Tools for makers

3D printing

• 3D printer Turns a digital design into a real plastic part, layer by layer. Print stands, cases, knobs and whole mechanisms for your electronics projects.
• Slicer software Free programs such as Cura, PrusaSlicer and Bambu Studio that turn an STL file into instructions for your 3D printer.
• Tinkercad A free 3D design app that runs in the browser. Combine simple shapes to design your own cases, brackets and knobs.
• Digital calipers Measures parts to a hundredth of a millimetre. Essential before you design a case, a hole or a mount for an electronic part.

Workshop tools

• Soldering iron Joins wires and component legs permanently with melted solder. You need it to add pins to LCDs and modules and to make projects last.
• Multimeter Measures voltage, current and resistance. The best tool for finding out why a circuit doesn't work.
• Wire cutters and strippers Cut wire to length and remove the insulation cleanly, for longer sensor cables and tidy, permanent projects.
• Hot glue gun Fixes sensors in printed parts and holds cardboard builds together in seconds. Easy to remove again if you change your mind.

Cloud and apps

• Arduino IDE The free program where you write code and upload it to the UNO R3 and the ESP32. Every lesson starts here.
• Blynk A cloud service and phone app for controlling your ESP32 from anywhere, with gauges, buttons, charts and push notifications.
• ThingSpeak A free cloud service that stores sensor readings and draws charts, ideal for weather stations and long-term measurements.
• Google Sheets Log your sensor readings into a spreadsheet with a few lines of Apps Script, then chart and analyse them like a scientist.
• ntfy push notifications A free, open-source service that sends push notifications to your phone with one web request. No account needed.
• MQTT broker and dashboard The messaging standard used by smart homes and factories. Publish sensor data to a broker and build a phone dashboard for it.
• Telegram bots Create your own chat bot that the ESP32 runs. Send it commands and get answers and alerts in the Telegram app.
• Open-Meteo weather API Free weather forecasts for any place on Earth, with no account or key. Your ESP32 can read tomorrow's weather in one request.
• Adafruit IO A free cloud service for makers: send sensor values to feeds and build a dashboard with gauges, charts and switches that works in any browser.
• Arduino Cloud Arduino's own IoT platform: describe your project as a Thing, and build dashboards and phone controls for your ESP32 without writing the connection code.
• Edge Impulse A free website for training small neural networks on sensor data and running them on microcontrollers like the ESP32, with no internet needed afterwards.
• Teachable Machine A free tool from Google for training image, sound and pose recognition models in your browser in minutes, just by showing it examples on your webcam.
• Teachable Machine A free tool from Google for training image, sound and pose recognition models in your browser in minutes, just by showing it examples on your webcam.