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Engineering

Build it, test it, improve it. An elective layer on top of the core curriculum for schools with kits, a makerspace or a STEM elective: mechanisms, circuits and microcontrollers, CAD and 3D printing. Each lesson teaches one engineering idea on a board or simulator, then a design brief tests it against criteria. It applies maths, science and code rather than re-teaching them.

Mechanisms

Gears, levers and pulleys trade speed or distance for force; cranks, cams and linkages change one motion into another.

Start here: no kits needed, and every lesson works in the browser.

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Structures

Frames, trusses and beams, and why some structures stand while others fold, buckle or sag.

Start here to see why bridges and towers are full of triangles.

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Physical computing

Circuits, sensors and motors, from the micro:bit in Tinkercad to Arduino C++ on real hardware.

Start here to wire real circuits and program a microcontroller in text code.

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CAD and fabrication

Design parts to size in Tinkercad and Onshape, then 3D print or laser cut them.

Start here to design a part that fits, then print it.

Open the CAD and fabrication trail →

Design your own board

From breadboard to protoboard and soldering, then a schematic and a PCB.

Start here to turn a breadboard circuit into a board of your own.

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Mechanisms

Gears, levers and pulleys trade speed or distance for force; cranks, cams and linkages change one motion into another.

Foundations

MechanismsGears, levers and pulleys: trade speed or distance for strength.How mechanisms trade one thing for another. Gears trade speed for turning force; levers and pulleys trade distance for force, by the same factor; a design brief decides which trade is right.

Extensions

Linkages and camsChange how things move.Machines rarely want the motion a motor gives them. A crank and slider turns rotation into back and forth, a cam's shape becomes a follower's path, and four bars turn a crank into a rocking arm, if their lengths allow it.After: Mechanisms

Structures

Frames, trusses and beams, and why some structures stand while others fold, buckle or sag.

Foundations

StructuresBuild it so it stays up.How frames and beams hold loads up: members that pull or push, triangles that keep their shape, long pushed members that buckle, and beams whose shape matters more than their weight. It ends with a bridge to a budget, tested to failure.After: Mechanisms

Physical computing

Circuits, sensors and motors, from the micro:bit in Tinkercad to Arduino C++ on real hardware.

Foundations

Circuits with the micro:bitWire an LED, a button and a sensor.Wire parts to a micro:bit's pins: a complete loop, a resistor to protect an LED, a button as an input, and a sensor that gives a number. Each idea is tried on a board first, then built for real in Tinkercad Circuits. Builds on micro:bit Foundations.ArduinoFrom blocks to C++ on a real board.The same circuits on an Arduino Uno, now in C++: pins by number, setup() and loop(), variables and decisions, the serial monitor and PWM. Each sketch runs on a board in the lesson, and each lesson has a step to build it in Tinkercad Circuits. The last unit moves to a real breadboard and a project tested against a brief.After: Circuits with the micro:bit

Extensions

Power and motorsMake it move.Make things move. Why a pin can't run a motor, motor drivers and the H-bridge, two supplies with one ground, and choosing a battery, then LiPo safety before any LiPo is used. Years 9–10, after Arduino.After: ArduinoCapstone projectsDesign, build and prove it.Design projects that bring the Engineering pathways together. Pick one: each follows the design cycle (Inquire, Develop, Create, Test, Evaluate), starts from a brief with criteria and constraints, prototypes the logic on a board where it can, builds in a simulator and then for real, and is evaluated against the brief with test evidence.After: Arduino

CAD and fabrication

Design parts to size in Tinkercad and Onshape, then 3D print or laser cut them.

Foundations

Design and printDesign a part that fits.Design parts that fit and print well: dimensions and walls, clearances between parts, which way up to print, and the slicer's trade-offs between time, plastic and strength. Each idea on a board first, then in Tinkercad and on the printer.

Extensions

Parametric designChange one number, update the model.Design with dimensions that are linked, so changing one number updates the model; then cut flat parts on a laser and allow for the kerf. Years 9–10, after Design and print.After: Design and print

Design your own board

From breadboard to protoboard and soldering, then a schematic and a PCB.

Extensions

Your own boardDesign a circuit board.From a working breadboard to a printed circuit board: place the parts, route the copper on one or two layers, and meet the design rules before ordering. Then design a real one in KiCad or EasyEDA in the Capstone projects.