Introduction to the Arduino Plug and Make

Maker, DIY Arduino
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What is the Arduino Plug and Make Kit?

The Arduino Plug and Make Kit includes the latest Arduino UNO R4 WiFi and seven little expansion boards commonly known as “Modulino boards.” Together, they provide a cohesive learning platform from which a student can learn to program and easily integrate common microcontroller sensors and actuators.

A portion of the Plug and Make kit is shown in Figure 1. The UNO and 4 out of 7 Modulino modules are installed on the base (included with the kit). All components are electrically connected using a daisy-chain of Qwiic connectors. Power is supplied via the USB C connector. The device could also be battery powered via the UNO’s barrel connector.

This Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) is written for educators and students who are comparing the Arduino Plug and Make Kit to the traditional breadboard-based Arduino kits.

Figure 1: Image of the Arduino Plug and Make Kit with 4 out of 7 Modulino breakout boards installed. The Arduino UNO R4 WiFi microcontroller is seen in the background.
Figure 1: Image of the Arduino Plug and Make Kit with 4 out of 7 Modulino breakout boards installed. The Arduino UNO R4 WiFi microcontroller is seen in the background.982×736 106 KB

Figure 1: Image of the Arduino Plug and Make Kit with 4 out of 7 Modulino breakout boards installed. The Arduino UNO R4 WiFi microcontroller is seen in the background.

What advantage does the Arduino Plug and Make Kit offer over conventional breadboard-based kits?

There are three distinct advantages to the Plug and Make kit including:

  • Breadboard-free design

  • Seamlessly connected electrical and mechanical assemblies

  • Cohesive integration of sensors and actuators where all Modulino modules are accessed via a common class structure. This eliminates the module-specific code complexity required to access discrete sensors.

Together, these attributes suggest a programming-centric education focus. Instead of using a traditional breadboard Arduino kit with the added complexity of breadboarding, the student can focus on sensor integration. A good example is this tutorial describing a Plug and Make metronome. It takes minutes to assemble the hardware. However, there are many layers of programming to learn ranging from real-time constraints associated with blocking functions all the way to reverse engineering the Modulino I2C communication protocol.

The breadboard-free Plug and Make Kit is well suited for a curriculum focused on programming and microcontroller applications. Considerable time is saved by eliminating the hardware and associated troubleshooting. Also, don’t underestimate the cohesive integration of sensors.
On the other hand, there are times when your students are best served by the breadboard-based curriculum. The challenge of circuit construction as well as time spent reading datasheets may be necessary for their development.

As the English proverb says, “Horses for Courses.” You will need to select the best product for your specific needs. This could be the Arduino Plug and Make, a traditional Arduino kit, or even something from the Arduino Pro line to reduce the total time to market your product.

Please share your thoughts and recommendations in the comments section. For example, under what conditions would you prefer one kit over the other?

What makes the Modulino boards special?

The Plug and Play Kit was designed as a system with an eye toward consistency and ease of use. This fact is reflected in the hardware design as well as the software interface.

The Modulinos share a common footprint allowing easy physical connection to the base as shown in Figure 1. They all share a common hardware interface via the daisy-chained Qwiic interface. Looking deeper, we discover that each Modulino contains a small 32-bit STMicroelectronics ARM microcontroller as shown in the lower-left hand corner of the Buzzer Modulino (Figure 2). This ARM microcontroller serves to standardize the communications interface between the UNO and the hardware featured on the Modulino. This extends to a common physical, common communications protocol, as well as a standard software environment from within the Arduino IDE.

Figure 2: Image of the Arduino Modulino Buzzer module.
Figure 2: Image of the Arduino Modulino Buzzer module.1252×940 138 KB

Figure 2: Image of the Arduino Modulino Buzzer module. The large, surface-mount Murata buzzer is in the center of the board. The tiny 32-bit STM ARM microcontroller is visible in the lower left corner.

Tech Tip: The Plug and Make kit may be expanded using DigiKey’s large family of Qwiic compatible expansion boards. Note that these products generally take more time and effort to integrate from the physical, electrical, and software perspective. As a mitigating factor, the open-source community continues to provide tremendous support for these devices. As a rule, you can find Arduino compatible “driver” code as well as tutorials.

What is included in the Arduino Plug and Make kit?

Many of the kit components are shown in Figure 1 including the base, the UNO R4, and several of the Modulinos. The full kit includes:

  • Base
  • Arduino R4 WiFi
  • USB C cable with an “A” style adapter
  • Hardware to mount the UNO and Modulinos
  • Qwiic cables to connect the Modulinos
  • Modulino boards:
    • Knob: rotary encoder with integral push button
    • Pixels: eight tri-color LEDS with individual adjustment for RGB intensity
    • Distance: Time-of-Flight (ToF) proximity sensor
    • Movement: 6-axis IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit)
    • Buzzer: piezoelectric buzzer
    • Thermo: temperature and humidity measurement featuring low thermal mass isolation
    • Buttons: three buttons with three user-controlled LEDs

Where can I learn more about the Modulino modules?

DigiKey has produced several tutorials for the Modulinos. These include a brief description of the unit as well as an introduction to the hardware:

DigiKey has also produced a demonstration project featuring the Plug and Make Kit:

Several articles dedicated to the Arduino UNO R4 have been written:

You may also be interested in this index page describing a variety of Arduino related tutorials:

Parting thoughts

This document provides a brief description of the Arduino Plug and Make Kit with an emphasis on higher education. I trust this has given you something to consider as you select a development kit for home or classroom use. The “Horses for Courses” saw beautifully describes the situation, as there are many unique entry points into the world of programming and microcontrollers. The Arduino Plug and Make may be just what you are looking for. You may also look to the traditional Arduino kits or even the Arduino Pro line including the Opta Programmable Logic Controller (PLC).

This FAQ is under development. You can assist by placing your questions in the comments space below.

Best wishes,

APDahlen

About this author

Aaron Dahlen, LCDR USCG (Ret.), serves as an application engineer at DigiKey. He has a unique electronics and automation foundation built over a 27-year military career as a technician and engineer which was further enhanced by 12 years of teaching (interwoven). With an MSEE degree from Minnesota State University, Mankato, Dahlen has taught in an ABET-accredited EE program, served as the program coordinator for an EET program, and taught component-level repair to military electronics technicians. Dahlen has returned to his Northern Minnesota home and thoroughly enjoys researching and writing articles such as this.

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