New maker lab getting set up, advice appretiated

[Dao20]

Hello, I am trying to help out a local organization called Boundless Connections in Olean NY. They're in the process of receiving the funding and in the mean time I told them about Adafruit & would very much like to have them do all of there ordering through you guys, as I know that you will take very good care of them. I really respect everything that they are doing there, from educating kids to encouraging empowerment and equality in the work space and everywhere else to for that matter too. How would they go about ordering from you guys? Are there any discounts? What things would you recommend for a beginning & growing learning space? I have also been telling them about your line of Feathers & the Micro-Python programming language. The founders of the group have backgrounds in programming but not in languages like Python or Arduino.


Your Circuit Playground developer edition, product 3000. Would you say that that is ready to be used in a classroom setting where kids would be using & learning with it? Additionally, have you guys considered a plastic case for it that would allow access to the switches, thermostat and gator clip contacts etc? While providing the added protection and durability so it could better survive a classroom environment.

Could you guys possibly also suggest a good 3D printer? Just like most other learning spaces, they are going to have one or more 3D printers for the students to use and I am hoping that you (or Noe & Pedro) might be able to suggest a good one. I'm guessing that they would be looking in the $2000 to $4000 range; though I am not positive.

I was also looking at the Pi laptop that you guys have, and was wondering; say with a raspberry pie 3 being used in it. What kind of capabilities would it have? Do you think that it could suffice for the students to use & learn with in class instead of having to purchase far more expensive Windows or Mac laptops?


Thank you in advance.

Danon

[adafruit_support_bill]

We do have an educational discount program. If you contact [email protected] with a link to this thread, they will help you set that up.

The Circuit Playground is a great platform for learning microcontroller basics. It has a lot of built-in devices, so students can focus more on coding than on wiring them up. You will probably also want to have a supply of breadboards, jumpers and alligator clips for when you do want to wire in additional sensors, displays or other devices.

For 3D Printers, I've been very impressed by the Ultimaker. Very easy to setup and run. And the print quality has been consistently excellent.

I will forward your question to the rest of the team. They may have additional feedback on that and your other questions.

[Dao20]

Thanks Bill.

I wasn't sure which I should post that initial post so I also sent it to support@ada... and they did tell me about the educators discount code of ADAEDU.

For the Circuit Playground, of course the wires and other sensors are going to be a must. I am still a little concerned about the durability n longevity of the CP given the potential abuse of even it being handled and used correctly by multiple students over the course of months or more. That's why I asked about a case for it. I believe that Limor had commented about having ideas for another version of the CP, is it not a good plan to right yet to assume that you guys are going to stick with this design, hence no case for it, or is it just with the '5000' other things that yall have going it just hasn't gotten designed & made yet?

For the 3D printer thank you for the recommend of the Ultimaker, though I do want to ask. Whatever happened to you guys carrying & praising so highly the Taz printers? Did they fall off in quality or just get bested by the Ultimaker?

Thanks again ;
Danon

[adafruit_support_bill]

There are lots of products and projects in the pipeline. I expect that the Circuit Playground will evolve. But the current incarnation is still a very versatile platform for many interesting projects.

As for printer selection, I'm not involved in the decision making process. But the technology is developing rapidly and what is best-in-class today may be just average tomorrow. Noe & Pedro are following developments closely and can probably offer more up-to-the-minute advice on what looks good.

[adafruit2]

we haven't designed a case, so no ETA on that.
its *fairly* durable. at least as durable as any other electronics. there's nothing to snag or pull off. i guess if you dunk it in water you could damage the microphone but a case wouldn't help with that :)

[Dao20]

I've looked it over n could see that there wasn't anything easily damageable. I was just thinking of solder joints getting stressed n LED's getting scratched or damaged. You know kids. I have a design idea & have been meaning to practice my 3D designing, do you know where I can get a file that I cld open & work with in Fusion 360 for the Circuit playground? If anything, cld offer it out to people n they cld 3D print there own. LED's wont show as well as if it were clear plastic but it wld definitely protect it pretty well.

[adafruit_support_bill]

The EagleCAD files we use to manufacture the boards are here: https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit-Ci ... ground-PCB

[Dao20]

OK. how do I either view or download & view the files? I downloaded an installed Eagle, but. I click on either of the gethub files & it just says for both files that it 'can't open something this large right now'. Any suggestions?

[adafruit_support_bill]

CADSoft has a free educational version of Eagle CAD here: https://cadsoft.io/buy/educational/1/USD

[Dao20]

I saw the educational version but it says that I wld need a .EDU email address that I don't have. So I down loaded the Express version. Is there possibly a way around needing a .EDU email address? And I don't understand how just downloading the software would help in either viewing the files online or downloading them so I can open them using Eagle on my PC?

[adafruit_support_bill]

I think that the Express version has some limits on the size and complexity of what you can do with it. But most of the Adafruit boards should fit within those restrictions.

To download the Circuit Playground CAD files, there is a green button on the right of the screen in Github labeled "Clone or Download". You can download a zip file and open it on your PC.

[Dao20]

Thank you. I had tried the green button and that was how I would get that message. However in my sleep deprived boneheadedness, I neglected log in. Which of course once I did it worked just fine.

Thank you;
Danon

[YochiB]

I am a classically trained EE & Comp Sci veteran (C++, digital logic, analog...), and am tasked with setting up a STEAM program, on the fly but well-funded.
I just saw some of Tony Di's vids on Circuit Python and some Circuit Playground vids. Great! I'm new to Python, but IT is the language software should be taught with!
Is Circuit Python getting traction? Are there educator plan books or other resources?
Which Circuit Playground with which Circuit Python would be the most robust combination? Saving files instead of compile..download..is very intuitive.

I wish to establish interactive talking to hardware to engage students grade 9-12 as soon as possible.
Thanks!

[Franklin97355]

This might be a good resource. https://blog.adafruit.com/2017/07/20/ad ... -adafruit/