Glossary
Mignon - a small reusable element designed to perform a simple signal-processing job. Typically used to link up analogue and digital components of the prototype so that they can work together without pain.
Mignon à boîte - a mignon built around a small enclosure which protects the delicate electronics from mechanical damage.
Mignon à chapeau - literally, a mignon with a hat on. A mignon topped by a small breadboard to make fast reconfiguration easy during prototyping.
Mignon à vitrine or mignon en verre - a mignon in which the mechanical protection is provided by a layer of resin.
Mignon poilu - a mignon with a male header on top, which can be used for configuration to produce variants from a standard circuit.
Mignon à puce or mignon digital - a mignon containing a microchip, typically manipulating digital data.
Mignon analogique - a mignon containing analogue components, typically operational amplifiers.
Vitrine tripode - a style of construction of a mignon vitrine in which the circuit is soldered between the legs of a stiff wire tripod or in French, trépied, which provides both electric power in use and structural integrity during construction. A three-pin terminal block at the apex keeps the wires together and provides power to the trépied.
Vitrine à sandwich (or vitrine à sandwiche) - a method of building up a vitrine in several layers of resin. The main advantage is keeping curing times reasonable, but this construction method also raises the possibility of using various modelling techniques such as using a different pigmentation for each layer.
Tarte aux cerises - (literally cherry pie) a method of constructing a vitrine in which existing transparent solids such as cheap acrylic “scattering diamonds” are used either to reduce the quantity of resin needed or to create a solid scaffolding or armature upon which the circuit is built, usually both. The solid items are referred to as cerises.
Français - a language spoken by many humans, used here to produce a distinctive nomenclature.