Switch
Switch to Palpable from Flux.ai
Flux.ai brings an AI copilot to PCB design, and if a custom board is what you are after, it is the right category of tool. People move to Palpable when they realize they wanted a working device, not a board — they were designing a PCB as the route to something that senses, decides, and acts. Palpable skips the board: describe the behavior to PAL and it runs on a Raspberry Pi with plug-and-play modules.
What you stop doing
You stop designing schematics, placing footprints, and reviewing BOMs for a device that could run on off-the-shelf modules. Flux’s copilot helps you design a board faster; Palpable removes the board from the equation when it was never the goal.
What stays the same
The plain-language, AI-assisted workflow will feel familiar — you describe intent and the AI does the heavy lifting. The difference is the output: Flux gives you a board to manufacture, Palpable gives you a running device. You still get real TypeScript code plus REST and WebSocket APIs and a CLI.
A typical first project
Plug a certified Qwiic sensor and a small display into a Pi Zero 2W. Tell PAL “show the current humidity and flash red if it drops below 30 percent.” PAL detects the modules, writes and deploys the script, and it runs locally — no schematic, no layout, no fab order.
When Flux is still right
If you genuinely need a manufacturable custom PCB — a specific form factor, particular components, or a production run — Flux is built for that and Palpable is not a substitute. The switch is for the projects where “design a board” was really shorthand for “make this thing work.”
Questions
Does Palpable design PCBs like Flux.ai?
No. Palpable does not design custom boards. It runs behavior on a Raspberry Pi with plug-and-play Qwiic modules, so most projects never need a PCB at all.
When should I stay with Flux?
When you specifically need a manufacturable custom PCB — a particular form factor, component choices, or a production run. That is what Flux’s AI-assisted ECAD is built for.
I like Flux’s AI workflow. Is Palpable similar?
The describe-it-in-plain-language feel is similar, but the result differs: Flux produces a board to build, while PAL produces a device that is already running on a Pi, with OTA updates and automatic rollback.