Electronic constructor- great entertainment for the child, which allows you to combine the game with the acquisition of knowledge about physical world. Being engaged in the creation of electronic circuits, the child will get acquainted with the world of electronics and will get great pleasure from the gameplay.

The electronic designer is most useful for children. At this time, they receive basic knowledge about electronics, and playing with the designer allows them to deepen. The student has the opportunity to independently create a sound simulator, a voice recorder, or all these radio-electronic devices are contained in the abstract that comes with the designer.

Not only schoolchildren, but also younger children can play with the electronic designer. The fact is that to create an electronic circuit, the parts do not need to be soldered - they are connected using buttons. This allows you to easily and quickly do what you want. electronic device. And if you don’t like the result, then the details can be disassembled. And start all over again.

When purchasing an electronic designer, remember that only children over 4 years old can play with it on their own. The construction set contains many small parts that the baby can accidentally swallow. Therefore, if your child has not yet reached the recommended age, then assemble the electronic circuits yourself, and the child will watch with interest all the ongoing manipulations.

In the production of the designer, only environmentally friendly materials are used - non-toxic plastic and metal connecting elements. This ensures that (subject to the rules of operation) the parts of the designer will not emit any harmful chemicals.

Assembly of electronic circuits can be carried out both on the table and on a special plastic platform, which is included in the kit. But, of course, the second option is much more practical and convenient - the finished electronic device can be easily transferred from place to place, due to the fact that all its elements are fixed on a rigid and solid "substrate".

Electronic designers create different manufacturers. In Russia, the electronic designer "Expert" is especially popular. There are many reasons for this. It is noteworthy that the electronic designer can be produced in different variations (the number of schemes varies). Naturally, the more of them, the higher the price, since the kit includes additional parts.

As already mentioned, complete with a high-quality designer comes detailed instructions, in which you can find images of electronic circuits. The number of them depends on the variation of the designer. At the very beginning of the abstract there are schemes, the assembly of which is not particularly difficult - even a preschooler can design them. On subsequent sheets, the complexity of the circuits increases. It is better to start the game with the simplest options.

In general, an electronic designer is a great way to keep your child entertained with an exciting game that will increase their intellectual abilities. In addition, the game with the designer develops fine motor skills of the hands - in the future, when the baby learns to write, this will undoubtedly be beneficial. And for schoolchildren, the designer will facilitate the acquisition of knowledge about electronics and translate this process into a game form.

The idea of ​​creating an electronic construction set has been on my mind for a long time. As a child, I had an EKON-1 constructor and I wanted to create something similar, but at a modern level. The Connoisseur rules the ball on the market, there are also examples of modular constructors abroad, but the price and exchange rate are not pleasing to the eye.

On the other hand, there were interesting developments in the USSR (one of them still lives in Germany and is being produced):

I also wanted something “warm” in materials, such as wood. In 2014, within the framework of the PROSTOROBOT project, the idea of ​​electronic cubes was born, which in 2015 even received a prize from AIDT for the idea at one of the qualifying stages of the Startup Tour.

Also at this time, I came up with the logic board game "Chain", which allowed you to play " electrical circuits". The game can be freely downloaded and printed from the link.

Time passed. The cubes had to be put aside, since the price of magnets of the required power made them quite expensive. The game "Chain" waited for its turn to be finalized.

In 2016, I decided to return to the project and "got" the cubes. The first idea was to use the same cubes, but make fasteners like spring contacts and glue a cardboard box with cells, on the walls of which the contacts would be located:

The design turned out to be cumbersome, and due to the low rigidity of the walls, the cubes did not provide the desired quality of contact.

Engineering thought moved on. A small digression on the choice of material. Can you reasonably say why I did not use 3D printing or laser cutting? The answer is simple - I don’t have a 3D printer (more precisely, there is nowhere to put it in the apartment), and the nearest sane cutting in terms of price and quality is 500 kilometers from my city. Even finding thin plywood turned out to be an unrealistic quest, not to mention a special model one. Plus, I have long wanted to try the material familiar to fans of board games - cardboard.

The second option was to apply the method that I had already used earlier when designing Scratchduino - that is, 2.5 modeling of the constructor blocks themselves and magnets for fastening. This method did not require powerful expensive magnets, and at home I had a supply of cylindrical 5 mm magnets of different heights (2 and 3 mm).

It was also decided to first make a “physical” analogue of the board game “Chain”, since it required a field only 4x4, and then after collecting all the “bumps”, make the assembly field larger (at least 4x6, but better 6x8).

There was one more question - from what to make contacts. The ideal is a copper strip. The problem of the ideal is where to get it. Also, copper is non-magnetic and it would be necessary to put magnets on the field and on the blocks. Taking into account the fact that more powerful magnets would be needed to place them under the contacts (and this means both money and time for shipment), the search for a suitable material continued. And the eye fell on the staples for the stapler. The houses had staples of various sizes, they were steel (that is, they conducted current and were magnetized) and there were a lot of them.

As a result, the list of necessary components was determined - staples for stapler No. 35 (26/6 1 pack), neodymium magnets C-5x2-N35 and C-5x3-N35 with nickel coating (conductive), cardboard (microcorrugated cardboard left over from packages from - under photos and boxes), wire, solder, LED, resistor, microbulb, diode and button. To glue the parts, it was decided to use PVA glue, and an ordinary hole punch came up to punch holes for the magnets.

The materials were determined, the dimensions too (cell 40x40 mm, block 38x38 mm) and the direct process began.

The field is a sheet of cardboard, marked into squares 40x40 mm, the side faces of which are “stapled” in the center with a block of staples.

I took the staples the same as for blocks-cubes, but immediately made the first mistake. I did not see that the staples were covered with a non-conductive material on top and therefore had to be protected later. I also tried to tin them (which turned out to be not very high quality) and the size of the brackets should be taken more so as not to depend on the errors in the manufacture of blocks. If you decide to repeat this design, take staples about 20 mm wide and make a block 1 cm wide.

The staples were inserted into the slots in the cardboard and folded over reverse side. In the photo, the side wires are needed to "imitate" the common bus of the board game "Chain" and in the final version of the designer they will be replaced by blocks.

So, as a result of this painstaking work, we get a field with contact pads, to which our contact magnets are well magnetized.

Now it was necessary to make the blocks themselves with conductors and radio components. The problem was also that in the board game there were elements with a cross-shaped intersection and crossing conductors, and it was impossible to ensure the contact of all 4 magnets (remember how many points the plane passes through). Therefore, it was decided to abandon such blocks and make the maximum of T-shaped elements. For crossing elements, I plan to use special wire bridges in the future.

The block itself consists of three squares of cardboard measuring 38x38 mm. On average, holes are made for magnets and slots for brackets. On top of it, a second square is glued to the PVA glue only with slots for staples. After that, a small magnet 5x2 mm is installed in the hole, closed from above with a block of brackets that are bent on the other side. Radio components or conductors are soldered to them. On the other hand, we put magnets 5x3 mm and glue a square with holes. Due to the fact that the magnets "stick" to the magnets under the brackets, they hold very tightly and do not remain on the field.

Thus, we produce blanks with two and three magnetic platforms. Then solder the conductors or radio components.

We glue cardboard strips on top (two or three layers depending on the height of the parts) and close everything with a cardboard “lid”, on which we draw a designation with a marker (straight conductor, angular, T-shaped or radio element).

As a result, we got such a field and a set of details. I did not make the battery in the form of a block (although there is an idea to use a 5 V tablet in the future), but I made an element with two wires to which 3 batteries are connected.

During testing, it turned out that the bulb did not light up if there was an LED or a resistor in the circuit, and the LED could not be used without resistance (the smell of burnt plastic clearly showed this). Therefore, to simulate the gameplay, it was decided to assemble a “signal” circuit from another LED and a resistor on a breadboard, and simplify the game a little, leaving only one LED that needs to be “lit” to win. This turned out to be not critical, and this option was even more interesting, as it allowed changing the starting conditions of the game. The Circuit game itself in the tabletop version will also be redesigned and moved to a larger board, with multiple lamps and LEDs and different starting positions.

Cards were also prepared for the game, by drawing which the player understands which element he can use. Below is the final photo of the radio constructor game, as well as the game process.

May 20, 2016 at 09:48 pm

"Electricity in squares" or how I made an electronic designer from improvised materials

• DIY or DIY,
• Games and game consoles

The idea of ​​creating an electronic construction set has been on my mind for a long time. As a child, I had an EKON-1 constructor and I wanted to create something similar, but at a modern level. The Connoisseur rules the ball on the market, there are also examples of modular constructors abroad, but the price and exchange rate are not pleasing to the eye.

On the other hand, there were interesting developments in the USSR (one of them still lives in Germany and is being produced).

I also wanted something “warm” in materials, such as wood. In 2014, within the framework of the PROSTOROBOT project, the idea of ​​electronic cubes was born, which in 2015 even received a prize from AIDT for the idea at one of the qualifying stages of the Startup Tour.

It was also around this time that I came up with the logic board game "Circuit", which allowed "electrical circuits" to be played. The game can be freely downloaded and printed from the link.

Time passed. The cubes had to be put aside, since the price of magnets of the required power made them quite expensive. The game "Chain" waited for its turn to be finalized.

In 2016, I decided to return to the project and "got" the cubes. The first idea was to use the same cubes, but make fasteners like spring contacts and glue a cardboard box with cells, on the walls of which the contacts would be located:

The design turned out to be cumbersome, and due to the low rigidity of the walls, the cubes did not provide the desired quality of contact.

Engineering thought moved on. A small digression on the choice of material. Can you reasonably say why I did not use 3D printing or laser cutting? The answer is simple - I don’t have a 3D printer (more precisely, there is nowhere to put it in the apartment), and the nearest sane cutting in terms of price and quality is 500 kilometers from my city. Even finding thin plywood turned out to be an unrealistic quest, not to mention a special model one. Plus, I have long wanted to try the material familiar to fans of board games - cardboard.

The second option was to apply the method that I had already used earlier when designing Scratchduino - that is, 2.5 modeling of the constructor blocks themselves and magnets for fastening. This method did not require powerful expensive magnets, and at home I had a supply of cylindrical 5 mm magnets of different heights (2 and 3 mm).

It was also decided to first make a “physical” analogue of the board game “Chain”, since it required a field only 4x4, and then after collecting all the “bumps”, make the assembly field larger (at least 4x6, but better 6x8).

There was one more question - from what to make contacts. The ideal is a copper strip. The problem of the ideal is where to get it. Also, copper is non-magnetic and it would be necessary to put magnets on the field and on the blocks. Taking into account the fact that more powerful magnets would be needed to place them under the contacts (and this means both money and time for shipment), the search for a suitable material continued. And the eye fell on the staples for the stapler. The houses had staples of various sizes, they were steel (that is, they conducted current and were magnetized) and there were a lot of them.

As a result, the list of necessary components was determined - staples for stapler No. 35 (26/6 1 pack), neodymium magnets C-5x2-N35 and C-5x3-N35 with nickel coating (conductive), cardboard (microcorrugated cardboard left over from packages from - under photos and boxes), wire, solder, LED, resistor, microbulb, diode and button. To glue the parts, it was decided to use PVA glue, and an ordinary hole punch came up to punch holes for the magnets.

The materials were determined, the dimensions too (cell 40x40 mm, block 38x38 mm) and the direct process began.

The field is a sheet of cardboard, marked into squares 40x40 mm, the side faces of which are “stapled” in the center with a block of staples.

I took the staples the same as for blocks-cubes, but immediately made the first mistake. I did not see that the staples were covered with a non-conductive material on top and therefore had to be protected later. I also tried to tin them (which turned out to be not very high quality) and the size of the brackets should be taken more so as not to depend on the errors in the manufacture of blocks. If you decide to repeat this design, take staples about 20 mm wide and make a block 1 cm wide.

The staples were inserted into the slots in the cardboard and bent from the back. In the photo, the side wires are needed to "imitate" the common bus of the board game "Chain" and in the final version of the designer they will be replaced by blocks.

So, as a result of this painstaking work, we get a field with contact pads, to which our contact magnets are well magnetized.

Now it was necessary to make the blocks themselves with conductors and radio components. The problem was also that in the board game there were elements with a cross-shaped intersection and crossing conductors, and it was impossible to ensure the contact of all 4 magnets (remember how many points the plane passes through). Therefore, it was decided to abandon such blocks and make the maximum of T-shaped elements. For crossing elements, I plan to use special wire bridges in the future.

The block itself consists of three squares of cardboard measuring 38x38 mm. On average, holes are made for magnets and slots for brackets. On top of it, a second square is glued to the PVA glue only with slots for staples. After that, a small magnet 5x2 mm is installed in the hole, closed from above with a block of brackets that are bent on the other side. Radio components or conductors are soldered to them. On the other hand, we put magnets 5x3 mm and glue a square with holes. Due to the fact that the magnets "stick" to the magnets under the brackets, they hold very tightly and do not remain on the field.

Thus, we produce blanks with two and three magnetic platforms. Then solder the conductors or radio components.

We glue cardboard strips on top (two or three layers depending on the height of the parts) and close everything with a cardboard “lid”, on which we draw a designation with a marker (straight conductor, angular, T-shaped or radio element).

As a result, we got such a field and a set of details. I did not make the battery in the form of a block (although there is an idea to use a 5 V tablet in the future), but I made an element with two wires to which 3 batteries are connected.

During testing, it turned out that the bulb did not light up if there was an LED or a resistor in the circuit, and the LED could not be used without resistance (the smell of burnt plastic clearly showed this). Therefore, to simulate the gameplay, it was decided to assemble a “signal” circuit from another LED and a resistor on a breadboard, and simplify the game a little, leaving only one LED that needs to be “lit” to win. This turned out to be not critical, and this option was even more interesting, as it allowed changing the starting conditions of the game. The Circuit game itself in the tabletop version will also be redesigned and moved to a larger board, with multiple lamps and LEDs and different starting positions.

Cards were also prepared for the game, by drawing which the player understands which element he can use. Below is the final photo of the radio constructor game, as well as the game process.

Electronic constructor- an excellent educational game designed for a popular explanation in an interesting and exciting way of various physical phenomena and processes.

It is obligatory to buy an electronic designer for students of 6-11 grades, because it is no secret that for a complete and clear understanding of physics, only a school course is not enough. Therefore, today schools that use advanced teaching technologies in their educational process use electronic kits as a visual aid in practical classes in physics. And this is understandable, because modern electronic designers are developed on the basis of the latest achievements of science and technology and have received the highest praise from teachers.

Electronic kits are made of high-quality environmentally friendly plastic, reliable connecting elements, they use the most modern electronic components (switches, light bulbs, LEDs, electric motors, transistors, photoresistors, microphones, speakers, resistors, capacitors, integrated circuits, etc.).

Using an electronic construction set, a child will be able to assemble thousands of different electrical circuits and understand their corresponding circuits. Children's games of this type are equipped with convenient and understandable manuals and books, thanks to which the child will be able to independently assemble a radio receiver, a burglar alarm, or, for example, simple home automation devices.

A huge plus of modern electronic designers is the original method of connecting parts used in them, which does not require soldering, which eliminates the forced inhalation of harmful smoke.

Adults will also be interested in working with an electronic designer: even people experienced in electrical engineering and electronics will be able to discover something new. In any case, working with an electronic designer will bring a lot of pleasure to children and adults, help them find common interests and serve to strengthen mutual understanding between parents and children.

In this article I will talk about the three most interesting constructors of this type.

Children's electronic designers - "Microlaboratory" KIT EK-35, EK-39, EK-9889. They are invented and produced by the company "MASTER KIT". The designer consists of bright multi-colored parts, simple electrical devices are easily assembled. The marking of the designer's parts makes it easy to correlate them with the instructions. The instruction contains colorful schemes and drawings with explanatory text to them. The design of the parts ensures the simplicity of their connection.

The most powerful constructor of those listed is the "Research Center" EK-9889. According to the manufacturer, it allows you to collect more than 9 thousand circuits!

More famous and popular electronic designers of the Znatok series, which are available in versions with a different number of parts, and therefore, the ability to assemble more interesting circuits and devices. Conventionally, the sets are called "180 schemes", "320 schemes", "999 schemes" - the division is based on the number of parts and schemes included in the brochure-instruction accompanying each designer.

The set consists of a range of components, electronics and wires of varying lengths - each with a number in a box. The designer uses an original way of connecting parts, which does not require soldering.

Electrical circuits that can be assembled on such a constructor are not only educational in nature, but also suitable for practical use, clearly demonstrating the operation of electrical circuits. For example, a real FM radio with automatic tuning at the station. In the manual, only one assembly method is given for each circuit. The constructor contains dozens of components that allow you to assemble thousands of different electrical circuits.

The circuits use manual, magnetic, light, sound, electric, as well as touch control. By assembling the circuit, you can get an acoustic, optical or electrical output signal. Circuits with similar names are built using completely different circuits and allow you to see the whole variety of electronic technologies.

From the same manufacturer, a new designer of the series deserves attention - "Alternative Energy Sources", which is built on the same principles as "Expert": Electronic constructor "Alternative energy sources".

The constructor allows you to understand the principles of operation of modern resource-saving technologies. The electronic designer considers 5 programs on topics: solar energy, wind energy, water energy, hydrogen energy and mechanical energy. The set comes with a color book - a guide to assembling 130 projects. If you wish, you can come up with new projects yourself and collect them. All elements of this set are compatible with other electronic designers of the "Znatok" series.

And one more set for studying electronics that I want to draw your attention to - electronic designer MNKTS. A feature of this set is that, in addition to various parts and simple elements used in other toys of this type, it includes the PIC18F4550 microcontroller - PMK 018.

This kit allows you to repeatedly assemble-disassemble, program and connect electronic devices with a computer on a breadboard from the radio components included in the kit, measure and influence physical quantities through a computer interface.

An electronic designer will be useful as a person who understands nothing in electronics, providing an opportunity not only to understand it, but also to quickly assemble an interesting electronic device. It can also be useful for experienced radio amateurs, as it contains the most popular electronic elements.

The vast majority of parents want their child to study and develop well, but at the same time, not everyone agrees to have garbage, wire cuttings and rosin smells in the apartment. The electronic designers described in the article are just good because they exclude machining and soldering. Everything is clean and tidy. Such kits help children learn the basics of electrical engineering and electronics well, teach them to apply knowledge in practice. They become more understandable formulas and laws of physics, chemistry, mathematics. With practical design, they become not an empty phrase, but practical skills, a guide to action.

Painstaking, connected with overcoming difficulties, developing perseverance and ingenuity, work with the designer brings up industriousness, initiative in children and helps in the formation of their character. The one who plays with the designer will not necessarily become a scientist or engineer, but the acquired knowledge and skills will be useful to him in any job!

Electronic designers are well known to many from Soviet times: it was very interesting to assemble circuits and watch how the device starts to really work! Today, such sets are also on sale, and they have become even better and more interesting.

A set of electronic blocks and connections that allows you to design electrical circuits without soldering.

The manufacturer of these kits today: Connoisseur.

In the series there are different electronic designers, differ in the number of circuits.

The largest set is 999 schemes + school.

Electronic designer Connoisseur came out in new version"For educational institutions". This is 21 practical lessons for school and many schemes for extra classes. And for the home, this set is a real dream!

The main task of practical classes is to show the connection between the school curriculum and the modern life around us. That is why the constructor contains elements that are present in almost all the technology around us - computers, phones, cars, photo and video cameras, televisions, musical equipment, etc.

Practical classes are consistent with the existing school curriculum and physics textbooks for grades 8, 9, 10 and 11. But as education becomes more and more differentiated, the tasks are not divided into classes, but into 3 groups different levels difficulties:

Blue - entry level;
Green - medium level;
Red - the level is above average.

A practical lesson contains one or more tasks. The teacher, depending on the level of preparedness and career guidance of students, may require the completion of all tasks or only part of them.

Suggested practical tasks can be done while studying following topics and sections: Mechanical vibrations and waves. Sound, Fundamentals of electronics, Integrated circuits, Digital technology. Logic circuits, Electrical phenomena. Direct current, Electromagnetic phenomena, Electrostatics, Electricity in various environments. semiconductor components.

The specified product was highly appreciated by specialists in the field of electronics, and was also tested in many Russian schools and institutions working with children.

There is a smaller set, for example, 180 schemes:

Very good designer!

From the reviews:

I bought a similar one for my son when he was 5 years old and, frankly, I was worried - is it not too early, whether the child will be able to understand what it is, what is the point of constructing all kinds of schemes and, most importantly, whether he will be interested.

At first, my son and I assembled simple circuits together, and most of all I was pleased that on the third day he himself (of course, using the instructions attached to the designer) was able to assemble a relatively complex device without anyone's help and was sincerely happy about it.

So, despite the apparent complexity and the use of the "dark forces of electricity" in the constructor, even a small child who has not yet reached school age, with the help of parents, will be able to understand it and in the future create various schemes that implement various special effects.

What can we say for schoolchildren: they can deal with the schemes themselves, already without the help of their parents, and this one is really very interesting!

With these construction sets, real magic is manifested - several connected elements, and now, under the breath of a breeze, a sound is born, when a person approaches, a light comes on, music is heard from nowhere (with the help of a designer, you can also assemble a simple radio) - so please your children, and at the same time in teach the simplest basics of electrical engineering in a playful way.

Physics in action! The essence of the designer is that you need to assemble electrical circuits according to the schemes, with proper assembly, either the light bulb lights up, or the fan turns on, or music plays, etc. Moreover, according to one scheme, when making various changes to it, it is possible to achieve, for example, that the propeller from the fan takes off into the air or the light bulb and the LED will flash alternately. For younger kids, it's amazing! For older children - live physics.

The constructor is made with high quality, everything works, the parts are attached perfectly, according to the principle of buttons.

In addition, the Connoisseur releases a series of Magic Tricks with Hmayak Hakobyan for games, electronic sound posters, and much more.

Electronic constructor "Alternative energy sources"

This is also a set from a series.

Security environment- This global problem, which has no borders and crosses all oceans. The destruction of the environment by industry leads to irreversible consequences for life on the planet.

The constructor allows you to understand the principles of operation of innovative resource-saving technologies.

The electronic designer considers 5 programs on topics: solar energy, wind energy, water energy, hydrogen energy, mechanical energy.

A color book is attached to the designer - a guide for assembling 126 projects.

If you wish, you can come up with new projects yourself and collect them. All elements of this construction kit are compatible with other electronic construction kits of the Znatok series.

Radio-controlled all-terrain vehicle "Leader"

Also from the Connoisseur series.

A new electronic designer for creating a radio-controlled all-terrain vehicle; machines working in the dark, and more than 20 different projects.

Open the box and find: over 30 different model building parts; remote controller remote control; all-terrain vehicle body; detailed color instructions; description of more than 20 different projects; special projects for those who have already become the owner of the "Znatok" constructor, since the details of this constructor are compatible with the details of other series.

If you present this set to your child, he will be able to: assemble different cars; control the car with the remote control - make it move forward and backward, left and right; turn on and off headlights, red and blue marker lights; observe the movement of mechanisms in the car; work on many different electronics projects; connect parts and get different sound effects; learn Morse code; see how the machine assembled by him moves in complete darkness; create a machine with two signal volume levels; build your own lighthouse fun to spend time for not only very interesting, but also very informative and useful activity.

With the help of unique schemes, you can create numerous educational projects available described in the instructions. More than 20 projects. A very useful toy and a great gift for a boy.