instructables

RGB Infinity Cube

by Zachary Goode

This project was inspired by an art piece I saw while questions, concerns, or clarifications. Criticism of the
browsing various build websites. I had seen plenty of helpful variety is encouraged.
infinity mirrors before, but this one was different; it
utilized RGB LEDs instead of the typical single-color I want to start this by saying this is a difficult build. If
ones. I had experience in constructing light boxes, you don't have patience and get frustrated easily,
again out of single-color LEDs, but I was confident proceed cautiously. The hardest part of the build is
that I could adapt both RGB and an infinity mirror into the woodworking portion; the electronics are relatively
my build. easy to assemble.

As my first Instructable post, I am entirely welcome to

RGB Infinity Cube: Page 1

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iyj1eiVAa2Q&feature=youtu.be

Step 1: Materials & Tools

Materials Required:

*Electronics

RGB LED strip; 5V 144 LED/Meter

-I bought 4 meters so that I would have some extra and ended up only using 3 meters

Arduino Pro Micro; the ATMEGA328P 5V variant

-This is overkill as only one pin is needed and the program is small, but it is a cheap and small form factor option

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 5V Power supply with enough amperage for the LED's used

-I chose a 8 amp one. A wall wart type is preferable

Misc. Stranded Wire

-I recommend at least 16-18 awg for safety with the amount of current the LED's draw

On/Off switch

-To turn the cube on and off (Duh!)

Push button with LED

-To change the light pattern playing

10K Ohm resistor

1000uF 25v polarized capacitor

*Other

1/2" thick wood planks

-I used walnut since I like darker woods; they contrast with lights better. I also recommend buying the finished
planks at Home Depot or Lowes if you don't have a planer or joiner. While more expensive, these boards are very
convenient.

Wood Glue
Super Glue
Two part epoxy
Sheet Glass; .125" thick

-Windows glass should be good enough and is fairly cheap

Oil or lacquer for finishing off the wood

-I prefer to use Danish oil on walnut, it brings out the contrast in the grain

Clear PLA filament 1.75mm or 3mm, whatever your printer uses

Window tint film
Heat shrink tubing

Tools Required:

Soldering Iron
RGB Infinity Cube: Page 3
 60/40 Flux Core Lead Solder
Utility knife
Glass Cutter
Table Saw
Miter Saw
Drill and appropriate sized bits
Sander with assorted grits from 180 up to around 400
Vinyl applicator tools (squeegee, knife, squirt bottle, paper towels)
Wire cutters
Pliers
Wire Strippers (optional, but makes things easier)
Hot glue gun
FTDI programmer board
Mini USB cable for the FTDI
3D printer (optional but makes some parts easier to make)

1
2

7 6 5 4 3

1. power supply 1. JST connectors saved from LED

Strips
2. WS2812b LED's
3. switch
4. power socket
5. Arduino Pro Mini
6. Buttons
7. FTDI progrmmer for arduino

1. Walnut Planks

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Step 2: Building the Frame

The first part in the step is cutting the wood to shape. glass sheet into
In this case since we are using a triple miter joint to
hold it together we need to cut the wood into a -Now make an 45 degree angled cut along the wider
trapezoidal shape the exact dimensions and angle edge so that the mitered corners fit together
are in the SolidWorks drawing up above. Now keep in
mind that the length of the pieces doesn't matter it's -Also cut some wider planks into sections to make a
the angle of the miter cuts. base for the cube to rest on as shown in the pictures
above, you will need three of these pieces. This is
Make these cuts in order: where the control electronics will be housed.

-Cut the planks to 3/2" wide and about 9"-10" long Rough sand the wood before fitting to make sure that
all of the edges being glued together are flat.
-you'll need 24 of these pieces
Start to fit and glue the pieces together to make the
-On the two ends of each piece cut them to a 45 three way miter as shown in the image. Drill a hole in
degree angle using a miter saw as shown in the one of the corners of the cube to route all of the wires
drawing up above to the base, preferably the worst looking corner so it
is hidden.
-Using the table saw again cut a .125" dado along the
narrow side of the pieces to create a notch to set the

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RGB Infinity Cube: Page 6
Step 3: Make the Base for the Cube

Taking a wider piece of walnut cut out three trapezoidal pieces. On the miter saw and/or table saw cut a 45 degree
chamfer along all the edges. I ended up using both the miter and table saw for this.

Drill any necessary holes for the power jack, switch, and button. After drilling the holes, glue the pieces together.

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Step 4: Complete the Frame

Take the main part of the cube and the base and glue everything until satisfied with the texture and look. I
them together to make make one solid piece. Have went from 150 grit all the way up to 400, using a
the corner of the cube with the hole in it be the one mouse sander for most of it and getting the hard to
glued into the base, as this is where all the reach parts by hand. When done sanding apply oil, in
electronics go. my case danish oil, with a brush and then wipe off
excess with a towel. One or two coats of this should
After everything is glued together and solidly attached be more than enough. Again, wipe off all excess oil.
now it is time to finish the frame so that the
electronics can be prepared and added. Sand

1. after the oil 1. before the oil

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Step 5: 3D Print the Parts to Hold the LED's and Install Them

3D print 12 of the wedges to mount the LED's on in the end but it took several hours to get the strips
each of the edges of the cube. Cut the LED strips to installed and then working. This step definitely takes
size (in my case 31 LED's each) and then tape them some patience. I ended up breaking one of my strips
into place using the adhesive on the back of the so make sure to have some extra on hand in case
strips. Super glue these pieces into the cube, one at that happens to you. Connect the strips together
each edge. using jumper wire so that there are three different
sections of four edges. These three sections are each
I'm going to be honest here. Soldering the LED's going to connect to a different pin on the Arduino Pro
together was really, really difficult. I definitely Mini.
misjudged how hard it was going to be to get the
wires in with the limited space available. It worked in

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RGB Infinity Cube: Page 10
 View in 3D Download
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…

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Step 6: Preparing the Glass Sheet

Cut 6 glass pieces to a little larger on each side than excess

the shorter of the edges on the pieces of wood
For my window tint I used a spray bottle to spritz
Practice cutting. It is harder than I thought it wood be. water on the adhesive side of the sheet and on the
The first picture up above is examples of what glass and then put the sheet onto the glass. Using the
happens when you don't know what you are doing. squeegee squeeze out any bubbles and water, let it
Once you get the hang of it though it is fairly easy to dry, and trim the edges
do. Getting the technique down just takes a little
practice !!!MAKE SURE TO SQUEEZE OUT ANY AIR
BUBBLES WHEN APPLYING!!!
!!!WHEN CUTTING GLASS WEAR SAFETY
GLASSES AND GLOVES. THE EDGES CAN BE Attach the mirrors to the frame with the film facing
VERY SHARP!!! inward with a two part epoxy. Feel free to be
generous with the epoxy, more is better, but don't use
In my case this ended up being about 8.25" by 8.25" so much that it gets all over the mirror surface.
since my shorter edge measured about 8"
After the mirrors are attached and the epoxy is dry,
Sand the edges of the glass to get rid of any shards super glue the cover pieces over the led's. you'll need
and to smooth out the sides to print 12 of these, one for each edge (optional step;
not necessary. just makes it look better)
Put window tint on one side of the glass according to
the instructions for your particular tint and trim off the

1. This is what happens when you don't know how to cut glass

1. window tint
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 1. window tint
2. squeegee

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 View in 3D Download
https://www.instructables.com/ORIG/F72/XSOM/JOYNSZPP/F72XSOMJOYNSZPP.stl
…

Step 7: Program the Arduino

Open the Arduino IDE and open the code in the As of right now I only have one program as the code
included file. Make sure that the Arduino Pro Micro proved troublesome to get working. I will be updating
5V 16Mhz is selected and plug the Arduino in using a it later and adding more patterns in.
programmer as shown in the diagram. I used an FTDI
programmer. Plug it in as shown above. Press the
upload button and voila, the code has been uploaded.

1. Choose Arduino Pro Mini 5V 16Mhz from the board

menu

RGB Infinity Cube: Page 14

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…

Step 8: Assemble the Electronics

Now to connect all of the electrical parts together. The capacitor used is a 1000 uF 25V polarized cap.
This means mounting the LED strips inside the cube, It's not necessary, but is recommended to smooth out
mounting the button, adding a power jack, and current spikes.
connecting it all together. If you follow the diagrams
up above it should all work out just find. Before The resistor used on the button is 10K ohms and is to
powering anything make sure that everything is hold the pin to ground when the button is not pushed
supplied with adequate power at 5V (this means use so as the pin isn't "floating." This is a necessary
thick enough wire to handle the current of the LED's). component For the button and the dc jack put them in
the base before soldering them so that the wires can
Save the JST connectors on the ends of the LED be hidden in the base.
strips that were cut up to put on the cube. These
make it much easier to connect everything during
assembly.

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Step 9: You Are Done

Enjoy the work of art that you have created and confuse your friends with the optical illusion of the infinity mirrors!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iyj1eiVAa2Q&feature=youtu.be

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you might want to mention in your list of tools a 3D printer as that is a significant piece of kit I don't
have. :-(
A 3d printer isn't necessary. While it makes life easier, the parts the I make with it can easily be
made by hand. The only important thing you need is to be able to have an angled piece in the edge
to mount the led's on. That can be made out of wood. The parts that cover the led's are completely
optional, I actually last minute decided not to use them
This is really cool! I'll try to make one.
Adding an IR controller would be a nice touch, I'll work on it.
That shouldn't be all too hard. Just replace the bit for the button and use that instead and it should
work. As there is only one pattern right now it wouldn't really be that useful yet, but once I get to
adding more patterns it could be cool to have. I'll add more patterns this weekend and try to add IR
support to it.

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