Are you a beginner in the world of Arduino? Still in the learning phase and you want to test run your codes/circuits before using your beloved Arduino? Of course, you don’t want to damage it. So what’s the solution?
You need a Simulator to test your projects. In this article, I will be introducing you to a free online Arduino simulator software for your projects called the Tinkercad.
What is a Simulator?
Simulator is a software designed to represent a realistic imitation of a device. In electronics Simulators are used to test a circuit. With the help of simulators we can see how a component performs within a circuit and what results we get in different scenarios.
There are many simulator software for Arduino but most of them are paid (monthly/yearly subscriptions). Here we will see a free online simulator called TinkerCad.
What is TinkerCAD?
TinkerCAD is an online free simulation tool for arduino. Using this application we can design different circuits, program arduino and test how it performs. Along with circuit design TinkerCAD also provides a CAD design app where you can design and export parts for 3D printing.
Getting Started:
First head over to Tinkercad.com and signup. You can use a social media account to do so. After signing up with Tinkercad you will see a page with a menu on left hand side. Here select “Circuits”.
Now click on “New Circuit Design” and you will see a screen as:
Here you’ll see a blank canvas. On the left side you can see a part list, You can drag and drop any component on the canvas and connect it as a circuit. You can use the following controls:
- Rotate tool: It can be used to rotate any component
- Delete: Will delete the selected component from canvas
- Undo: Removes a change
- Redo: Reverts back to the change
- Annotation: helps add notes to circuit
- Code: Helps write code for arduino
- Start Simulation: As the name suggests, it begins the simulation
- Search: Lets you find a particular part from the list.
Simple Simulation:
Follow the steps to make a simple arduino simulation:
- In the search bar type “Arduino”. You will notice arduino uno, just drag it into the working area.
- Now search for LED and resistor and drag those into the work area.
- Make the connections as you would in the real world.
- Now click on “code” and from the drop down menu select “text”
- Here you will notice an arduino code. This is simple blink example code. Just hit the “Start Simulation” button.
Final Note:
Now that you are familiar with TinkerCAD, you can start practicing your circuit building and coding skills. As this is a web application you don’t need any fancy powerful computer.
I hope you learned something new today. If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comment section.
