's been underserved for a while. How does it handle component footprint accuracy — is it trained on real manufacturer datasheets, or more general layout patterns?
@ark_y_k ProtoFlow reads the actual manufacturer datasheet, especially package drawings and recommended land patterns, to generate footprints using IPC-7351B conventions. It cross-checks dimensions and pin mappings, but you should still verify the result against the datasheet before fabrication.
@protoflow_ai That's reassuring — cross-checking against real datasheets instead of generic patterns makes a big difference for reliability. Sounds like it's meant to speed up the first draft rather than fully replace manual review — is that the right way to think about it?
The KiCad export has been a lifesaver for getting quick prototypes going. One thing that would help a lot is adding a built-in ERC check before export so I can catch unconnected pins or power mismatches right in the schematic view instead of hunting them down later in KiCad.
the universal component search alone is worth it, found parts way faster than digging through digikey. exporting to kicad worked smoothly for me too
The universal component search is genuinely faster than digging through library files, and the AI assistant caught a net I forgot to connect on my first schematic. Exporting straight into KiCad worked without any cleanup, which is rare.
Honestly the universal component search is way faster than digging through library files in KiCad, saved me a solid chunk of time on a recent project. The AI suggestions were actually useful too, not just generic stuff.
The AI assistant sounds genuinely useful, especially for new users who get stuck on part selection. One thing that would help me a lot though is a built-in version history for schematics, so I can compare changes and roll back if an AI suggestion doesn't quite work out.