CircuiTry3D

Build electric circuits in 3D and see what happens when they fail — current flow from the wire down to the atom. Illuminating Electricity. Explore current flow from the macro scale all the way down to atomic crystal lattices and quantum probability clouds, powered by Ohm's Law and a proprietary component failure simulation engine.

CircuiTry3D is founded and led by Mitchell Lorin McKnight, who built the platform to make circuit theory accessible and intuitive for everyone — because visual learning increases retention for all kinds of learners.

---

🔭 More Than a Circuit Builder

CircuiTry3D is a complete electrical education ecosystem. The circuit builder is the entry point — but what students, teachers, manufacturers, and curious learners discover inside goes far beyond placing wires on a grid.

Layer	What you get
3D Circuit Builder	Build and simulate DC circuits in a real-time 3D sandbox with live W.I.R.E. analysis
Multi-Scale Current Flow Visualization	Watch electrons move — from macro wire flow all the way to atomic crystal lattices and quantum probability clouds
FUSE™ Failure Engine	See what actually happens when a component is pushed past its limits — smoke, arcs, explosions, and plain-language explanations of the physics
🏠 Home Circuit Simulator	Wire up a 3D room — breaker panel, outlets, ceiling lights, and switches — with live current flow and FUSE™ overload protection
🚗 Automotive Circuit Simulator	Build and test 12 V automotive systems — battery, fuse box, headlights, starter, horn, and alternator — in a 3D vehicle chassis view
Circuit AI Assistant	Free in-app AI chat covering 40+ electrical topics — Ohm's Law, KCL/KVL, component guides, troubleshooting, and app tutorials
AI Circuit Explanation	Pro-tier engine that analyzes your live circuit and returns a structured 5-section report: Summary, Current Flow, Component Roles, Expected Behavior, and Common Mistakes
Component Arena	Stress-test any component against configurable voltage, temperature, humidity, and duty-cycle parameters without touching real hardware
Integrated Electrical Textbook	A full two-year post-secondary electrical engineering curriculum built directly into the app — Year 1 fundamentals through Year 2 advanced analysis
Adaptive Practice	Targeted worksheet generator that identifies your weakest W.I.R.E. concepts and surfaces problems that close those gaps
Classroom Mode	Teacher dashboard, roster management, assignment scheduling, and real-time analytics for any grade level from Grade 8 through Higher Education
Gamification & Arcade	XP, badges, leaderboards, and three arcade games keep motivation high without sacrificing depth
Community Hub	Share circuits, post lab notes, and browse the circuit gallery with other learners and educators

---

👥 Who Is CircuiTry3D For?

🎓 Educators & Academic Institutions

Whether you teach middle school science, high school CTE electronics, or first-year college circuits, CircuiTry3D gives you a lab that never runs out of components, never burns down, and never lets a student leave without understanding why something failed.

• Assign worksheets tied directly to W.I.R.E. (Watts, current I, Resistance, voltage E/electromotive force) and KCL/KVL concepts from the in-app textbook
• Create cohorts, distribute join codes, and track every student's progress from a single dashboard
• Full alignment with NGSS PS3 (Energy) and CTE Electronics pathway standards
• The complete Year 1 and Year 2 electrical engineering textbook is available in-app at /textbook — no external materials required
• See the dedicated Educator Section below

🏭 Manufacturers & Component Retailers

CircuiTry3D's Component Arena is a unique channel to put your real-world datasheets in front of students and teachers at the exact moment they are learning what your components do — and why they fail if misused.

• Feature your components as Named Sponsored Components in the Arena's Featured Components panel
• Students interact with your rated specs — voltage limits, temperature ranges, current capacity — and the FUSE™ engine explains what happens physically when those specs are exceeded
• Every FUSE™ failure card credits the manufacturer and part number, creating lasting brand awareness in the engineering pipeline
• Direct link from the Arena card to your product page or datasheet

See the full For Component Manufacturers section below for placement details, what to submit, and how to get started.

🙋 The Average Curious Learner

You don't need an engineering background to use CircuiTry3D.

• Just curious? Open the Builder, drop in a battery and an LED, and watch it light up — then crank the voltage and watch it explode in 3D
• Want to see what's really happening inside the wire? Zoom all the way in from the wire surface to the atomic crystal lattice to see individual electrons vibrating and drifting through the metal in real time
• Self-studying? The in-app textbook starts from "what is electricity?" and walks you through two full years of electrical engineering concepts with worked examples, formulas, and interactive practice
• No account required — the Free Sandbox plan lets you build, simulate, and experiment right now at circuitry3d.app

---

🚀 Available Platforms

Platform	Details
Web build	React 19 + Vite 7 — the source Capacitor wraps; not separately deployed
Android App	Native app via Capacitor, available on Google Play Store

---

🛠️ Tech Stack

Layer	Technology
Frontend	React 19 + TypeScript
Build	Vite 7
3D Rendering	Three.js
Mobile	Capacitor 7
Routing	React Router DOM 7
Backend/API	GitHub Actions + Upstash Redis
Deployment	Google Play Store (Android); circuitry3d.app on Cloudflare Pages
Testing	Vitest + Playwright

---

Manufacturer component catalog

Real-world parts live in the shared src/data/componentCatalog.ts catalog, which feeds both the Builder library and Component Arena. Each source-backed entry may include a manufacturer part number, an official product-page URL, and a simulation status:

• Modeled entries use an existing generic CircuiTry3D behavior and are explicitly labelled as educational models, not manufacturer-certified simulations.
• Reference only entries remain source-linked in the Arena catalog and are intentionally not addable until the engine can represent their electrical, mechanical, or communication behavior faithfully.

Catalog facts must be traceable to a primary manufacturer source. System or family-class ratings are labelled as such, especially for connectors and contactors; they are never presented as a guaranteed installed-assembly rating. Catalog inclusion does not imply a partnership, endorsement, or certification by the manufacturer.

The initial 24-part seed catalog includes 11 TE Connectivity, 6 Littelfuse, and 7 Vishay records. Supported families are available through explicitly generic educational models; connectors, contactors, sensors, PPTCs, TVS/ESD protection, and varistors remain reference-only with official product links and limitations displayed in the Arena.

---

📦 Project Structure

CircuiTry3D/
├── src/
│   ├── components/       # Shared UI components
│   ├── context/          # React context providers (Auth, Gamification, Classroom, …)
│   ├── pages/            # Route-level page components (incl. HomeCircuit.tsx, CarCircuit.tsx)
│   ├── routes/           # App.tsx — React Router configuration
│   ├── sim/              # Circuit simulation engine
│   ├── schematic/        # Schematic rendering logic
│   ├── services/         # Data-access & API helpers
│   └── utils/            # Shared utilities
├── public/
│   ├── landing.html      # Landing page
│   ├── legacy.html       # Circuit builder canvas (legacy)
│   └── arena.html        # Component testing arena
│   └── floor-plan-3d.html # 3D home electrical floor-plan demo
├── android/              # Capacitor Android project
├── play-store-assets/    # Google Play Store graphics & metadata
├── tests/                # Vitest unit & integration tests
├── docs/                 # Electrical theory & circuit reference docs
├── vite.config.ts
└── package.json

---

🌐 Web Development

Requirements

• Node.js >= 20

Getting Started

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Start the development server (http://localhost:3000)
npm run dev

# Production build
npm run build

# Preview the production build locally
npm run preview

To test the PR preview workflow, open a pull request from any branch with changes so .github/workflows/pr-preview.yml can run.

Run Tests

# Run all unit tests once
npm test

# Run tests in watch mode
npm run test:watch

---

🔐 Environment Variables

All secrets are set as GitHub repository secrets (Settings → Secrets and variables → Actions).

Unlocking the full version (owner preview)

The web build runs in demo mode by default (limited component library). To preview your full changes:

1. Go to GitHub → your repository → Settings → Secrets and variables → Actions
2. Click New repository secret
3. Enter:
   • Name: OWNER_SECRET
   • Value: any password you choose (e.g. MySecret123)
4. Click Add secret
5. Trigger a new deployment (push a commit)
6. Open the deployed site — tap the 🔑 icon in the demo banner and enter your password

The password is never exposed in the client bundle — it lives only on the server.

Optional: Classroom cloud sync

Without these the classroom feature still works but saves to browser localStorage only.

Variable	Description
CLASSROOM_KV_URL	REST endpoint URL of your Upstash Redis instance
CLASSROOM_KV_TOKEN	Bearer token for that instance

---

🗺️ App Routes

Route	Description
/	Landing / home page
/app	3D circuit builder workspace
/arena	Component testing arena
/practice	Adaptive practice worksheets
/classroom	Teacher dashboard & classroom mode
/community	Community hub — circuit gallery & chat
/arcade	Arcade / challenge mode
/account	User profile & account settings
/pricing	Pricing page
/textbook	Integrated electrical theory textbook
/privacy	Privacy policy
/data-safety	Android data-safety disclosure
/app-access	Download & platform links
/delete-account	Account deletion request
/gallery	Circuit gallery — browse and share saved circuits
/partnerships	Manufacturer & partnership information
/home-circuit	🏠 Home electrical circuit simulator — 3D room wiring
/car-circuit	🚗 Automotive circuit simulator — 3D vehicle electrical systems

---

Purchase and rating prompts

The Pricing route remains available from the in-app navigation and compares the configured Free, one-time Premium Unlock, and Pro subscription options. On Android, displayed purchase prices are refreshed from Google Play Billing and fall back to the configured labels when live prices are unavailable.

CircuiTry3D only shows upgrade prompts after a verified troubleshooting success, with locally stored frequency caps and a dismiss action. After a second successful session, the Android build may offer an optional honest Google Play rating. Web and Electron builds do not show a review prompt because they cannot open the configured Android Play listing. Prompt state is stored locally only.

---

🔑 Key Features

💥 FUSE™ — Failure Understanding Simulation Engine

CircuiTry3D's proprietary, zero-dependency component failure detection and visualization engine.

FUSE™ is what separates CircuiTry3D from every other circuit simulator. While other tools only show what happens when a circuit works, FUSE™ shows exactly what happens when it fails — in real time, in 3D, with physics-accurate descriptions.

What FUSE™ delivers	Details
Real-time failure detection	Runs every simulation tick; evaluates every component against its rated limits
30+ named failure modes	Thermal Runaway, Junction Burnout, Avalanche Breakdown, Dielectric Breakdown, Electrolyte Boilover, and more
18 component families	Resistors, capacitors, LEDs, diodes, BJTs, MOSFETs, op-amps, regulators, ICs, batteries, switches, relays, fuses, motors, transformers, and more
Severity scoring (0–3)	0 = OK · 1 = Stressed · 2 = Critical · 3 = Destroyed
8 visual effect types	char, melt, arc, burst, blowout, vent, glow, smoke — multi-layer Three.js particle systems with physics-accurate gravity and flicker
Physical descriptions	Plain-language explanation of what is happening inside the component at the material level
Shared across platforms	The same engine drives both the 3D Builder and the Component Arena — one source of truth

📖 Full technical spec and marketing guide: docs/FUSE_ENGINE.md

⚡ 3D Circuit Builder (/app)

Build and simulate circuits in a 3D sandbox. Components snap to a grid and the live DC solver updates voltages and currents in real time.

Components supported: Battery, Resistor, LED, Switch, Ground, Junction

W.I.R.E. Analysis Panel — displays live Watts, Current, Resistance, and Voltage for every node. Each quantity is color-coded (blue = W, orange = I, green = R, red = E) and an Ohm's Law triangle plus power panel update in real time.

Junctions — split any wire mid-run to create a branch point. Junctions let you build parallel and series-parallel circuits and apply KCL at every current-split/recombine node. Add via the ⬡ Junct quick-action button, the J keyboard shortcut, or by tapping an existing wire in Wire Mode.

Multi-scale current flow visualization — five depth tiers let you zoom from the surface of a wire all the way to quantum-level probability clouds:

Zoom Tier	Depth Threshold	What You See
Macro	d > 8	Wire glow and directional current arrows showing overall current direction and magnitude
Close	d < 8	Individual charge-carrier particles drifting along the wire, colored by velocity
Atomic	d < 3	The copper crystal lattice with FCC (face-centered cubic) unit cells; electrons shown bouncing through the lattice sites
Deep-Atomic	d < 0.8	Thermal vibration of individual lattice atoms at the correct FCC basis positions; electron scattering events visible
Quantum	d < 0.3	Electron probability clouds (wave-function-inspired halos) surrounding each atom; quantum uncertainty visualized as pulsing orbital rings

Toggle between Electron Flow (negative → positive, conventional physics direction) and Conventional Current (positive → negative, textbook circuit convention) from the View menu. All five tiers stay synchronized so zooming in and out gives a seamless, continuous view of the same current.

Wire Routing Modes — choose Free-form, Manhattan (right-angles), Offset (parallel detours), or Arc (smooth sweeps) from the Tools menu.

Layout Modes — Free, Square (textbook style), and Linear (vertical tree) keep circuits organized automatically.

Auto-Arrange — one click re-flows the circuit into a clean textbook layout.

Schematic overlay — a companion 2D schematic renders alongside the 3D view so learners can cross-reference real-world wiring with standard notation.

Interactive Tutorial — in-app Quick Start Guide (Help → Tutorial) covering all menus, keyboard shortcuts, junction usage, routing modes, and W.I.R.E. concepts.

Keyboard shortcuts: B Battery · R Resistor · L LED · S Switch · J Junction · W Wire Mode · T Rotate Mode · Space Toggle Menu

Live component failure detection — every simulation tick the builder runs each component through the shared FailureEngine (component-failure-engine.js). When a component exceeds its rated limits it immediately triggers:

• A severity badge overlaid on the component nameplate (severity scale: 0 = OK → 1 = stressed → 2 = critical → 3 = destroyed)
• Multi-layer Three.js particle effects spawned at the component's 3D position — visual types include char (fire flicker), melt (molten drip), arc (blue electrical discharge), burst (explosion debris cloud + fire + smoke), blowout (white-hot flash), vent (pressurised gas), glow (thermal), and smoke
• Physics-accurate particle gravity — sparks and debris fall, fire rises via buoyancy, smoke drifts gently upward, molten drips fall slower than debris
• Animated flicker tuned per failure type (arc: 55 ms, burst: 75 ms, melt: 110 ms, char: 95 ms)
• Camera shake on explosion events for dramatic emphasis

Failure profiles are defined for all major component families: resistors, thermistors, capacitors, LEDs, diodes, Zener diodes, BJTs, MOSFETs, op-amps, voltage regulators, ICs/microcontrollers, batteries, switches, relays, fuses, lamps, motors, transformers, and crystal oscillators.

🧪 Component Arena & FUSE™ Engine (/arena)

The Component Arena is a dedicated stress-testing environment powered by the FUSE™ (Failure Understanding Simulation Engine) — the same underlying FailureEngine library that drives real-time failure detection in the 3D Builder.

Testing Modes:

• Single Component — run a configurable stress test on one component
• Compare (A vs B) — side-by-side stress test with a relative delta panel

Configurable Test Variables: Voltage, Frequency, Ambient Temperature, Humidity, Duty Cycle, Duration, and Load Impedance

Analysis Output:

• Component summary cards (A, B, and delta metrics)
• FUSE™ failure analysis — evaluates each component against its physics-based failure profile and reports the failure name (e.g. Thermal Overload, Junction Burnout, Avalanche Breakdown, Dielectric Breakdown), severity level (0–3), and a physical description of the failure mechanism
• Animated failure particle effects: smoke, arc, burst, glow, flame, explosion, debris, and shockwave flash
• Status indicators with pass/warn/fail states

Data Exchange:

• Export results as JSON
• Load a circuit export directly from the Builder into the Arena
• Import custom JSON test scenarios

🎯 Adaptive Practice (/practice)

The practice workspace tracks your recent W.I.R.E. (Watts, Current, Resistance, Voltage) misses and surfaces the three problems that best target your current gaps. Recommendations update automatically as you complete worksheets.

Problem types: Series, Parallel, Mixed, Combination Challenge, and Random

Built-in educational tools: Ohm's Law Triangle Deck, Ohm's Law Wheel calculator, Kirchhoff's Laws reference, Resistor Color Code decoder, Wire Library reference, and step-by-step solution breakdowns

🏅 Gamification & Arcade Mode

Every worksheet completion awards XP, streak bonuses, and badges via GamificationContext. The Challenge Mode dashboard shows XP progress, unique clears, a live leaderboard, and component unlocks (Precision Op-Amp, Sensor Pack, Power Lab, etc.). All progress is persisted to localStorage — no account required.

Arcade games (/arcade): RetroCircuitMaze, OhmsRacer, VoltFighter — XP-based progression unlocks new components and difficulty tiers.

🎓 Classroom Mode (/classroom)

Teachers can create cohorts, share join codes, and schedule assignments from the problem library. ClassroomContext syncs rosters, assignments, and analytics to an Upstash-compatible KV store via /api/classroom. Set CLASSROOM_KV_URL and CLASSROOM_KV_TOKEN as GitHub repository secrets to enable cloud persistence; the app falls back to local storage without them.

Supports grade levels: Grade 8, Grades 9–10, Grades 11–12, Higher Education, and CTE programs.

🤖 AI Features

CircuiTry3D has two built-in AI tools that live directly in the circuit builder workspace. Both are accessible from the right-edge action bar.

⚡ Circuit AI (Free)

A real-time chat assistant that answers electrical theory questions and guides you through the app — no account required.

What it covers	Details
Electrical theory	Ohm's Law, KCL/KVL, power, impedance, AC/DC fundamentals, and more
Component guides	Resistors, capacitors, inductors, transistors, MOSFETs, op-amps, relays, motors, transformers, and 20+ other types
Troubleshooting	Diagnoses common wiring errors, polarity mistakes, open circuits, and more
App tutorials	Step-by-step help for every Builder, Arena, and Practice feature
Context-aware	Reads your live circuit metrics and tailors answers to what you've actually built

The knowledge base spans 40+ topics with keyword scoring that surfaces the most relevant answer for every question. Tap ⚡ in the right edge bar to open.

✨ Explain Circuit (Pro)

One-tap AI circuit analysis that breaks your current build into a structured, plain-language report. Tap ✨ in the right edge bar to open.

Report sections:

Section	What it tells you
Summary	High-level description of the circuit topology
Current Flow	Step-by-step path current takes through the circuit
Component Roles	What each component is doing and why it matters
Expected Behavior	Predicted voltage, current, and power values aligned with your simulation
Common Mistakes	Design errors most often seen in circuits like yours

Dual-mode engine: if a remote AI endpoint is configured (VITE_EXPLAIN_API_URL), the panel calls it and labels results "AI". Without it, a local deterministic fallback analyzes topology, component roles, and known mistake patterns and labels results "Local" — so the feature always works, even offline.

💡 The Explain Circuit panel is available on the Premium plan and above. A free trial view is shown to all users so they can see what the report looks like before upgrading.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Community Hub (/community)

Share circuit exports, post lab notes, and browse the circuit gallery. Member profiles (set via /account) roll up contributions automatically. The feed and gallery persist locally for offline use.

📚 Integrated Electrical Textbook (/textbook)

CircuiTry3D ships with a complete, two-year post-secondary electrical engineering curriculum built directly into the app — no textbook purchases, no external PDFs, no supplementary materials required.

Year 1 — Electrical Fundamentals

Topic	Content
What Is Electricity?	Atomic structure, electrons, charge carriers, conductors vs insulators
Voltage, Current, Resistance, Power	Definitions, units, analogies, measurement instruments; the W.I.R.E. framework
Ohm's Law	V = IR derivations, the Ohm's Law triangle, worked examples
Series Circuits	Voltage divider rule, total resistance, KVL derivation
Parallel Circuits	Current divider rule, reciprocal resistance formula, KCL derivation
Series-Parallel Combinations	Reduction techniques, equivalent resistance, multi-source circuits
Power & Energy	P = VI = I²R = V²/R, energy calculations, efficiency, heat dissipation
Resistor Color Codes	4-band and 5-band decoding, tolerance, preferred value series (E12/E24/E96)
Basic Components	Resistors, capacitors (charging/discharging), inductors (basics), diodes, LEDs
Circuit Diagrams	American and IEC schematic symbols, reading and drawing schematics
Measurement & Safety	Using a multimeter (V/A/Ω), breadboard technique, basic lab safety rules

Year 2 — Advanced Circuit Analysis

Topic	Content
Kirchhoff's Laws (KVL & KCL)	Formal proofs, mesh analysis, nodal analysis, superposition theorem
Thevenin & Norton Equivalents	Maximum power transfer, source transformation, worked examples
AC Circuits Fundamentals	Sinusoidal waveforms, frequency, period, RMS values, phasors
Capacitors in AC Circuits	Capacitive reactance (Xc), impedance, phase shift, RC circuits
Inductors in AC Circuits	Inductive reactance (XL), RL circuits, time constants
RLC Circuits & Resonance	Series and parallel resonance, Q factor, bandwidth, filter design
Transformers	Turns ratio, voltage/current transformation, efficiency, isolation
Semiconductor Devices	BJTs (NPN/PNP bias), MOSFETs (enhancement/depletion), operating regions
Amplifier Fundamentals	Common-emitter/source configurations, voltage gain, small-signal models
Op-Amp Circuits	Inverting/non-inverting amplifiers, comparators, integrators, differentiators
Digital Fundamentals	Binary, hex, logic gates, Boolean algebra, combinational circuits
Power Electronics Intro	Rectifiers, regulators, switching basics, thermal management

Each chapter includes:

• Formula definitions with variable descriptions and SI units
• Worked examples with step-by-step solutions
• Interactive practice links that open directly to targeted W.I.R.E. worksheets for that chapter
• Cross-references to Component Arena stress tests that demonstrate the theory in 3D

📐 Schematic Mode

A dedicated schematic view renders the same circuit as a clean 2D schematic diagram alongside the 3D builder, making it easy to compare real-world wiring with standard notation. Supports both American and IEC symbol standards.

🏠 Home Electrical Circuit Simulator (/home-circuit)

A 3D interactive room where students build and simulate residential wiring — the same circuits found in every home, school, and workplace.

Feature	Details
3D room environment	Floor, walls, ceiling with pre-placed breaker panel, outlets, GFCI, switch, and ceiling fixture
Toggle light switch	Closes or opens the lighting branch circuit; ceiling light glows and current-flow particles animate along the hot/neutral/ground wires
Live circuit metrics	Real-time voltage (120 V AC mains), current (A), and power (W) for the active branch
Overload Demo	Simulates a 15 A breaker trip with a FUSE™-style arc/spark effect and plain-language explanation
Component detail panel	Click any component to see its name, type, rating, and wiring description

Accessible from the 🏠 Home tab in the global navigation bar.

🚗 Automotive Circuit Simulator (/car-circuit)

A 3D interactive vehicle chassis where students build and test 12 V automotive electrical systems — from headlights and horn to the starter motor and alternator charging loop.

Feature	Details
3D car chassis	Top-down/3/4 view with engine bay, firewall, cabin, dashboard, and wheel arches
9 pre-placed components	Battery, Alternator, Fuse Box, Headlights (L/R), Starter Motor, Horn, Ignition Switch, Interior Light
5 switchable circuits	Headlights, Ignition, Horn, Starter Crank, Alternator Charging — with correct dependencies (starter requires ignition)
Fuse box panel	Individual fuses per circuit; blow a fuse via Overload Demo and use the "Fix Fuse" button to repair
Voltage modes	12.6 V battery-only → 13.8 V when alternator is charging after a crank
Current-flow particles	Animated along positive, ground, and alternator wire paths when circuits are live

Accessible from the 🚗 Car tab in the global navigation bar.

---

🎓 For Educators

CircuiTry3D was built from the ground up to solve a problem every electronics teacher knows: students can follow a textbook procedure without ever understanding what is physically happening inside the components. The platform closes that gap by making the invisible visible — at every scale from the macro wire down to the quantum level.

What Makes CircuiTry3D Different in the Classroom

Challenge	CircuiTry3D Solution
Students wire circuits correctly but don't understand why they work	Multi-scale current flow visualization zooms from the wire surface into the atomic lattice so students see electron drift, not just current arrows
Students don't understand why components fail or what failure looks like	FUSE™ Engine triggers real, named failure modes (Thermal Runaway, Avalanche Breakdown, Electrolyte Boilover) with 3D particle effects and plain-language physical explanations
Students need a safe way to test components beyond their rated limits	Component Arena lets students push any component past its limits — safe, cost-free, and risk-free
Coordinating assignments across a class is cumbersome	Classroom Mode with roster management, join codes, and per-student analytics from a single teacher dashboard
Sourcing a good textbook is expensive and often incomplete	The full Year 1 + Year 2 electrical curriculum is built into the app with worked examples and interactive practice — no separate purchase required
Students disengage from dry formula drills	Gamification, Arcade Mode, and adaptive practice with XP and badges keep students engaged while reinforcing core concepts
Abstract circuits feel disconnected from real life	Home & Car Circuit Simulators anchor theory to the circuits students encounter every day — residential wiring and automotive electrical systems — in immersive 3D

Supported Grade Levels & Programs

• Grade 8 — Introduction to electricity concepts
• Grades 9–10 — Foundational circuits and components
• Grades 11–12 — Advanced circuit analysis, CTE Electronics pathways
• Higher Education — Year 1 and Year 2 post-secondary electrical engineering curricula
• CTE Programs — Aligned to NGSS PS3 (Energy) and CTE Electronics pathway standards

The In-App Textbook as a Primary Resource

The integrated textbook (/textbook) covers everything from "what is an electron?" through advanced RLC circuits, op-amp design, and digital fundamentals. Each chapter links directly to adaptive practice worksheets and Component Arena stress tests so students immediately apply what they read.

For a first-year college circuits course, assign:

1. Chapters on Voltage, Current, Resistance, Power (W.I.R.E. framework)
2. Ohm's Law and Series/Parallel circuits — build and verify in the 3D Builder
3. KVL/KCL — use mesh and nodal analysis worksheets
4. Component failures — run Thermal Overload and Avalanche Breakdown scenarios in the Component Arena

For a second-year course, the AC, semiconductor, op-amp, and digital chapters provide a complete curriculum supplement with zero external materials required.

Classroom Mode Quick Start

1. Go to /classroom and create your cohort
2. Share the join code with your students
3. Assign problems from the W.I.R.E. problem library, which maps to specific chapters in the in-app textbook
4. Monitor real-time completion, accuracy, and concept-gap data from the teacher dashboard
5. Enable cloud sync by setting CLASSROOM_KV_URL and CLASSROOM_KV_TOKEN as GitHub repository secrets to persist rosters and progress across devices

Educator License Highlights

The Educator License ($299/educator/yr) unlocks:

• Unlimited saved circuits
• Full FUSE™ failure names, physical descriptions, and Component Arena access
• Lesson templates and curriculum-aligned assessments
• Advanced W.I.R.E. coaching tools
• Priority support and onboarding

For Institutional Licenses (schools and districts), contact [email protected] — bulk educator seats, dedicated onboarding, SIS integrations, SSO, and curriculum alignment toolkit are included.

📋 For outreach templates, grant funding angles, and a competitive comparison table, see docs/ARENA_MARKETING.md.

---

🏭 For Component Manufacturers

The Component Arena is the only place in any circuit simulator where a student can load a real manufacturer part by name, run a physics-accurate stress test against its actual datasheet values, and watch it fail — in 3D — with a plain-language explanation of exactly what happened inside the component.

That makes CircuiTry3D the only educational tool where your component is the subject of the lesson, not a sidebar.

How Product Placement Works

The Arena's Featured Components panel displays a curated set of real-world parts. Students select a card, and FUSE™ instantly loads that component's manufacturer name, part number, and datasheet specifications into the stress-test engine. The simulation runs against your actual electrical and thermal parameters — not generic defaults.

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Featured Components                Real-World Specs │
│  ─────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│  ┌──────────────┐  ┌──────────────┐              │
│  │ VISHAY       │  │ MURATA       │              │
│  │ CRCW0402     │  │ GCJ316R71H   │              │
│  │ 100Ω · 63mW  │  │ 1µF · 50V   │              │
│  └──────────────┘  └──────────────┘              │
│  ┌──────────────┐  ┌──────────────┐              │
│  │ TEXAS INSTR. │  │ INFINEON     │              │
│  │ LM7805       │  │ IRF540N      │              │
│  │ 5V · 1A reg  │  │ N-FET 100V  │              │
│  └──────────────┘  └──────────────┘              │
│                                                  │
│  Have a component you'd like featured here?      │
│  Partner with us →                               │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

What Manufacturers Get

Benefit	Details
Brand card in the Arena panel	Manufacturer name, part number, and spec line displayed to every Arena user
Datasheet-accurate simulation	FUSE™ runs the failure physics against your exact rated values — not generic component defaults
Named failure modes	Failure cards reference your component's specific failure mechanism (e.g. Thermal Runaway, Avalanche Breakdown)
Product page link	Direct clickable link from the Arena card to your datasheet or product page
Engineering pipeline exposure	CTE students, post-secondary electronics students, and educators are the exact audience entering the engineering workforce
Mentioned in partner documentation	Referenced in CircuiTry3D educational materials and marketing content

Component Families Available for Placement

FUSE™ has physics-accurate failure profiles for all of these families — any can be featured:

Resistors · Thermistors · Capacitors · Inductors · LEDs · Diodes · Zener Diodes · MOSFETs · BJTs · Op-Amps · Voltage Regulators · ICs / Microcontrollers · Batteries · Switches · Relays · Fuses · Lamps · Motors · Transformers · Crystal Oscillators

Custom component types can also be registered via the FUSE™ extensibility API (FailureEngine.registerComponentType / registerFailureProfile).

What You Need to Submit

To add a Featured Component card, provide:

Field	Example
Manufacturer name	Vishay
Part number	CRCW0402 100Ω
One-line spec summary	0402 · 100Ω · 1% · 63mW
Component family	resistor
Key datasheet parameters	resistance, powerRating, tolerance, thermalResistance
Product page URL	https://www.vishay.com/...
Logo (optional)	SVG or PNG

The key datasheet parameters vary by component family (e.g. a MOSFET needs vth, rds_on, id_max, vds_max, powerRating, thermalResistance). Our team handles the mapping — you supply the numbers from your datasheet.

How to Get Started

1. Email us at [email protected] with:
   • Your company name and the component families you'd like featured
   • Part numbers and links to the relevant datasheets
2. We map your specs to a FUSE™ component profile and build the card
3. Card goes live in the Featured Components panel — visible to all Arena users

You can also request a live demo showing the Arena running a FUSE™ simulation on one of your existing parts before committing to placement.

Why This Is Different from Traditional Ad Placement

• Contextual, not interruptive — your component appears because the student is actively running a stress test, not because they scrolled past a banner
• Brand + education — students associate your part number with a hands-on learning experience they'll remember for years
• Accurate physics — the simulation uses your real datasheet, so every interaction reinforces the quality and precision of your component
• Direct link to purchase — the moment of maximum learning engagement is also the moment they can click through to your product page

Competitive Context

Capability	Falstad	TinkerCAD	Multisim	LTspice	CircuiTry3D Arena
Component failure simulation	✗	✗	✗	✗	✓ FUSE™
Real manufacturer specs in simulation	✗	✗	✗	✗	✓ Featured Components
Named failure modes (30+)	✗	✗	✗	✗	✓
Physics descriptions of failure	✗	✗	✗	✗	✓
Direct link to product page	✗	✗	✗	✗	✓
3D failure visualization	✗	✗	✗	✗	✓

📋 For full pitch deck structure, email templates, and outreach strategy, see docs/ARENA_MARKETING.md — Part 3: Manufacturer Product Placement.

🤝 To start the conversation, visit the in-app Partnerships page or email [email protected].

---

💳 Pricing

Pricing is available at /pricing. Plans are offered on monthly or annual (save 15%) billing cycles.

Plan	Price (Annual)	Who it's for	Highlights
Free Sandbox	Free	Explorers	3 active circuits · Core components · W.I.R.E. analysis preview · Community hub · FUSE™ severity badge only · ⚡ Circuit AI chat (free)
Student Plan	$92 / student / yr	Students	10 active circuits · Full component library · W.I.R.E. analysis tools · Full FUSE™ failure names + visual effects · Community hub · ⚡ Circuit AI chat · ✨ AI Circuit Explanation
Educator License	$299 / educator / yr	Teachers	Unlimited saved circuits · Advanced W.I.R.E. coaching · Lesson templates & assessments · Full FUSE™ analysis + physical descriptions + Component Arena · Priority support · ⚡ Circuit AI chat · ✨ AI Circuit Explanation
Institutional License	Contact us	Schools & districts	Bulk educator seats · Dedicated onboarding · SIS integrations & SSO · Curriculum alignment toolkit · Custom FUSE™ component profiles · ⚡ Circuit AI chat · ✨ AI Circuit Explanation

Add-on — Certification Bundle (Coming Soon) — $99 / yr: Guided certification pathway, accredited PD modules, printable achievement badges.

Volume discounts available for 25+ seats. Custom enterprise packages available — contact [email protected].

---

📱 Android App

The project ships as a Capacitor-wrapped Android app ready for Google Play.

Build the AAB

# Option 1 — automated script
./build-android.sh

# Option 2 — manual steps
npm install
npm run build
npx cap sync android
cd android
./gradlew bundleRelease

The signed AAB is generated at:

android/app/build/outputs/bundle/release/app-release.aab

Play Store Resources

File	Purpose
PLAY_STORE_SUBMISSION_GUIDE.md	Step-by-step submission guide
PLAY_CONSOLE_AUTO_PUBLISH_SETUP.md	GitHub Actions → Play Console auto-publish
PLAY_STORE_PACKAGE_SUMMARY.md	Overview of prepared assets
play-store-assets/	Icons, feature graphic, screenshots

---

👤 Founder

Mitchell Lorin McKnight — Founder & Lead Developer

Mitchell began CircuiTry3D after watching students struggle to connect textbook schematics to the physical reality of what electricity actually does inside a wire — and what happens when it goes wrong. The result is a platform that starts where every other circuit simulator stops: at the moment of failure, at the atomic scale, and with a complete curriculum to back it up.

---

🧩 Part of the 3D Learning Family

CircuiTry3D is one of a family of interactive 3D apps built by Mitchell Lorin McKnight, each making an abstract, hands-on trade visual and tangible:

App	What it does	Links
CircuiTry3D (this app)	Build and simulate electrical circuits in 3D — from macro current flow to the atomic scale, with the FUSE™ failure engine	circuitry3d.app · Google Play
Automotive3D	Build real engines in 3D, swap branded parts, and diagnose faults with live DTC codes	automotive3d.ca · Google Play
ThePrints3D	Turn flat floor-plan PDFs and images into an interactive 3D building model — entirely in the browser	theprints3d.com · Google Play

---

📋 Changelog

[2026-04-29] — Home & Car Circuit Visualizers

Features: Two new 3D interactive circuit simulators accessible from the global navigation bar.

🏠 Home Electrical Circuit Simulator (/home-circuit)

A 3D room scene built with Three.js that simulates residential 120 V AC wiring.

• Pre-placed breaker panel, wall outlets, GFCI, light switch, and ceiling fixture rendered in a Three.js room environment
• Toggle the light switch to open/close the lighting branch circuit — ceiling light glows and current-flow particles animate along the hot/neutral wires
• Live circuit metrics overlay showing voltage (120 V AC), current (A), and power (W)
• Overload Demo — trips the 15 A breaker with a FUSE™-style red-flash effect at the panel

Files added: src/pages/HomeCircuit.tsx

🚗 Automotive Circuit Simulator (/car-circuit)

A 3D top-down vehicle chassis built with Three.js that simulates a 12 V automotive electrical system.

• Pre-placed battery, alternator, fuse box, headlights (L/R), starter motor, horn, ignition switch, and interior light rendered in a Three.js chassis view
• Four independently switchable circuits: Headlights, Ignition (interior light), Horn, and Alternator Charging — with correct dependencies
• Fuse box emissive feedback — blow a fuse via Blow Fuse button to disable headlights; repair with Fix Fuse
• Voltage toggles between 12.6 V (battery only) and 13.8 V (alternator charging when ignition is on)
• Current-flow particles animated along positive headlight wires and the alternator charging loop

Files added: src/pages/CarCircuit.tsx

---

[2026-04-26] — Dynamic Resistor Color Bands (IEC 60062)

Feature: 3D resistor models in the circuit builder now display accurate, real-world color bands that update dynamically based on each resistor's resistance value.

Previously all resistors rendered with the same hardcoded band colors regardless of their resistance value. Real resistors encode their value visually using the industry-standard IEC 60062 4-band color code — and the builder now matches that.

What changed:

• Added getResistorColorBands(resistance) — a helper that converts any resistance value (Ω) to the correct four-band color sequence using the standard digit/multiplier/tolerance encoding
• Band 1 & 2 represent the two most-significant digits using the standard 10-color palette (Black = 0 through White = 9)
• Band 3 encodes the power-of-10 multiplier (Black ×1 → Violet ×10 M, plus Gold ×0.1 and Silver ×0.01)
• Band 4 is the tolerance ring — Gold (±5%) for values ≥ 1 Ω, Silver (±10%) for sub-ohm values
• Band colors update in real time when a resistor's resistance is edited via the properties panel — no mesh rebuild needed

Example mappings:

Resistance	Band 1	Band 2	Band 3	Band 4
100 Ω	Brown	Black	Brown	Gold
220 Ω	Red	Red	Brown	Gold
4.7 kΩ	Yellow	Violet	Red	Gold
47 kΩ	Yellow	Violet	Orange	Gold
1 MΩ	Brown	Black	Green	Gold

Files modified: public/legacy.html

---

📄 License

ISC

🤝 Contributing

Pull requests are welcome! Please open an issue first to discuss what you'd like to change.

📞 Support

• GitHub Issues: https://github.com/Mitchelllorin/CircuiTry3D/issues
• Email: [email protected]