Experiment 2: Familiarization with off-line and on line electronic

circuit simulation environment

Introduction:
For many years, simulation has helped drive innovation to reduce time and costs of
product development. Engineering simulation has become a tool for every engineer throughout
products entire life cycle.
Simulation is a mathematical way of emulating the behavior of a circuit. With simulation,
one can determine a circuit’s performance without physically constructing the circuit or using
actual test instruments.

(Emulation refers to the ability of a computer program in an electronic device to emulate (imitate) another program or
device)

Learning Objective/s:

After successful completion of this lesson, you should be able to:

 Discuss the importance of circuit simulation and perform simple circuit simulation using
Multisim, Multisim Live, and Tinkercad.
 Identify the different tools available for each simulation environment

Multisim Electronics Workbench

NI Multisim (formerly MultiSIM) is an electronic schematic capture and simulation
program which is part of a suite of circuit design programs, along with NI Ultiboard. Multisim is
one of the few circuit design programs to employ the original Berkeley SPICE based software
simulation. Multisim was originally created by a company named Electronics Workbench, which
is now a division of National Instruments. Multisim includes microcontroller simulation (formerly
known as MultiMCU), as well as integrated import and export features to the printed circuit
board layout software in the suite, NI Ultiboard. (en.wikipedia.org)

Multisim is widely used in academia and industry for circuit education, electronic schematic
design and SPICE simulation.

Familiarize yourself with Multisim (NI )

This section will introduce you to the Multisim interface. It shall be assumed that all
students have Multisim version 11.0 installed on their computer and can run the program
successfully, meaning, that it was installed properly.
Multisim Interface
The Multisim working window is divided into three:

 Toolbars
 Circuit window
 Design toolbox

Figure 1: The Multisim Interface

As shown in figure 1 above, Multisim has movable toolbars located at the top and side of
the screen. Figure 2(a-d) below shows the most commonly used toolbars.

Standard and View Toolbars

Figure 2(a)
Component Toolbar

Figure 2(b)

Main Toolbar

Figure 2(c)

Instrument (input and metering) Toolbar

Figure 2(d)
Drawing Simple Circuit
Placing Components

To place components on the window, you can:

 Click on the component, toolbar, then browse for the component or,

Figure 3(a)

 Click Place on the menu bar, select Component, then browse for the component you
need

Figure 3(b)

Placing Power and Ground

From sources in the component toolbars, select the desired source component to power your
circuit (AC/DC) - and ground to provide a closed circuit. Figure 4 (a) shows how to select and
place DC power while figure 4(b) shows how to select and place a ground terminal

Figure 4(a)

Figure 4(b)
Placing output Indicators

Figure 5 below shows how to place a load, for example, a virtual lamp from the indicators menu.

Figure 5(a): selecting indicators Figure 5(b): selecting virtual lamp

Placing a Switch

To place a switch, simply repeat the part placement procedure above. You can find the switches
in the Basic Group. See figure 6 below,

Figure 5(b): choosing an SPST (single pole, single throw) switch

Wiring

After placing all the components, click OK and you can move and arrange the components to
efficiently accommodate wiring requirements (see figure 7(a)). To begin wiring, hover the cursor
over a part terminal (end pin). Notice that the cursor changes shape to indicate that you are
starting a wire (see figure 7 (b)). Click it once so you can start the wire and click on another
terminal to end the wire (see figure 7 (c)).

Figure 7(a) Figure 7(b) Figure 7(c)

Continue the wiring process above until you have a complete circuit as shown below

Figure 7(d)

Running the Simulation

Now the circuit is complete. Start the simulation by clicking the Play button. See figure 8 (a)

Figure 8 (a)
Once your simulation is running, click on the Circuit Window, then press the Space bar on the
keyboard. This will operate the switch. See figure 8(b) and figure 8 (c) below

Figure 8 (b) Figure 8 (c)

Virtual vs. Real Components

Real Components
have a specific value that cannot be changed and a footprint used for circuit board
layout.

Virtual Components
are for simulation only. For experiment purposes, there is almost no difference between
the component types

Wiring Hints
 To start a wire with no component terminal nearby: Double-click anywhere in the Circuit
window to start the wiring action.
 Double-click anywhere to end the wiring action.
 From the menu bar, choose Place, then Junction, to place a junction. Start the wire at
this point.
 Single-click while wiring to place a corner.
 Right-click while wiring to delete the wire.
 Ctrl R rotates a component clockwise. You can also right click and choose a rotation
method (see figure 9 below)

Figure 9
  Multisim uses an automatic wire router. This can cause trouble if two terminals are very
close to each other. Compare wiring results between figure 10 (a) and figure 10 (b)
below.

Figure 10 (a) Figure 10 (b)

Multisim Live Simulation

Multisim Live provides a full schematic capture and simulation experience on line
on supported browsers. It gives students the ability, to create, interactively simulate, learn, and
share circuit. Using the same technology as Multisim (for desktop), Multisim Live adds to a
student’s circuit learning experience by giving the students the chance to learn on any device
(cell phone, tablet, computer, etc) without installing any software and plugging students into a
community of over 30,000 public circuits to help spur ideas and accelerate learning. Visit
https://www.multisim.com/help/getting-started/ and http://www.ni.com/tutorial/54750/en/ for
tutorials.

However, its working environment is slightly different with desktop offline software as it has
limited functions and components.

Registering and Login

You can access Multisim Live at multisim.com

Note: This instruction was created using a laptop, if you are using a tablet or phone the images
will be different. Before you can access Multisim Live, you must create a ni.com profile. Click
the Sign Up button to create an account, if you already have one just log in.

Figure 11
Editing Profile and Creating a Circuit
You can edit your profile once you created your account by clicking the edit profile button
below. (see figure)

Figure 12

Multisim Interface
You can now create your circuit by clicking the create circuit shown in figure 12 and the
window as shown below will prompt you. Creating a circuit is almost similar to your desktop
offline software only with limited functions and components. Explore and see for yourself.

Figure 12

Tinkercad - Autodesk
Tinkercad is a free, online 3D modeling program that runs in a web browser, known for
its simplicity and ease of use. Since it became available in 2011 it has become a popular
platform for creating models for 3D printing as well as an entry-level introduction to constructive
solid geometry in schools (wikipedia)

Visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrOM2GABK1g and watch the tutorial: Introduction to

Tinkercad Circuits & Breadboarding
Activities/Assessments:
1. Using Multisim Live. Create and simulate a DC series circuit on line consisting of three (3)
1kΩ resistors and a 20 Vp DC power supply. Insert dc current and volt meters to
showcase Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law (KVL)
2. Using Multisim Live. Create and simulate a DC circuit on line consisting of three (3) 1kΩ
resistors in parallel powered by and a 20 Vp DC power supply. Insert dc current and volt
meters to showcase Kirchhoff’s Current Law (KCL)
3. Support your current and voltage measurements with calculations/solutions for 1 and 2
above.
4. Create your Tinkercad account and simulate the circuits described in 1 and 2
5. Create a short narrative about your experience.

Note: Upload your work on MS Teams (your channel/section) using prescribed format in pdf

References:
Herniter, M.E. (2004). Schematic capture with electronics workbench multisim. Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Shields, T. (2005). Practical teaching ideas with multisim. Electronics Workbench. Retrieved
from http://www.electronicsworkbench.com/academics

Learn how to use Tinkercad to design, build, and test simple circuits.
https://maker.pro/custom/tutorial/how-to-design-and-simulate-circuits-in-tinkercad

Learn how to Tinker Sharpen your design and making skills,

https://www.tinkercad.com/learn/circuits