Step 4: Design Canvas

CELUS Design Canvas

The CELUS Design Canvas is the workspace within the CELUS Design Studio where you can plan, design and execute your electronics projects seamlessly. It provides all the necessary details to expedite the development of a functional electronic product, ranging from high-level block diagrams to interconnecting multiple functional circuits on a simple whiteboard. Additionally, you can create a Bill of Materials (BoM) for your project and generate the Electronic Design Automation (EDA) files required for building your PCBs, all within a single application. Below is a step-by-step guide on how to build a project from scratch.

When you select the option to start a project from scratch you will be greeted by an empty workspace in the CELUS Design Canvas as shown in the figure below. When starting a project from scratch, you are presented with an empty Design Canvas, with tools available on both sides of the interface to assist in structuring your design.

 

CELUS Design Canvas: 1) Undo/Redo and Resolve button 2) Design with AI 3) CUBOt AI Recommendations 4) Design Library Panel 5) Error/Warnings Panel 6) Navigation Tabs 7) Canvas Settings 8) View Settings

 

1. Undo/Redo and Resolve button: The Undo/Redo button helps you revert the actions performed in CELUS Design Canvas. The Resolve button is inactive by default. However, if you have the project design ready to resolve, the Resolve button will be active . Once the Resolve button is pressed, you cannot undo the action or revert the changes made on CELUS Design Canvas.

2. Design with AI: AI-Powered Design Commands (Text to Canvas and Voice to Canvas) enables users to generate and refine designs using simple text prompts. Users describe what they need, and the AI materializes their intent directly on the canvas. Users can enter natural language commands to interact with the design tool. AI can place and modify design elements based on user instructions. By refining prompts and accepting AI-generated suggestions, users can rapidly iterate and build designs with ease.

   
   
   Design with AI: Enter Natural Language commands
   
   
   
   Design with AI: Iteration of Design with consecutive commands
   
   

3. CUBOt AI Recommendations: AI CUBOt Recommendations in the newly redesigned library panel, highlighting the most suitable functional blocks for your projects based on the information set in the project settings. Simply drag and drop your functional block to the design canvas, the recommendation box will adjust the combination of functional blocks as your design progress.

   
   Functional Blocks recommended by CUBOt AI
   
   

4. Design Library Panel: The Design Library panel, displays the list of Functional blocks and their categories available for designing an electronics project. To gain more insight into the concepts of functions and their structures, please visit the page. You can also search the name of functionality in the top searching bar, and the search term will be highlighted in grey across blocks within Library Panel. User can close the Library Panel if they tap on the handle, and can re-open it if they tap again on the handle.

   
   Collapsed view of Library Panel
   
   
   

5. Error/Warnings Panel: When using the CELUS Design Studio, users may encounter errors that impede project progress. The Error and Warnings Panel offers actionable feedback to help identify and resolve design workflow issues.. This article aims to clarify some common error messages encountered on the platform, offering guidance on how to address them effectively. Clicking on specific errors or warnings will highlight the issue on the Design Canvas

   
   
   Error: No matching CUBO found for Functional Block Temperature and TFT Display
   
   

6. Navigation tabs: Design Studio comprises three stages: Design Canvas, BOM View and Output Files. Once you have completed filling in the details in Project Settings, the CELUS Design Canvas tab will be activated, allowing you to commence the project creation process. Upon resolving the project in the CELUS Design Canvas, the BOM view and Output Files stages will be activated for review.

7. Canvas Settings: You can access Help desk in CELUS Design Canvas, User Profile settings, Project Settings and Project share options here.

   
   Share Project: Enable Public Sharing of your Project
   
   

8. View Settings: The Pan over screen button  which helps you navigate the CELUS Design Canvas workspace. Next to that are the Zoom In and Out buttons, and the Fit to Screen button  in the middle.

 

Select and Configure Functional block from the Design Library

The first step towards designing your project is to select the necessary Functional blocks. You can either choose the Functional Blocks from the CUBOt AI recommendations or search the keyword for your required Functional block in the search bar from the Design Library Panel.

 

Setting up a Functional block: 1) Drag the Functional block to the workspace 2) Right-click on Functional Block and Select Manage settings 3) Block settings

 

After selecting the required block, left-click on it and drag it to the canvas workspace. Once the Functional Blocks are placed, you can access it's settings by directly clicking on it or left-click on it and select Manage Settings. This will open the block settings window on the right side of the canvas

 

 

In the Block Settings, you can customize the Microcontroller Functional block by naming it, choosing a color, and defining its specifications. These specifications help the platform identify a matching CUBO™ for your design. Each Functional Block has its own unique set of specifications. 

After entering the required details, click Apply updates to save your changes. If you try to return to the CELUS Design Canvas without applying them, a warning message will appear, allowing you to either Ignore changes or Apply updates before proceeding.

 

 

Select the CUBO™

Once your project has been resolved, all Functional Blocks will be populated with at least one matching CUBO™. By default, the CELUS Design Platform automatically selects a recommended CUBO™, marked with a purple CELUS recommended tag. You can explore additional options by clicking See more CUBO options, which will open the CUBO Results screen. Here, you can review alternative CUBOs, examine their schematics and metadata, and select a preferred implementation. If desired, you can lock a specific CUBO™ directly from the results view. Alternatively, you may proceed with the CELUS-recommended option. Once you confirm your selection by clicking Lock in the Settings panel, the button status will update to Locked, and the label will change to Selected by you, indicating that a user-defined selection has been made. For a detailed walkthrough of the CUBO™ Results interface and further selection mechanisms, refer to the chapter titled Select CUBO™.

 

1) CUBO recommended by CELUS 2) Locked the selected CUBO™ 

 

Delete / Duplicate a Functional block

To Delete or Duplicate a Functional block, first, you need to right-click on the Functional block. Then select Delete to remove the Functional block or select Duplicate to create another copy of the Functional block.

 

Delete / Duplicate a Functional blocks

 

Move or Resize Functional blocks

To move a block in Canvas, first, you need to select the block by left-clicking with the mouse. Once the block is selected, a drag icon  appears, indicating that the block is ready to be moved.

If you want to resize the block, left-click on the resize icon (as shown in the figure below) located at the corner of the block, and then drag it across the grid.

 

Resize block

 

Adding Ports to Functional Blocks

Establishing connections on CELUS Design Canvas between Functional blocks is facilitated by Ports and Links. To start, add Ports to a Functional Block by clicking on it. This will display the Add Ports button (Plus icon) on all four sides. You can add Ports to any side of the block, depending on the desired connection direction. Clicking the Add Ports button creates a Port on the corresponding side, and additional Ports can be added by clicking the icon again.

After selecting the required block, left-click on it and drag it to the canvas workspace. Once placed, you can access it's settings by right-clicking on the block and selecting Manage Settings. This will open the block settings window on the right side of the canvas

 

Adding Ports to Functional Block

 

Connect Functional blocks via Links

To connect two Functional Blocks in the CELUS Design Canvas, use Links which act as virtual wires between CUBOs. Start by adding ports to both the transmitter and receiver blocks. Then, hover over a port until a crosshair icon appears. Left-click on the port and drag it toward the destination port.

A Link is created when the cursor at the connection end turns Yellow. Left-click on the receiver port to finalize the connection. The Link will turn Blue, indicating a successful connection.

 

Connecting Functional blocks using links

 

Branch and Move Links

To establish a T-connection or a Star Connection from a Link, first, you need to click on an existing Link from which you want to branch out. Then, the Branch Link icon  appears on the Link. Left-click and drag from the icon to branch out the Link and go to the Port where you want to establish the connection.

 

Establishing T-Connection among Functional Blocks

 

 

To refine your project design, you can easily rearrange links after establishing connections using the Move Link feature. First, left-click on the link segment you want to move. Once the plus icon appears, click it, and a dark round icon will indicate that the link is ready to be moved. Then, left-click on the round icon and drag it in the desired direction. As shown in the figure below, ports are highlighted to facilitate establishing connections.

 

Moving Links in Design Canvas

 

Link Settings and Assigning Ports to Links

In the Design Studio, you can resolve your project without assigning ports to links, as the AI will automatically match ports based on your functional block requirements. However, if you want to specify port connections between blocks, you should configure the Link Settings. To do this, directly click on the desired link. This will open the Link and Port Settings window on the right side of the canvas. In this window, select the Port Type and choose the required port by typing it in the search bar or scrolling through the list.

 

Delete / Manage Settings on Link

 

After selecting the port, click Apply updates. Under Available ports, you will see the Port numbers representing both ends of the selected Link. If the Link has more branches, you will see more Port numbers listed.

 

Link Settings: 1) Click on the Interface search bar 2) Select the Interface from the drop-down list or type and search 3) Apply updates

Place Port Labels

After you assign the Ports to the Link and enable the Show Label button, the Port name will appear under the Link. To move the Port Label, first left-click on it until a drag icon appears. Then, drag the label to your preferred position. The Port label's movement is constrained to the direction of the Link Segment. It moves vertically if the Link segment is vertical and horizontally if the Link segment is horizontal.

 

Repositioning Port Label

Resolve Project

All modifications made by selecting and connecting Functional Blocks, as well as assigning Ports and Labels, are automatically saved by the Design Studio.To finalize your project, click the Resolve button and wait a few seconds until the resolution is complete. A Purple Icon will appear on the top right corner of each Functional Block, indicating successful resolution. Once resolved, you will find CUBO(s) listed as solutions for each block in the CUBO Results window within the CELUS Design Canvas.

 

Resolving Project: 1) Before Resolve 2) During Resolve 3) Successful Resolve

 

1) Before Resolve 2) CUBOs found after Resolve 3) Select and Locked the CUBO 4) Unlocked the CUBO

Unresolved Project

When a project fails to resolve, errors and warnings will appear in the Notifications panel at the bottom of the CELUS Design Canvas. The Functional block(s) that failed to resolve will be highlighted with a warning symbol. Some possible cases of errors or warning after resolving a project are listed here.

 

Unresolved project: No matching CUBO(s) found for Standard LED and the error has been notified below

 

The number of errors and warnings encountered is displayed in the Errors/Warnings notification panel. Clicking on the Error/Warning icon expands the notification panel at the bottom of the CELUS Design Canvas. This panel provides detailed descriptions of each error and warning, helping you troubleshoot and resolve issues efficiently.