To use the tinkercad platform, create an account at https://www.tinkercad.com/
Tinkercad is a free app for 3D design, electronics and coding. You can use it to build and simulate arduino projects. Simulation is something really important in engineering, because when a project involves a lot of money, it’s important to simulate the environment and perform tests to make sure the solution works as expected.
There are a lot of components you can use, and we use some of them all the time at our club!
We prepared a few circuits to get you started:
1.LED Blink
The most simple circuit you can build with an Arduino is to make an LED blink. You can use the link to check the simulation.
Tinkercad simulation: https://www.tinkercad.com/things/30vabsBHusm
2.Ultrasonic Sensors:
The ultrasonic sensor is able to determine the distance of an object. It uses ultrasonic pulses to calculate the distance of the object it’s pointing to.
Tinkercad simulation: https://www.tinkercad.com/things/bI75hUzmPIw
3. Motors
Arduinos are also really useful for controlling motors. However, an arduino cannot supply enough current to power a motor, so you need a motor controller to help with the current supply for the motors. There are multiple motor controllers you can use, and some of the popular ones are called L293D and L298N.
Tinkercad simulation: https://www.tinkercad.com/things/lRpL1hP8P0a
4. Wall Detecting Robot
We can use the ultrasonic sensor and two motors to build a wall detecting robot! By getting the distance from the ultrasonic sensor, we can code the motors to stop whenever the robot gets too close to an object. In this simulation, the motors turn off if the distance to the sensor is smaller than 70 cm.
Tinkercad simulation: https://www.tinkercad.com/things/2WMVzKSR1sZ