iCircuit 3D

Name: iCircuit 3D
Price: 12.99 USD
Rating: 4.1 (72 reviews)
Author: Krueger Systems, Inc.

3D Electronics Workbench

$12.99

72 Ratings
Ages

4+
Years
Category

Education
Developer

Krueger Systems, Inc.
Language

EN
+ 6 More
Size

141
MB

iCircuit 3D gives you an endless virtual workbench to design, build, and test electronics projects in 3D. It combines the robust real-time, always-on simulation engine of iCircuit with modern 3D rendering and physics on iOS and macOS. Do not let the availability of physical parts limit your creativity. Choose from an expansive library of 150+ physically and electronically simulated parts and over 1,000 reference boards to plan layouts, wire circuits, test ideas, and iterate fast. It also includes the full standard component library from the original iCircuit, so you can switch between realistic parts and symbolic circuit elements whenever you want. When powered, LEDs light up realistically, DC motors spin, and speakers make noise. Watch current flow along your simulated wires. See pinouts and color codes directly on components. Tap any part to view live values like voltage and current, then change parameters instantly. If you miswire something or overstress a component, magic smoke will billow from the point of failure so you can quickly diagnose and fix the problem. Add reference photos to the environment, import your own 3D models to mount projects onto, or use Blocks to build enclosures, panels, and simple structures. FEATURES • Tons of resistors, capacitors, and LEDs • Multiple breadboards and wiring elements • Diodes, BJTs, MOSFETs • DC power supplies • Waveform generators (AC, square, sawtooth) • Batteries (AA, AAA, 18650, coin cells, and more) • Switches (SPST, SPDT) • Buzzers and speakers • DC motors and servos • Programmable Arduino elements • The full symbolic iCircuit library (standard components included) • 1,000+ reference circuit boards for layout planning (not fully simulated) • Import board layouts from Eagle (imported layouts are for wiring/layout reference and do not simulate) • Import custom 3D models to attach your projects to, and simulate their behavior on the workbench • Import images for reference or documentation and place them as physical photographs HOW IT WORKS Add parts to the 3D workbench and they land on the table with gravity. Drag parts around, then draw wires between ports to connect them. When a circuit is completed, it starts simulating immediately. Wires stay connected as you move parts, so you can build tidy panels and enclosures, or leave parts scattered like a real bench. iCircuit 3D was designed for fun and exploration, with plenty more to discover as you build. I hope you enjoy this new take on circuit software.

Ratings & Reviews

4.1

out of 5

72 Ratings

Lot of potential but not there yet
08/15/2021

Gampi512
I've been playing with this for a couple of days now and this looks like a great tool to teach basic electronics. The 3d graphics are great. There are a couple of problems that if corrected would take this from great to brilliant. It is difficult to zoom in and out which sometimes makes it difficult to make connections especially when using a bread board. You can flip components vertically and horizontally, but it would make it so much better if you could simply rotate them so the pins face the component you're trying to connect with. No double throw relays? It would also be very useful to see voltage and current across components. Raspberry Pi simulation? There are lots of circuit boards but they don't contain any components and no obvious way to add them. I don't want to get too critical, this is a powerful tool as is, but could be soooooo much better with a few enhancements.
Lot of potential but not there yet
08/15/2021

Gampi512

I've been playing with this for a couple of days now and this looks like a great tool to teach basic electronics. The 3d graphics are great. There are a couple of problems that if corrected would take this from great to brilliant. It is difficult to zoom in and out which sometimes makes it difficult to make connections especially when using a bread board. You can flip components vertically and horizontally, but it would make it so much better if you could simply rotate them so the pins face the component you're trying to connect with. No double throw relays? It would also be very useful to see voltage and current across components. Raspberry Pi simulation? There are lots of circuit boards but they don't contain any components and no obvious way to add them. I don't want to get too critical, this is a powerful tool as is, but could be soooooo much better with a few enhancements.
I feel like an electrical engineer!
01/29/2021

RideAFixie
I love the original icircuit and 3D is a perfect compliment filled with tons of amazing components to play with and explore even though I am not an electrical engineer. I love the ability to explore and use so many parts! Great work and I can’t wait to build even more amazing creations!
I feel like an electrical engineer!
01/29/2021

RideAFixie

I love the original icircuit and 3D is a perfect compliment filled with tons of amazing components to play with and explore even though I am not an electrical engineer. I love the ability to explore and use so many parts! Great work and I can’t wait to build even more amazing creations!
Weird use of simulated physics makes for a bad experience
01/23/2022

JoeTheAppleGuy
The designer's choice to implement simulated gravity and physics makes for an unnecessarily awkward experience - Components drop from a height and bounce on the table exactly in a way that no sane person would drop components on their work surface. Once the components land then you need to spend a much too long period of time fumbling with 3D graphics to place a component in a position where you can actually connect wires to the correct lead. Another bad example of misguided use of physics is when dealing with motors that you don't have the option to tie down - Once power comes on they will often spin crazily and move your wires and other components.The designers give you several options to control lighting, graphics quality and colors and no way to turn the fake physics off.
Weird use of simulated physics makes for a bad experience
01/23/2022

JoeTheAppleGuy

The designer's choice to implement simulated gravity and physics makes for an unnecessarily awkward experience - Components drop from a height and bounce on the table exactly in a way that no sane person would drop components on their work surface. Once the components land then you need to spend a much too long period of time fumbling with 3D graphics to place a component in a position where you can actually connect wires to the correct lead. Another bad example of misguided use of physics is when dealing with motors that you don't have the option to tie down - Once power comes on they will often spin crazily and move your wires and other components.The designers give you several options to control lighting, graphics quality and colors and no way to turn the fake physics off.
More frustrating than fun
07/15/2021

ToolGuy
Okay, this app is technically impressive and looks great (until it crashes), but it is WAY too hard to actually DO anything constructive. I’ll take the author’s word that the physics simulation is pretty accurate (and the gravity and stuff “seems” fairly realistic), but it is extremely difficult to interact with the various components and place them where you need them in the correct orientation. It is too easy to accidentally connect a wire when you meant to just move a part or the whole window — and, vice-versa, to move something instead of connecting it with wire.I love the basic concept. Enough so that I was willing to shell out $15 to give it a try — but only because I have previously used (and really liked) the author’s “iCircuit” app. I was hoping that this might be something to recommend to any novice electronics experimenter to help them get started. Sadly, this isn’t it.This is a textbook example of using the latest “cool” technology (Apple has been adding 3D and AR toolkits to newer OS releases) when it doesn’t actually add anything of value to the experience. It just makes basic functionality more complicated for no real benefit to the user. I can understand the appeal of “pretty pictures” and a less intimidating environment for a novice user, but a 3D physics engine is the wrong tool for this job. A much better approach (IMHO) would be to make a simpler user interface and maybe add some “real world” graphics representations of electronics parts in the author’s iCircuit program — which is 2D only and much, much easier to actually use.For the record, I tried this on both a traditional iPad and a new M1 iPad Pro, and the interface is glitchy and a crash prone on each. I do admire and applaud the developer for trying something new, even though I consider this a failure — at least so far. I’m not going to ask for my money back, and I will be following new releases with interest in the hope that a silk purse can be made from this sows ear.
More frustrating than fun
07/15/2021

ToolGuy

Okay, this app is technically impressive and looks great (until it crashes), but it is WAY too hard to actually DO anything constructive. I’ll take the author’s word that the physics simulation is pretty accurate (and the gravity and stuff “seems” fairly realistic), but it is extremely difficult to interact with the various components and place them where you need them in the correct orientation. It is too easy to accidentally connect a wire when you meant to just move a part or the whole window — and, vice-versa, to move something instead of connecting it with wire.I love the basic concept. Enough so that I was willing to shell out $15 to give it a try — but only because I have previously used (and really liked) the author’s “iCircuit” app. I was hoping that this might be something to recommend to any novice electronics experimenter to help them get started. Sadly, this isn’t it.This is a textbook example of using the latest “cool” technology (Apple has been adding 3D and AR toolkits to newer OS releases) when it doesn’t actually add anything of value to the experience. It just makes basic functionality more complicated for no real benefit to the user. I can understand the appeal of “pretty pictures” and a less intimidating environment for a novice user, but a 3D physics engine is the wrong tool for this job. A much better approach (IMHO) would be to make a simpler user interface and maybe add some “real world” graphics representations of electronics parts in the author’s iCircuit program — which is 2D only and much, much easier to actually use.For the record, I tried this on both a traditional iPad and a new M1 iPad Pro, and the interface is glitchy and a crash prone on each. I do admire and applaud the developer for trying something new, even though I consider this a failure — at least so far. I’m not going to ask for my money back, and I will be following new releases with interest in the hope that a silk purse can be made from this sows ear.

This major update brings expanded microcontroller support, and numerous improvements. Thank you for your continued support! Whether you're learning electronics, prototyping professional designs, or just having fun building circuits, we hope v1.15 makes your experience even better.