Ahh! Steve. Thanks for the reply. I kind of deduced that solution. Thanks for confirming buddy! And also thanks for the previous advice on learning more about LEDs and Ohm's Law. I bought a good book on beginner electronics, and its clarifying more and more everytime I read it. It even has topics on POV and Multiplexing which is awesome! So hopefully I will be able to replicate what you have created here very soon!
I've already built a working cube, thanks to Kevin Darrah for all his work and also Arthur (see long version) whose jigs I used. I have now started a second cube, this time using diffused leds instead of the clear type . However , after I saw your jigs, Steve, I decided to try out your method. My jigs were not as good as I would have liked but the end result having finished two 8x8 planes is surprisingly good...6 more to build. So a big thankyou for your idea.I would suggest that if anyone is planning on building the rgb cube that they use ULN2803A ICs rather than hundreds of transistors...a drastic reduction in wiring and components.I got it down to 4 boards...the arduino + SR + mosfets on one and the 3 x (shift registers + ICs) using Veroboard. In conclusion, I would recommend your jigs, Steve, as they give the best results and it seemed a lot quicker making a plane.
Hey, thanks for the great feedback and I'm very pleased you found my jig solution to be useful. I also wanted to illuminate all those transistors and chose to use TLC5916lN constant current shift registers to drive the LED's directly. I had them working well during my panel testing but now it's scaled up to the whole cube I'm having some issues. Looks like the Arduino is struggling to deliver reliable SPI clock etc to all the shift registers. When the cube is lit all white it's not getting enough current or there is a significant voltage drop somewhere, so white isn't very bright nor is it very white. It's all still in prototype at the moment so I'm looking to reduce wire lengths, increase wire diameters, install some line drivers etc. Hopefully I can sort all this out. The 8 panels look great mounted on their PCB though.
@Rednassie: I can no longer see your comments either and it isn't me removing them. Can't explain what's going on, maybe TH-cam has done it, but for reasons unknown to me.
Serghei, Not sure if your asking a question or making a statement about replacing burnt out LED's. It is possible even with the loops except the replacement LED's only have half loops. I have had to do it several time now and that was with a completed cube. I will make a video showing how I did it.
Cost and availability of PCBs seems to be a recurring theme, as it seems there is a keen interest in building this fantastic cube. I built this project, the hard way, using prototyping stripboards, and lots of ribbon cable, super-glue, etc., to fan the wiring out to the LEDs. Apart from 1 dodgy LED, it all worked perfectly. Thankfully the bad LED was at the outer edge of the cube, so was relatively easy to replace. [[If Steve will allow, and I'll go no further if he objects : - consent given]], I have designed a set of PCBs that I know I can have manufactured at a very reasonable cost, providing I can order a minimum of 10 sets. My design differs slightly from Steve's, I have opted for a Cathode shift register board for each panel, and one Anode s/r board. The additional buffering needed for the OE LE and CK networks is taken care of on each Cathode s/r board. The Cathode and Anode S/R boards simply use straight IDC plug/socket connectors to mount below the base PCB, to which the cube matrix is mounted on top. There are no SMT components anywhere, one thing I know was a subject of some concern. Apart from 6 connections from the Anode S/R board to the Arduino, there is no other wiring to do, everything is handled on the 4-layer base board. Even the Arduino is powered from the Anode S/R board!. This will make this a doddle to connect up. I've said it before, possibly here, and elsewhere, the true success of this cube is what you see up top, and that is dictated by the design of the jigs.... fantastic job Steve !! Anyway, back to the PCBs. A "set" consists of ... 1. Base Board - 9 inches square - 4-layer - FR4 - 1.6mm - I have deliberately put no silk-screen text on the top layer, in case you don't use the .... 2. Cover Board - 9 inches square - NO COPPER - 1.6 mm - both sides totally silk-screened black. This board is a cosmetic cover for the Base Board... the cube LED wires pass through it, so topside is all nice and tidy. You don't have to use it, depends how you want your cube to look. I can't exclude it from the "set" however. 3. Drivers Board - All 8 Cathode driver boards and one Anode driver board are panelised on this one PCB. They will need to be cut (separated), which I can do for a small fee. If at least ten people can give me their intention to purchase the set of 3 boards, I will be able to sell them for just £69 per set, (add £5 for cutting the Drivers Board). Price includes postage to you, but it needs a minimum of 10 people willing to give me their word they will buy... a dangerous game, I know. If you are interested, drop me an email at abtrain@tiscali.co.uk
What part of the drill bits needs to be .8 mm. I find lots of bits but the shaft has many different sizes. Like for dremels or standard drills with adjustable chucks. Could you possibly offer a place to source them?
Hi, I used drill bits that were 0.8mm along the total length and managed to find a set of 10 on Amazon. The best offer I found more recently was a set of drills from 0.4 - 3.2 again on Amazon and was good value. If 0.8 is hard to source then try 0.9 or even 1.0mm.
Steve, 74hc595 not used because of resistors? since in the tlc5916 one resistor regulates the current at the outputs. and in 74ns595 you need to put on all 8 channels. Or is there something else. ?
Hi Andrey, the single resistor feature of the tlc5916 and that it is suited for common anode operation seemed a logical choice at the time. The 74hc595 will indeed need 8 resistors and can source or sink 35mA. So it may well be an adequate alternative. I can’t remember the chip now, but if I were to build another cube, I’d use a chip with built in PWM on its outputs. There are many hardware solutions to building a cube and if you wish to try something different to my solution for what ever the reason, then go for it.
@@MrAndrk83 Andrey, like I sad , I can’t remember. It was yeas ago, but I do think it may have been 16 channels. To be honest, If you want advice about the current design then I’m happy to advise as best I can. If you want to change up the design, the by all means go ahead, but Unfortunately I have other priorities and I do not have the time to do the research for you.. It looks like you have already started researching anyway.
Hello Steve. First, thanks for sharing your knowledge. I saw this and had to try and build it. But, I'm new to electronics and am confused about the "220 ohm resistor in series inside the crock clip" statement. Could you explain how you did that please? It's my limited understanding that you clipped the alligator clip to one end of a resistor, then used the other free end to touch and test the LEDs. Lol. Please help. Thanks Steve!
Mr. Ryde Sharing Hi, the resistor is a current limiting resistor to prevent the current flow throw the LED, thus prevent the LED from being destroyed. Typically (and it depends on make, colour etc), an LED' max current is 20mA (milliamps or 0.02 amps) and an LED likes around 2 volts across it in its forward bias. To calculate a suitable resistor you need to apply Ohms Law. If you have a supply voltage of 5V and the LED needs 2 volts, then the resistor will have 3 volts across it. We know the Max current of 20ma so using Ohms Law (resistance = voltage divided by current), so 3 / .02 = 150 Ohms. There is such a value resistor of 150 but to be on the safe side, I used a slightly higher value of 220 Ohms which limits the current a little further, which means the LED would be slightly dimmer, but barley noticeable. If your going to get into electronics, can I suggest you research the most basic of laws, Ohms Law. It is ver useful.
Excellent!!! That was a very straight forward explanation. Thanks Steve!! I just picked up several books on the topic of beginner's electronics and Ohm's Law. But I was more lost with the series of the connection of the resistor. How did you place the resistor inside of the crock clip? This is basically what I was confused about. I fried one LED already. The red no longer lights up. LOL!
Mr. Ryde Sharing ahh! Sorry I miss understood what it was you wanted to know. What I did was solder the resistor to the crock clip where you would normally on a wire, I then soldered the wire to the free end of the resistor. These joints were then supported with some heat shrink sleeving before sliding the crop clip boot over the whole lot. Hope this helps.
Amazing, I'm going to build a simple 1 color cube, I'm going to borrow your curling method, thank you. Do you think tined 22awg would work? If not where are you buying the 20awg? Again thank you
+Greg Tate Hi, Glad you like the curling/twisting method. 22 AWG (US) or SWG (UK) should be just fine. I have seen others use it with success. 20AWG/SWG would be a little more sturdy though. I got my wire from eBay and as it turned out, it was a UK supplier, god for me as I'm UK based: www.brimal.co.uk/20-swg-tinned-copper-wire-500g-86m.html. Hope this helps.
Excellent work, I have reviewed the list of materials and doing calculation of the respective prices would cost about $ 600 making the respective conversion, expensive
Thank you. Yes the project is expensive, mainly due to the cost of the LEDs and the manufacturing of the circuit boards. If you shop around and get the boards made in China directly, then the costs can be reduced a bit.
Sorry Andrey, I don’t have the time to look into this for you. If you want to change the design then that is up to you. I suggest you build a prototype using the different chips on some kind of breadboard. I really do have a lot on my plate and issues with much higher priority right now.
Rizwan Saeed check out the links to the project files in the video description. You should find a parts list, which includes the tinned copper wire I used.
Hi Steve In your GIG file there is one for the 8 x 8 PANEL FORMING JIG what are the dimension for the " E " item. It seems the dimensions are missing for this part... also would you give me dimension for the holes to allign the 8 rows of LED
Yes! and thank you :) I have a few more questions if I may ask:) First off, the guide holes for the rails of LEDs are the measurements starting from the top of part B right(0.2IN) for the bottom row and (0.2IN for the tor row) ? :) I am just trying to get this jig to a T .. I also have bought most of the components bought I need the power supply from an north american supplier and also what kind of adruino did you use for the testing and project? sorry for all the questions but I really enjoye your work and I am excited to start :D !
Seb Ferguson The thickness of parts B is also unimportant, but what is important is the hight of the guide holes. The lower guide holes are 0.2 inch up from the top surface of parts B, and the top row 0.2 inches from the lower row. I used an Arduion UNO throughout.
I honestly don't remember precisely how I measured and marked out the holes. I either used an imperial ruler with a 10th's of an inch scale or I plotted them in software, printed out on paper, stuck the paper on the board, and drilled from their. I did drill both pieces together, one on top of the other. If you prefer to use 5mm then you might have issues moaning the panels if using a PCB created with 0.1 inch pitch spacing.
Steve very well done BRILLIANT! I have 2 questions for you. First question is if the anode shift register is connected to the last Shift Register what is needed in the code to make it work? Simply put the Anode shift register is the last SR in the chain? I have tried a few things like adding 8 bits times the number of shift registers to get it to work. The other question is the code for the Arduino does not for teensy since teensy does not support the ISR(TIMER2_COMPA_vect).
Hi there, thanks for the kind comment. Re the shift registers, if you have added a shift register then yes you would need to add the relevant number of bits in the appropriate place in the data stream. If you have changed the order in which the SRs are connected, the alter the data stream accordingly.
All though the data is sent in via the first SR in the chain, it is the last few bits that the first SR ends up with, the data is pushed down the chain as it fills, thus the first few bits end up in the SR furthest away. The teensy can be used, but yes, it does use timers in a different way, probably easier to use. I can’t recall exactly right now and would have to google it, but it is along the lines of ‘every xx milliseconds’. There are other methods to achieve it, but google timer interrupts on Teensy. It will mean some re coding is required.
Florian De Graef Possibly, but what do you mean exactly? Apply metric dimensions to the existing drawing or redraw with new dimensions that are metric?
well here is what i'm requesting,i orderd one of these cubes from this chinese site its a complete package and they have a tutorial for how to make a simple jig out of carton,now i want to make something better and make it out of MDX,maybe you can make a simple plan on how i should make it? heres the guide they supply with it and also the cube i orderd :/ dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5349772/Installation%20Manual.pdf www.icstation.com/lightsquared-8x8x8-cube-white-blue-p-3531.html
Florian De Graef Well this cube is way simpler than mine and all you need is a piece of what we call MDF in the UK, mark out the grid as per the cardboard example, centre punch where each of the 64 holes need to go, pilot drill the holes with say 1 or 1.5mm drill bit then open each hole up by drilling the required finished diameter. If you have access to a pilar drill then I suggest using that rather than a hand drill. All my jigs were marked out by hand and drilled manually on a pilar drill.
Steve, hello. I make a cube according to your drawing. And I have a question, in Construction Jigs.pdf on page 5 the letter E is depicted but there is no description. What and what sizes is made
Hi Andrew, yes an omission on my part there, sorry about that. E is the flat base board about half inch thick that the whole jig is made up from. Mine was made from MDF, but can be anything you like or have to hand. The thickness is not to important. Hope this helps.
Only one words...... wowooo!!!!!! Great perfection. For such type of accuracy in work, one has to be patient and continues to do job. I think to built one layer in one week & total 8 layer in 8 weeks i.e 2 months to built it. can you tell me how did you get the perfect straight cu wire from and whats it SWG?
Jameeluddin Sheikh Thanks for the kind words. The wire was straightened by twisting it with a drill while under some tension. Check out the part 2 video in the cube series to see how I did it.
On page 5 of your drawing you call out item "E" but do not have it on the materials list. It is the white base shown in this video for your panel forming video. What is that material?
Michael Jacoby Hi Michael, yes it looks like I forgot to itemise part E. You will also see that it doesn't have a dimension for its thickness either. I used some 1/2" MDF but can be whatever you can get your hands on really. All that I used in these jigs were just some materials I had hanging around. I suggest you do the same and adapt as required. The critical thing is that the LED's are all spaced 1" apart and link RGB cathode wires line up with the holes in the end plates. Hope this helps.
Thanks for the prompt reply. I am working on all of it now. This is the most well organized LED Cube I have seen in all my research. The only thing I am not sure of is if I can get a circuit board made from a .pdf file. I can't buy them from your supplier in the United States.
It's a thing of beauty {sniff sniff} kinda gets a guy choked up a little bit... even a manley man! So u got a cost on this build , time and money? and how many tons of solder did it take? Nice jig BTW!
Shroom Duke Thanks for your comment and glad you like the project. I can’t remember how much it cost, but it was the circuit boards that made it expensive because I got a UK company to make them. You can check the parts list to get the idea of cost, but knowing what I do now, I would get the boards made in China next time. It took months to build as it was a prototype, and I made the videos and wrote blogs about it, and that all took up a lot of time. It is quite tedious work testing the LEDs and bending the LED legs, so I spread that out over several evenings. Therefore I couldn’t tell how long it takes to make one. As for the solder, that wasn’t as bad as you think. I did use up a lot of tin/copper wire though.
@@stevemanley3685 ...LOL Yes but the video is only 7:21 minutes long, I was hoping too do it in under 10 minutes and with the spare parts I got laying around, now it's looking like real work and stuff! Thinking about it 8x8x8 = 512 x RGB = holy crap!!! Thats a lot of soldering! and then there's the other stuff. so 512 x .020 amps x 3 = 30 amps, is that right? ...That can't be right! Well done and thanks for sharing the project. I'm pondering my own but it'll take some doing as I'm rebuilding a biplane right now...
Shroom Duke No need to worry about the current consumption, by design, only one layer of LEDs is ever lit at one time. Its called multiplexing, and it switches layers fast enough to fool the eye into thinking that all layers are lit at the same time. Hence the theoretical max current is 1/8 of what you think it is. My cube runs off a 5V 2A supply with no issues.
Great job Steve! Very inspiring. I also built my RGB Cube but only 4x4x4 using charlieplexing and Arduino alone, even made a video on my channel. Most problems are usually with mechanical design not electronics or firmware. And you solved them very clever. What are you planning as the next project?
+cbm80amiga Hi, Thanks for your comments and glad to hear you have had success building your own cube, looks really cool. My current project is a clock if you haven't already seen it on my channel. It makes use of a 3D printer for some of the parts. I have just ordered 2000 8mm through hole addressable rgb leds for a 12*12*12 cube. it will use one or two Teensy 3.1's to drive it. Another project I have in mind is to build a large flat (ish) panel say 32*48, not really decided yet. The hard part is building the panel and isolating each led from its neighbour. I did some experimenting 3D printing compartments which was quite good, but would take me for ever to print them all out for a panel of that size. A laser cutter might be handy, unfortunately I done have access to one.
ho cominciato a costruire questo fantastico cubo uno dei migliori che cisono in rete complimenti ma ho delle lacune riguardo al pulsante che bisogna montare e al collegamento dei fili sulle schede e allo sketch finale che bisogna caricare
+adolfo torre Al momento il pulsante agisce solo come un pulsante di reset . Alla fine sarà probabilmente essere usato per cambiare la modalità di funzionamento . Il tasto ha un LED bianco . Non c'è schizzo questo pulsante in questo momento . At the moment the button only acts as a reset button. Eventually it will probably be used to change the operating mode. The button has a white LED. There is no sketch for this button at this time.
+adolfo torre +adolfo torre Al momento il pulsante agisce solo come un pulsante di reset . Alla fine sarà probabilmente essere usato per cambiare la modalità di funzionamento . Il tasto ha un LED bianco . Non c'è schizzo questo pulsante in questo momento . At the moment the button only acts as a reset button. Eventually it will probably be used to change the operating mode. The button has a white LED. There is no sketch for this button at this time.
hmm. great vid and i wonder why you don't get a 1000k likes so i added one, by the way i have a small doubt what will be good to use the common anode or the common cathode leds and why?
Narayan S Thanks for the like and you ask a very good question. Typically most projects use common anode, but it’s probably personal preference or some design constraint that would specifically require you to use common cathode. As to the why: In short I think it’s been easier for semiconductor manufacturers to create devices that sink current than source it, therefore common anode LEDs have become the preferred package.
wow steve... thnx for the reply,Can you pls point me where i can find these LEDs cheap... I defilnitely have to say your channel is really informative and one of the best channels i've seen to gain knowledge... subscribed n wish your channel to get 1000k subs i wish you would make more vids and post one a week as it would multiply your channel. great job. good day...
Narayan S Hi Narayan… I purchased the LED’s from China via eBay for approximately £35 (UK pounds). I have a complete parts list available from my DropBox account (the link is in the video description). The list details where I purchased each item and how much they cost me. I appreciate the kind comments about my channel. I’m continually surprised at the number of subscribers I have now, let alone getting 1000k of them.It would be really nice if I could produce a video a week but creating the videos isn’t something that comes easy to me and they take a lot of effort to create. I also sit in front of a computer for my day job and I don’t always feel like sitting in front of one when I’m at home. Plus I have other commitments so there is no way I could produce one a week anyway. Personally I always look forward the videos produced by GreatScott, so I know how you feel when your waiting for a new one to be published. On a positive note, I’m sure I will be producing other videos, just not as frequently as you and others might like.
I can understand steve ... it's not that easy, especially when you have to work and make vid makes it very hard. I'll definitely check your description. thnX n reading every comment and replying them? really you are a very nice person to do that. Have a nice day.
+NITESH OLI Hi, Yes but I haven't done it myself yet. Also depends on what you want the letters to do. If you want to spin them then I don't currently know how how to do that, and I would need to adapt someone else code. To move them from side to side up or down, through or around the cube then I think I can do it. It would need some considerable thought and my code would not be very efficient.
Led saw your 3D project RGB Cube and marveled. Congratulations. The files you provided is complete and functional? The Arduino sketch is the full version with the effects or just to test? Its write my name in the Cube? Big hug and thank you. Google Translate
Lorenzo Enzo Hi Lorenzo, I'm glad you appreciate the work I have done, so thanks for the feedback. I'm sorry to disappoint but the Arduino sketch still needs work. As yet I haven't implemented PWM to give a better range of colours, so it really still is test code. Steve
Ah, such pleasing order, diligence, and accuracy. A delight to watch!
Anvilshock Thank you 😊
Making good use of time by making proper jigs! Well done Sir!
Nice of you to say, thank you.
Ahh! Steve. Thanks for the reply. I kind of deduced that solution. Thanks for confirming buddy! And also thanks for the previous advice on learning more about LEDs and Ohm's Law. I bought a good book on beginner electronics, and its clarifying more and more everytime I read it. It even has topics on POV and Multiplexing which is awesome! So hopefully I will be able to replicate what you have created here very soon!
Mr. Ryde Sharing That's great news, glad I could help. Good luck and let me know how you get on.
Great tutorial & very professional job, nice!
Thank you!
Thanks, Steve. really liked your idea. will collect on your diagram. thanks.
wow awesome method this looks so much easier than the other Jigs Ive seen.. I tried a 5x5x5 and made a mess of it haha
I've already built a working cube, thanks to Kevin Darrah for all his work and also Arthur (see long version) whose jigs I used. I have now started a second cube, this time using diffused leds instead of the clear type . However , after I saw your jigs, Steve, I decided to try out your method. My jigs were not as good as I would have liked but the end result having finished two 8x8 planes is surprisingly good...6 more to build. So a big thankyou for your idea.I would suggest that if anyone is planning on building the rgb cube that they use ULN2803A ICs rather than hundreds of transistors...a drastic reduction in wiring and components.I got it down to 4 boards...the arduino + SR + mosfets on one and the 3 x (shift registers + ICs) using Veroboard. In conclusion, I would recommend your jigs, Steve, as they give the best results and it seemed a lot quicker making a plane.
Hey, thanks for the great feedback and I'm very pleased you found my jig solution to be useful.
I also wanted to illuminate all those transistors and chose to use TLC5916lN constant current shift registers to drive the LED's directly. I had them working well during my panel testing but now it's scaled up to the whole cube I'm having some issues. Looks like the Arduino is struggling to deliver reliable SPI clock etc to all the shift registers. When the cube is lit all white it's not getting enough current or there is a significant voltage drop somewhere, so white isn't very bright nor is it very white. It's all still in prototype at the moment so I'm looking to reduce wire lengths, increase wire diameters, install some line drivers etc. Hopefully I can sort all this out.
The 8 panels look great mounted on their PCB though.
@Rednassie: I can no longer see your comments either and it isn't me removing them. Can't explain what's going on, maybe TH-cam has done it, but for reasons unknown to me.
I can see all your messages in my Notification, but unable to reply to them.
now im buildin 5x5x5 rgb led cube and im gonna use ur technique! thank u
fun electronics videos Thats cool, good luck and perhaps you can let me know how you get on with it.
yeah sure! but the thing is im getting parts from china and thats hella long so.. :D i will let u know as i finish it
I collect without twisting rings on the findings. it is possible to replace the burnt diodes.
Serghei, Not sure if your asking a question or making a statement about replacing burnt out LED's. It is possible even with the loops except the replacement LED's only have half loops. I have had to do it several time now and that was with a completed cube. I will make a video showing how I did it.
Great job man. Congrats !!!!
Thank you
Cost and availability of PCBs seems to be a recurring theme, as it seems
there is a keen interest in building this fantastic cube.
I built this project, the hard way, using prototyping stripboards, and
lots of ribbon cable, super-glue, etc., to fan the wiring out to the
LEDs. Apart from 1 dodgy LED, it all worked perfectly. Thankfully the
bad LED was at the outer edge of the cube, so was relatively easy to
replace.
[[If Steve will allow, and I'll go no further if he objects : - consent given]], I have
designed a set of PCBs that I know I can have manufactured at a very
reasonable cost, providing I can order a minimum of 10 sets. My design
differs slightly from Steve's, I have opted for a Cathode shift register
board for each panel, and one Anode s/r board. The additional
buffering needed for the OE LE and CK networks is taken care of on each
Cathode s/r board. The Cathode and Anode S/R boards simply use straight
IDC plug/socket connectors to mount below the base PCB, to which the
cube matrix is mounted on top. There are no SMT components anywhere, one
thing I know was a subject of some concern.
Apart from 6 connections from the Anode S/R board to the Arduino, there
is no other wiring to do, everything is handled on the 4-layer base
board. Even the Arduino is powered from the Anode S/R board!. This will
make this a doddle to connect up.
I've said it before, possibly here, and elsewhere, the true success of
this cube is what you see up top, and that is dictated by the design of
the jigs.... fantastic job Steve !!
Anyway, back to the PCBs. A "set" consists of ...
1. Base Board - 9 inches square - 4-layer - FR4 - 1.6mm - I have
deliberately put no silk-screen text on the top layer, in case you don't
use the ....
2. Cover Board - 9 inches square - NO COPPER - 1.6 mm - both sides
totally silk-screened black. This board is a cosmetic cover for the Base
Board... the cube LED wires pass through it, so topside is all nice and
tidy. You don't have to use it, depends how you want your cube to look.
I can't exclude it from the "set" however.
3. Drivers Board - All 8 Cathode driver boards and one Anode driver
board are panelised on this one PCB. They will need to be cut
(separated), which I can do for a small fee.
If at least ten people can give me their intention to purchase the set
of 3 boards, I will be able to sell them for just £69 per set, (add £5
for cutting the Drivers Board). Price includes postage to you, but it
needs a minimum of 10 people willing to give me their word they will
buy... a dangerous game, I know.
If you are interested, drop me an email at abtrain@tiscali.co.uk
Steve, can I use a 74hc595 chip instead of a TLC5916 in your project? What do I need to do? and can another microcircuit use MAX7219
Well done Sir!
Thank you
hello. and when will the rest of the blog parts 1,2,3
Great job... best jig yet! New sub
Thanks John, I hope you found this useful.
What part of the drill bits needs to be .8 mm. I find lots of bits but the shaft has many different sizes. Like for dremels or standard drills with adjustable chucks. Could you possibly offer a place to source them?
Hi, I used drill bits that were 0.8mm along the total length and managed to find a set of 10 on Amazon. The best offer I found more recently was a set of drills from 0.4 - 3.2 again on Amazon and was good value.
If 0.8 is hard to source then try 0.9 or even 1.0mm.
WAIT, so i have to make the pcb myself? GREAT!
Voldemort All part of the Chalange, isn’t it? :-)
exactly, ALL the schemes are in the f iles, right?
Voldemort Well you can design your own cube then, just like I did.
well, i ain't got the brains for that. i'll just TRY this one, how hard can it be?
Voldemort Then I wish you all the best, and let me know how you get on.
Interesting how you are building the vertical planes first when others work horizontally from he bottom up.
Steve, 74hc595 not used because of resistors? since in the tlc5916 one resistor regulates the current at the outputs. and in 74ns595 you need to put on all 8 channels. Or is there something else. ?
Hi Andrey, the single resistor feature of the tlc5916 and that it is suited for common anode operation seemed a logical choice at the time. The 74hc595 will indeed need 8 resistors and can source or sink 35mA. So it may well be an adequate alternative.
I can’t remember the chip now, but if I were to build another cube, I’d use a chip with built in PWM on its outputs.
There are many hardware solutions to building a cube and if you wish to try something different to my solution for what ever the reason, then go for it.
@@stevemanley3685 Steve, what kind of PWM chip?
@@stevemanley3685 each LED, 512 controlled by PWM. what kind of a chip is this. could you give me information, and I will try to make this project
@@stevemanley3685 Steve, I found a TLC5947 with PWM. will such a chip work?
@@MrAndrk83 Andrey, like I sad , I can’t remember. It was yeas ago, but I do think it may have been 16 channels.
To be honest, If you want advice about the current design then I’m happy to advise as best I can. If you want to change up the design, the by all means go ahead, but Unfortunately I have other priorities and I do not have the time to do the research for you.. It looks like you have already started researching anyway.
Hi is a line in Shift Register Board 1 JP3 Pin 2 with Shift Register Board 2 JP1 PIN2
Hello Steve. First, thanks for sharing your knowledge. I saw this and had to try and build it. But, I'm new to electronics and am confused about the "220 ohm resistor in series inside the crock clip" statement. Could you explain how you did that please? It's my limited understanding that you clipped the alligator clip to one end of a resistor, then used the other free end to touch and test the LEDs. Lol. Please help. Thanks Steve!
Mr. Ryde Sharing Hi, the resistor is a current limiting resistor to prevent the current flow throw the LED, thus prevent the LED from being destroyed. Typically (and it depends on make, colour etc), an LED' max current is 20mA (milliamps or 0.02 amps) and an LED likes around 2 volts across it in its forward bias.
To calculate a suitable resistor you need to apply Ohms Law. If you have a supply voltage of 5V and the LED needs 2 volts, then the resistor will have 3 volts across it. We know the Max current of 20ma so using Ohms Law (resistance = voltage divided by current), so 3 / .02 = 150 Ohms. There is such a value resistor of 150 but to be on the safe side, I used a slightly higher value of 220 Ohms which limits the current a little further, which means the LED would be slightly dimmer, but barley noticeable.
If your going to get into electronics, can I suggest you research the most basic of laws, Ohms Law. It is ver useful.
Excellent!!! That was a very straight forward explanation. Thanks Steve!! I just picked up several books on the topic of beginner's electronics and Ohm's Law. But I was more lost with the series of the connection of the resistor. How did you place the resistor inside of the crock clip? This is basically what I was confused about. I fried one LED already. The red no longer lights up. LOL!
Mr. Ryde Sharing ahh! Sorry I miss understood what it was you wanted to know. What I did was solder the resistor to the crock clip where you would normally on a wire, I then soldered the wire to the free end of the resistor. These joints were then supported with some heat shrink sleeving before sliding the crop clip boot over the whole lot. Hope this helps.
Amazing, I'm going to build a simple 1 color cube, I'm going to borrow your curling method, thank you.
Do you think tined 22awg would work?
If not where are you buying the 20awg?
Again thank you
+Greg Tate Hi, Glad you like the curling/twisting method. 22 AWG (US) or SWG (UK) should be just fine. I have seen others use it with success. 20AWG/SWG would be a little more sturdy though. I got my wire from eBay and as it turned out, it was a UK supplier, god for me as I'm UK based: www.brimal.co.uk/20-swg-tinned-copper-wire-500g-86m.html. Hope this helps.
Excellent work, I have reviewed the list of materials and doing calculation of the respective prices would cost about $ 600 making the respective conversion, expensive
Thank you. Yes the project is expensive, mainly due to the cost of the LEDs and the manufacturing of the circuit boards. If you shop around and get the boards made in China directly, then the costs can be reduced a bit.
Steve, hello. Please tell me. I found chips with PWM. please look at them if they can suit me for 8 * 8 * 8 RGB led cube PWM.
Chip TLC 5947, TLC5955
Sorry Andrey, I don’t have the time to look into this for you. If you want to change the design then that is up to you. I suggest you build a prototype using the different chips on some kind of breadboard.
I really do have a lot on my plate and issues with much higher priority right now.
Can you please told me about the straight wire you used
Rizwan Saeed check out the links to the project files in the video description. You should find a parts list, which includes the tinned copper wire I used.
Hi Steve In your GIG file there is one for the 8 x 8 PANEL FORMING JIG what are the dimension for the " E " item. It seems the dimensions are missing for this part... also would you give me dimension for the holes to allign the 8 rows of LED
Seb Ferguson Hi Seb, the item E dimension doesn't matter to much, but mine is 1/2 inch or 12mm thick. The holes for the LED's is 5mm. Hope this helps.
Yes! and thank you :) I have a few more questions if I may ask:) First off, the guide holes for the rails of LEDs are the measurements starting from the top of part B right(0.2IN) for the bottom row and (0.2IN for the tor row) ? :)
I am just trying to get this jig to a T .. I also have bought most of the components bought I need the power supply from an north american supplier and also what kind of adruino did you use for the testing and project? sorry for all the questions but I really enjoye your work and I am excited to start :D !
Seb Ferguson The thickness of parts B is also unimportant, but what is important is the hight of the guide holes. The lower guide holes are 0.2 inch up from the top surface of parts B, and the top row 0.2 inches from the lower row. I used an Arduion UNO throughout.
0.2 IN = 5.08 mm I was wondering if it needs to be absolutely precise of you plainly measured with a ruller to arround +\- 5mm
I honestly don't remember precisely how I measured and marked out the holes. I either used an imperial ruler with a 10th's of an inch scale or I plotted them in software, printed out on paper, stuck the paper on the board, and drilled from their. I did drill both pieces together, one on top of the other. If you prefer to use 5mm then you might have issues moaning the panels if using a PCB created with 0.1 inch pitch spacing.
woooow genious method !
Glad you like it :-)
Steve very well done BRILLIANT! I have 2 questions for you. First question is if the anode shift register is connected to the last Shift Register what is needed in the code to make it work? Simply put the Anode shift register is the last SR in the chain? I have tried a few things like adding 8 bits times the number of shift registers to get it to work. The other question is the code for the Arduino does not for teensy since teensy does not support the ISR(TIMER2_COMPA_vect).
Hi there, thanks for the kind comment.
Re the shift registers, if you have added a shift register then yes you would need to add the relevant number of bits in the appropriate place in the data stream. If you have changed the order in which the SRs are connected, the alter the data stream accordingly.
All though the data is sent in via the first SR in the chain, it is the last few bits that the first SR ends up with, the data is pushed down the chain as it fills, thus the first few bits end up in the SR furthest away.
The teensy can be used, but yes, it does use timers in a different way, probably easier to use. I can’t recall exactly right now and would have to google it, but it is along the lines of ‘every xx milliseconds’. There are other methods to achieve it, but google timer interrupts on Teensy. It will mean some re coding is required.
very good. thanks.
Thank you.
Great job, amazing ,very pro
Direct Diode Laser Thanks.
Nice job
Im new to electronics, is that tinned copper wire sold in straight lengths or only in spools? Do you have a cheap go to source online?
Hi, as far as I'm aware, it's typically sold in roles. I got mine on eBay from a UK supplier.
would it be selfish of me to ask if you could make a metric version of your jig layout please?
Florian De Graef Possibly, but what do you mean exactly? Apply metric dimensions to the existing drawing or redraw with new dimensions that are metric?
well here is what i'm requesting,i orderd one of these cubes from this chinese site its a complete package and they have a tutorial for how to make a simple jig out of carton,now i want to make something better and make it out of MDX,maybe you can make a simple plan on how i should make it?
heres the guide they supply with it and also the cube i orderd :/ dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5349772/Installation%20Manual.pdf
www.icstation.com/lightsquared-8x8x8-cube-white-blue-p-3531.html
Florian De Graef Well this cube is way simpler than mine and all you need is a piece of what we call MDF in the UK, mark out the grid as per the cardboard example, centre punch where each of the 64 holes need to go, pilot drill the holes with say 1 or 1.5mm drill bit then open each hole up by drilling the required finished diameter. If you have access to a pilar drill then I suggest using that rather than a hand drill. All my jigs were marked out by hand and drilled manually on a pilar drill.
thanks for the advice and suggestions
superb...........
Thanks
Steve, hello. I make a cube according to your drawing. And I have a question, in Construction Jigs.pdf on page 5 the letter E is depicted but there is no description. What and what sizes is made
Hi Andrew, yes an omission on my part there, sorry about that. E is the flat base board about half inch thick that the whole jig is made up from. Mine was made from MDF, but can be anything you like or have to hand. The thickness is not to important. Hope this helps.
Only one words...... wowooo!!!!!! Great perfection. For such type of accuracy in work, one has to be patient and continues to do job. I think to built one layer in one week & total 8 layer in 8 weeks i.e 2 months to built it. can you tell me how did you get the perfect straight cu wire from and whats it SWG?
Jameeluddin Sheikh Thanks for the kind words. The wire was straightened by twisting it with a drill while under some tension. Check out the part 2 video in the cube series to see how I did it.
Great tutorial
Thanks
On page 5 of your drawing you call out item "E" but do not have it on the materials list. It is the white base shown in this video for your panel forming video. What is that material?
Michael Jacoby Hi Michael, yes it looks like I forgot to itemise part E. You will also see that it doesn't have a dimension for its thickness either. I used some 1/2" MDF but can be whatever you can get your hands on really. All that I used in these jigs were just some materials I had hanging around. I suggest you do the same and adapt as required. The critical thing is that the LED's are all spaced 1" apart and link RGB cathode wires line up with the holes in the end plates. Hope this helps.
Thanks for the prompt reply. I am working on all of it now. This is the most well organized LED Cube I have seen in all my research. The only thing I am not sure of is if I can get a circuit board made from a .pdf file. I can't buy them from your supplier in the United States.
Michael Jacoby No, the PDF files won't help you, you need the Gerber files, in my Dropbox, just send them to your PCB manufacturer.
hi Steve, Can you plz help me in displaying letters in this 3D RGB LED cube. Thanks
+NITESH OLI Sorry to say that I haven't even done it myself yet. I only got letters scrolling right to left during 8x8 panel testing.
It's a thing of beauty {sniff sniff} kinda gets a guy choked up a little bit... even a manley man!
So u got a cost on this build , time and money? and how many tons of solder did it take? Nice jig BTW!
Shroom Duke Thanks for your comment and glad you like the project. I can’t remember how much it cost, but it was the circuit boards that made it expensive because I got a UK company to make them. You can check the parts list to get the idea of cost, but knowing what I do now, I would get the boards made in China next time.
It took months to build as it was a prototype, and I made the videos and wrote blogs about it, and that all took up a lot of time. It is quite tedious work testing the LEDs and bending the LED legs, so I spread that out over several evenings. Therefore I couldn’t tell how long it takes to make one. As for the solder, that wasn’t as bad as you think. I did use up a lot of tin/copper wire though.
@@stevemanley3685 ...LOL Yes but the video is only 7:21 minutes long, I was hoping too do it in under 10 minutes and with the spare parts I got laying around, now it's looking like real work and stuff!
Thinking about it 8x8x8 = 512 x RGB = holy crap!!! Thats a lot of soldering! and then there's the other stuff. so 512 x .020 amps x 3 = 30 amps, is that right? ...That can't be right!
Well done and thanks for sharing the project.
I'm pondering my own but it'll take some doing as I'm rebuilding a biplane right now...
Shroom Duke No need to worry about the current consumption, by design, only one layer of LEDs is ever lit at one time. Its called multiplexing, and it switches layers fast enough to fool the eye into thinking that all layers are lit at the same time. Hence the theoretical max current is 1/8 of what you think it is. My cube runs off a 5V 2A supply with no issues.
Hello. Can I buy from you all the cube needed for this
Sorry to say that I do not supply any of the parts.
Great job Steve! Very inspiring. I also built my RGB Cube but only 4x4x4 using charlieplexing and Arduino alone, even made a video on my channel. Most problems are usually with mechanical design not electronics or firmware. And you solved them very clever. What are you planning as the next project?
+cbm80amiga Hi, Thanks for your comments and glad to hear you have had success building your own cube, looks really cool.
My current project is a clock if you haven't already seen it on my channel. It makes use of a 3D printer for some of the parts.
I have just ordered 2000 8mm through hole addressable rgb leds for a 12*12*12 cube. it will use one or two Teensy 3.1's to drive it.
Another project I have in mind is to build a large flat (ish) panel say 32*48, not really decided yet. The hard part is building the panel and isolating each led from its neighbour. I did some experimenting 3D printing compartments which was quite good, but would take me for ever to print them all out for a panel of that size. A laser cutter might be handy, unfortunately I done have access to one.
ho cominciato a costruire questo fantastico cubo uno dei migliori che cisono in rete complimenti ma ho delle lacune riguardo al pulsante che bisogna montare e al collegamento dei fili sulle schede e allo sketch finale che bisogna caricare
+adolfo torre Ciao, dispiace dire che la traduzione di italiano a inglese era molto buona e non comprendere appieno i vostri problemi.
+Steve Manley 1.che tipo di pulsante hai montato? 2 .non si vede bene il collegamento di una scheda . 3. quale sketch bisogna istallare su arduino?
+adolfo torre Al momento il pulsante agisce solo come un pulsante di reset . Alla fine sarà probabilmente essere usato per cambiare la modalità di funzionamento . Il tasto ha un LED bianco . Non c'è schizzo questo pulsante in questo momento .
At the moment the button only acts as a reset button. Eventually it will probably be used to change the operating mode. The button has a white LED. There is no sketch for this button at this time.
+Steve Manley si ok ma volevo sapere il collegamento e che tipo di pulsante e'se puoi dirmi qualcosa di piu dettagliato te ne sarei grato
+adolfo torre +adolfo torre Al momento il pulsante agisce solo come un pulsante di reset . Alla fine sarà probabilmente essere usato per cambiare la modalità di funzionamento . Il tasto ha un LED bianco . Non c'è schizzo questo pulsante in questo momento .
At the moment the button only acts as a reset button. Eventually it will probably be used to change the operating mode. The button has a white LED. There is no sketch for this button at this time.
hmm. great vid and i wonder why you don't get a 1000k likes so i added one, by the way i have a small doubt what will be good to use the common anode or the common cathode leds and why?
Narayan S Thanks for the like and you ask a very good question. Typically most projects use common anode, but it’s probably personal preference or some design constraint that would specifically require you to use common cathode. As to the why: In short I think it’s been easier for semiconductor manufacturers to create devices that sink current than source it, therefore common anode LEDs have become the preferred package.
wow steve... thnx for the reply,Can you pls point me where i can find these LEDs cheap... I defilnitely have to say your channel is really informative and one of the best channels i've seen to gain knowledge... subscribed n wish your channel to get 1000k subs i wish you would make more vids and post one a week as it would multiply your channel. great job. good day...
Narayan S Hi Narayan… I purchased the LED’s from China via eBay for approximately £35 (UK pounds). I have a complete parts list available from my DropBox account (the link is in the video description). The list details where I purchased each item and how much they cost me. I appreciate the kind comments about my channel. I’m continually surprised at the number of subscribers I have now, let alone getting 1000k of them.It would be really nice if I could produce a video a week but creating the videos isn’t something that comes easy to me and they take a lot of effort to create. I also sit in front of a computer for my day job and I don’t always feel like sitting in front of one when I’m at home. Plus I have other commitments so there is no way I could produce one a week anyway. Personally I always look forward the videos produced by GreatScott, so I know how you feel when your waiting for a new one to be published. On a positive note, I’m sure I will be producing other videos, just not as frequently as you and others might like.
I can understand steve ... it's not that easy, especially when you have to work and make vid makes it very hard. I'll definitely check your description. thnX n reading every comment and replying them? really you are a very nice person to do that. Have a nice day.
Narayan S Cheers and likewise.
Useful files of project so far for Download (PDF format):
www.dropbox.com/sh/fyvszu2xnow17fg/AACotfHOmN3eo0gS3QTL1lH1a?dl=0
Any idea how it can be done ?
+NITESH OLI Hi, Yes but I haven't done it myself yet. Also depends on what you want the letters to do. If you want to spin them then I don't currently know how how to do that, and I would need to adapt someone else code.
To move them from side to side up or down, through or around the cube then I think I can do it. It would need some considerable thought and my code would not be very efficient.
+Steve Manley Hi, i was trying for letters moving vertically from back to front , side to side, through and around the cube . Thanks
NITESH OLI It would take some time to do it.
+Steve Manley That's fine. I will be waiting for that. Thanks
Hi Steve, any progress on code... Just wondering...
@Jay: Thanks, do you think you'll give this method a try?
Led saw your 3D project RGB Cube and marveled. Congratulations.
The files you provided is complete and functional? The Arduino sketch is the full version with the effects or just to test? Its write my name in the Cube?
Big hug and thank you. Google Translate
Lorenzo Enzo Hi Lorenzo,
I'm glad you appreciate the work I have done, so thanks for the feedback.
I'm sorry to disappoint but the Arduino sketch still needs work. As yet I haven't implemented PWM to give a better range of colours, so it really still is test code.
Steve
Hello! Steve. I'll be waiting. You're very good at it.
Thank you.
Google Translator
woow super thanks
Hey!
Could you share your code?
arek462 Hey to you! Try reading the video description. There you will find a link to the code.
Which program is for one wall only and wich for all the cube?
Try the he Panel Burn in Test file:
www.dropbox.com/s/mo9swdaexqrcrfl/Panel_Burn_in_Test_v1_0.ino?dl=0