Digilent Expands Prototyping Possibilities With Stand-Alone Prototyping Surface
The Canvas Max prototyping surface can now be purchased as a stand-alone product, expanding prototyping capabilities for the Analog Discovery Studio Max multi-instrument laboratory platform.
Digilent’s Analog Discovery Studio (ADS) Max is a multi-instrument lab kit designed for prototyping. The Analog Discovery Canvas Max is a prototyping surface that comes with the base ADS Max. Recently, Digilent released the Analog Discovery Canvas Max prototyping surface for individual purchase.
Canvas Max boards are removable and replaceable, and with the new availability of the boards for individual purchase, designers can expand available breadboard workspace for large or complex circuit designs or switch between boards to allow for multiple users and projects.
The Canvas Max is a prototyping surface included in the base ADS Max kit. Image used courtesy of Diligent
Expanding Analog Discovery Studio (ADS) Max
The Analog Discovery Canvas Max is built for use with Digilent’s ADS Max, an all-in-one benchtop instrument. Studio Max consolidates 14 essential lab instruments, including a four-channel mixed-signal oscilloscope, a two-channel function generator, a logic analyzer, and a digital multimeter, into a single, compact device. ADS Max comes equipped with the Canvas Max breadboardable interface, as well as programmable power supplies, making it a versatile tool for circuit design and embedded systems courses. Now designers can scale projects by using more than one Canvas Max prototyping surface.
Multiple Canvas Max units can be purchased separately to scale large or complex projects and to enable multiple projects between users. Image used courtesy of Diligent
Analog Discovery Canvas Max
Canvas Max features a comprehensive set of integrated components and breakout connectors. The board includes four full-sized breadboards, providing ample space for both analog and digital circuit sections. This is a practical advantage for projects that require a large number of components or involve both high-power and sensitive signal paths. The board also includes eight LEDs, four buttons, and four switches, which are directly accessible for user input and output. For connectivity, the surface offers breakouts for four BNC connectors, four banana jacks, two Pmod ports, two 3.5 mm audio jacks, and a four-terminal spring block.
Beyond providing additional breadboard area, Canvas Max provides direct access to the Studio Max’s fixed power supplies (±15 V, +5 V, and +3.3 V) and I/O lines, simplifying power distribution and signal routing across a project. Its quick-swap design and power control via the Studio Max’s “Board Power” toggle further enhance usability. The Canvas Max is 279 mm × 216 mm × 1.57 mm in size and is fully supported by Digilent’s WaveForms software, which allows for unified control of all integrated instruments.
Users can access prebuilt instrument panels for the ADS Max with Digilent’s WaveForms software suite. Image used courtesy of Diligent
Expanding Prototyping Capabilities
The Analog Discovery Canvas Max is a valuable addition to the engineering toolkit. It provides a structured environment that allows for a more logical separation of circuit blocks, which can be particularly useful for organizing mixed-signal designs or complex systems involving microcontrollers, sensors, and power stages. This promotes better circuit organization and simplifies debugging.
The addition of this product for stand-alone purchase also aims to benefit academic and professional applications where users need an expandable and well-organized workspace. Example applications include developing mixed-signal systems, prototyping complex embedded systems with multiple MCU peripherals, or building intricate power electronics circuits.
