The intension of Arduino when introducing the Plug-and-Make kit is descibed as "Plug and Make Kit is the easiest way to get started with Arduino". What when you come to an end with the seven modules included in that kit?
Well, actually you can add any I2C sensor provided that
- it works with 3.3 volts
- it offers an I2C address that is unique on the bus
- the library for that module supports Wire1 (otherwise you have to code yourself)
- you find a way to fix this module somewhere on the base board, screw holes preferred
If the module is not equipped with a Qwiic connector you will need an adapter cable.
If the module only works with 5 volts you have to insert a level-shifter plus an extra wire for Vcc.
In this project we are using an MPU6050. This module is introduced by InvenSense as The MPU-60X0 Motion Processing Unit is the world’s first motion processing solution with integrated 9-Axis sensor fusion using its field-proven and proprietary MotionFusion™ engine for handset and tablet applications, game controllers, motion pointer remote controls, and other consumer devices.
The breakout offered by Joy-It does not have a Qwiic connector so you need an adapter cable to connect it to the UNO R4 WiFi or some other module. And we were lucky that distance of the holes on that breakout board matches the grid of the Plug-and-Make base board. (The other module shown in the top picture was not used in this project. It just illustrates how the Qwiic bus works.)
In the upper right corner of this picture you can also see one of the 4 "feet", fixed by a screw. The corners of the board were rounded to avoid any injuries.
To watch the results of this sensor we preferred to use the old IDE as its plotter offers to show more samples;
To obtain this plot we rotated the base board by the x- and y-axis.
If you are changing your modules frequently you have to reprogram the controller each and every time. That makes it very time-consuming especially in presentations. That is why we made copies of the Plug-and-Make base board. As can be seen in the top picture, we used R4-WiFi clones which come much cheaper than the originals. For the board we used acrylic glass of 4mm thickness. So you even can read what is printed on the rear side of the modules. As a stand we did not use the spacers delivered with the kit but small pieces of that same glass to avoid scratches on the table. Further more we inserted the screws from the bottom and fixed them with nuts which makes it easier to plug the modules on top of the screws.
Normally, you do not need additional nuts as the friction of the screws fixes the modules perfectly.
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