Build A Programmable LED Cube
Build A Programmable LED Cube
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Optional Materials:
Tools list:
Wire Cutters PN 35482
Pliers PN 177608
63/37 Solder PN 151474
Solder Flux PN 2094258
Solder Wick PN 41082
25W Soldering Iron PN 129040
Soldering Stand PN 36329
Sponge PN 134631
LED Tester PN 355805
Used to build optional circuit that will
supply 5V of power with an 9V source.
LED cubes rely on an optical phenomenon called persistence of vision or POV. If you flash an LED really fast, the image stays on
your retina for a little while after the LED turns off. By flashing each layer of the cube one after another really fast, it gives the
illusion of a 3D image, this is also called multiplexing.
The LED cube is made up of columns and layers. Each of the 16 (anode) columns and the 4 (cathode) layers are connected to
the controller board with a separate wire, and can be controlled individually.
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Pegboard/foil template
Wood template
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Assembled layers
Step 5 - Solder the layers together
Take your time while building the layers. The quality and look of your final cube depends on the layers be built neatly and evenly.
A. Select your best layer piece and put it back in the template. This will be the top layer.
It can get tricky holding one layer above the other while soldering. You can use a third hand, or I used a 9V battery which is the
perfect size to help create the correct spacing.
Warning: Tape over the battery poles to avoid accidentally overloading the LEDs while soldering.
B. Carefully align the layers and solder the corner LEDs. Next, solder all the LEDs around the edge of the cube, moving the 9V
batteries along as you go around ensuring that the layers are soldered in parallel. Then move a 9V battery to the middle of the
cube, sliding it in from one of the sides and solder a couple of the LEDs in the middle.
C. Your cube should be fairly stable now, so you can continue soldering the rest of the LEDs without using any extra support.
When you have soldered all the columns, it is time to test the LEDs again. Remember that tab sticking out from the upper right
corner of the layer? Now it's time to use it to test your LEDS.
I used my own bench top power supply but feel free to use other 3 volt sources for testing. I recommend fixing two wires on a 3
volt battery with tape and using that to test. Touch the negative wire to the layer you want to test and touch the positive wire to
the column you want to test. You should see an individual LED light up. Continue touching each column in each layer to be sure
they are all functioning.
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I found it helpful to break this schematic into three parts: Connection, Power, and Miscellaneous.
Connection: This is how we "link" the brains to the cube. Pins 22-29 and 33-40 are used to connect the 16 anode columns to the
ATmega16. Pins 18-21 connect to transistors controlling the power to each of the 4 cathode layers. It's important to consider
which pins go to certain columns and layers, but we will revisit their physical connection in the next step.
Power: Power should be supplied to the cube by means of "busing". With busing we can connect several terminals to each other
through common strips that run along the side of the board. These bus strips come in handy when wanting to supply power
because they localize all the power and ground connections to a single point so that you can reduce the number of wires running
underneath your board. Mark off bus strips with a colored marker to help identify them.
To power your cube, you can either attach the AVR programmer (jumper ON) to the 10-pin header, or use an external power
source. Using the programmer is really easy; attach the cube to the programmer and connect the programmer to a computer. If
your soldering is good and you have the correct drivers installed this little programmer should fully power your cube. Using an
external power source, (9V battery), your cube is mobile, which requires building an annex to your circuit (found on the bottom left
corner of the schematic).
A. Now, let's build your circuit. Lay out all the components on the circuit board to minimize the amount of wires that run
underneath the board. Be sure to orient the transistors, status LEDs, and polarized capacitors correctly. Identify pin 1 on the chip
and header, see some orientation tips here. This video shows a trick for soldering when wires become messy.
B. To reduce your chances of error, use different colored wire and keep your layout compact, on one side of the board, and neat.
Use flux when soldering.
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Troubleshooting Issues:
1. Check the soldering job. Make sure solder leads don't touch each other.
2. Run a continuity test between each connection using a schematic printout
3. Run a continuity check between ground and power.
4. Make sure polarized components are oriented correctly on the board (e.g. IC, capacitors, and LEDs)
5. Are the header pins soldered correctly?
6. Check for damaged components
8. Does the green light come on when the programmer is connected?
9. The programmer should be supplying 5 volts to the cube with the jumper 'ON'.
If not, then use a different power source to test the cube.
Still need help?
Double check the original 4x4x4 LED cube recipe on Instructables here.
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The options for entertainment and dazzlement are endless your LED cube.
+ You can used bigger LEDs for more brightness (be sure you use the correct value resistor)
+ Set your lights, uh, sights high, expand up to an 8x8x8 cube (you may need an additional IC or shift-registers)
+ What can you dream up?
Find the original LED cube by Chr here?
Check out a 3x3x3 LED cube build by a Jameco favorite, Joey Hudy here
This project was assembled by Ari Dubinsk y and Brad Eck ert. Ari currently attends Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in pursuit of a
degree in Electrical Engineering and has teamed up with Jameco to accelerate his learning as well as to lend a helping hand to a
major electronics distributor. His interests include shredding on the guitar, electronics, and music production.
Brad grew up in Bay Area and now attends MIT. He wants to become an egineer and loves to make things and play with robots.
Jameco welcomes the contributions of its customers. Frankly, we think what you write is more interesting than anything we could
write. Share your electronic component story, project, or challenge, and we'll share it with the world. Send your story to
[email protected]
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