Flow Circuits Walkthrough

This 10-part walkthrough will give you all the tools you need to get up and running in Flow Circuits.

Part 1: Setting Up Your Project

In this introductory video, we walk through the initial steps of setting up a project. From account creation to project configuration and sharing, this video has got you covered.

👇 What You Will Learn

  • 1️⃣ Creating an Account: How to sign up for a free Flow Circuits account to kickstart your fluidic systems projects.
  • 2️⃣ Setting Up a New Project: Detailed guidance on creating your first project, naming it, and configuring its basic settings.
  • 3️⃣ Project Overview: An introduction to the three main panes in Flow Circuits - Design, Test, and Build.
  • 4️⃣ Project Sharing: A quick guide on how to share your project with team members for collaborative work.

Part 2: Basic Design

In Part 2, we dive into the Design pane of our cloud-based engineering platform for fluidic systems. This video is all about how to draw a basic system and add components.

👇 What You Will Learn

  • 1️⃣ Design Pane: Understanding the canvas, toolbar, and component data menu.
  • 2️⃣ Cross-Sections: How to define and edit channel cross-sections within your project settings.
  • 3️⃣ Grid-Scale: Adjusting the size of each grid space to fit your design.
  • 4️⃣ Components: Adding pumps, vents, and chambers to your system by dragging and dropping.
  • 5️⃣ Component Data Menu: Editing component data and exploring the different options for each type of component.
  • 6️⃣ Other Toolbar Options: A quick overview of additional features like erasing, measuring, and grid snapping.,

Part 3: Testing and Simulation

In Part 3, we explore the Test pane, where you can simulate and visualize fluid flow in your system. This video is your comprehensive guide to testing fluidic designs.

👇 What You Will Learn

  • 1️⃣ Test Pane: A walkthrough of the canvas and toolbar, focusing on the latter for this video.
  • 2️⃣ Fluid Menu & Library: How to introduce fluids into your system and customize fluid properties.
  • 3️⃣ Turning on the Pump: Testing pumps by controlling their speed and visualizing fluid flow.
  • 4️⃣ Parallel Paths: Understanding the behavior of fluid in parallel output paths.
  • 5️⃣ Moving Fluid: Simulating the dynamic flow and the balancing effect in parallel paths.
  • 6️⃣ Other Toolbar Options: Exploring additional features like resetting the design, inspecting pressure, and modifying simulation speed.

Part 4: Mixing Fluids in a Chamber

In Part 4, we focus on a fundamental application in fluidics—mixing fluids in a chamber. This video provides a deep dive into the practical aspects of fluid mixing, balancing the pros and cons of using CFD, and how Flow Circuits offers an efficient alternative.

👇 What You Will Learn

  • 1️⃣ Why Mix Fluids: The importance of fluid mixing in various applications like biotechnology and industrial processes.
  • 2️⃣ What is Bubble Mixing: An overview of a common method for fluid mixing in a chamber.
  • 3️⃣ CFD vs Flow Circuits: A comparison highlighting the strengths and limitations of using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD).
  • 4️⃣ Design Steps: How to set up your fluid mixing design, involving input chambers, mixing chambers, and output chambers.
  • 5️⃣ Testing the Design: Walkthrough of testing the mixing process, visualizing fluid properties, and understanding the end-to-end process.`,

Part 5: Building a Device With Multiple Layers

Today, we're going to talk about a feature that significantly amplifies the capabilities of your designs—using multiple layers.

👇 What You Will Learn

  • 1️⃣ Why Multiple Layers: Understand the key advantages of incorporating multiple layers into your design, including optimizing space, enabling channel cross-overs, and segregating functional parts.
  • 2️⃣ Adding a Layer: Step-by-step guidance on how to add a new layer to your design, including layer architecture.
  • 3️⃣ Layer Navigation: Learn various ways to navigate between layers, including hotkeys and built-in options within Flow Circuits.
  • 4️⃣ Design With Vias: A practical example illustrating how to use a via component to connect multiple layers effectively.

Part 6: Scripting and Automation

In this episode, we delve into scripting and automation—a key feature to bring your fluidic systems to life.

👇 What You Will Learn

  • 1️⃣ Scripting Panel: Navigate to the Test pane and access the Script Panel to initiate your system’s programming.
  • 2️⃣ Script Panel Elements: Understand the seven types of actions to control your fluidic system, including valve settings, pump operations, and more.
  • 3️⃣ Example Script: A live example illustrating how to program a basic script, including sequential actions to control fluid flow.
  • 4️⃣ Script Downloads: Learn how to download and integrate these script files into your actual hardware, enabling streamlined development.`,

Part 7: Using Optical Sensors for Metering

In this episode, we explore the powerful concept of metering fluids using sensors and scripting.

👇 What You Will Learn

  • 1️⃣ Why Meter?: Understand the significance of metering in fluid control, useful in fine-tuning reactions or dividing fluid volumes.
  • 2️⃣ Adding a Sensor: Introduction to the ‘Sensor’ component and its role in closed-loop feedback for fluid metering.
  • 3️⃣ System Design: A step-by-step walkthrough of building a fluid metering system, starting from an input chamber to inline valves, vents, and an output chamber.
  • 4️⃣ Scripting: A detailed script creation process that coordinates pumps and valves based on sensor feedback for precise metering.

Part 8: Using Hydrophobic Filters to Join Fluid Slugs

Today, we address a very prevalent issue in fluidics—how to join fluid slugs seamlessly without air gaps.

👇 What You Will Learn

  • 1️⃣ Why It's Needed: Learn why eliminating air gaps between fluid slugs is critical in fluidics.
  • 2️⃣ How It Works: Discover the science behind using hydrophobic filters to remove air gaps and create a continuous fluid flow.
  • 3️⃣ System Design: A comprehensive guide to design a system that allows joining of fluid slugs.
  • 4️⃣ Testing: Observe the fluid behavior before and after adding a hydrophobic vent to the system.`,

Part 9: Using Rotary Valves for Complex Routing

Today, we dive into an essential component that can simplify complex fluidic routing—rotary valves.

👇 What You Will Learn

  • 1️⃣ Why Rotary Valves: Understand the unique advantages of rotary valves in fluidic systems.
  • 2️⃣ Distribution with Rotary Valves: A hands-on guide to using a rotary valve for selecting between multiple outputs.
  • 3️⃣ Complex Routing with Rotary Valves: Learn how to configure the rotary valve for different scenarios, focusing on stator and rotor connections.`,

Part 10: Building Your Device

In this last video, we will walk you through how to turn your Flow Circuits design into a real-world fluidic device. From selecting an appropriate architecture to working with CAD models and getting professional engineering support, we cover it all here.

👇 What You Will Learn

  • 1️⃣ Choosing Architectures: A rundown of the different methods to build your device. Understand when to use injection molding, 3D printing, manifolds, tubing sets, and more.
  • 2️⃣ Navigating the Build Pane: Learn how to use the Flow Circuits Build pane to translate your designs to real-world applications.
  • 3️⃣ Generating Models: A hands-on demonstration of how to generate CAD models for your chosen architecture.
  • 4️⃣ Professional Services: Discover the wide array of engineering services available to make your fluidic device development seamless and efficient.`,

Get Started

Flow Circuits is powerful, easy to use, and practical. It takes two minutes to get set up.