Very Tiny Cube Has 384 RGB LEDs

October 1, 2024 by Lewin Day 2 Comments

When it comes to making things that glow, there are two ways to stand out from the crowd. You can make something very big, or something very small. [DIY GUY Chris] has done the latter, producing a tiny LED cube that he says is the world’s smallest.

As is so often the way, the build relies on tiny WS2812B-compatible LEDs in a 1 mm x 1 mm form factor. They’re mounted on a series of teeny interlocking PCBs that come together to build a cube that’s just 8 cubic centimeters in volume. Power is courtesy of a small lithium-ion cell that lives inside the cube. Data and power signals flow around the cube via solder connections along the edges of the faces of the cube. Running the show is an ATmega328P, the same microcontroller you’d find in an Arduino Uno. It’s responsible for sending out commands to the LEDs to create various animations.

We can’t speak to [Chris’s] claim about being the world’s smallest, but it is small. We’ve seen other builds in a similar vein, like this barely-larger D20 with a full 2400 LEDs, though. Video after the break.

Continue reading “Very Tiny Cube Has 384 RGB LEDs” →

Build Yourself A Beautiful Interactive Light Toy

September 5, 2024 by Lewin Day 7 Comments

Sometimes, we build things with LEDs as indicator lamps or to illuminate something important. Sometimes, we build things with LEDs purely to glow and be beautiful. This interactive light toy from [Jens] falls into the latter category.

The build uses a 16×16 addressable LED matrix. [Jens] then ported some “Bouncy Bubbles” Processing code from Keith Peters to the Arduino Mega, and set it up to display on the matrix. An accelerometer was used to control the bouncing ball animations, while a second Arduino was then tapped to act as a musical synthesizer to add more vibes. The whole kit was then built into a 3D-printed housing with a nice hazy diffuser to give the LEDs a smoother, even look. [Jens] steps through how he got the diffuser just right, including a support structure that made all the difference to the aesthetic of the finished product. Getting diffusion right is key to making a nice LED project, and [Jens] got it very right here.

It’s a nice little art piece that looks kind of relaxing to play with in a dark room. We love a good glowable project here at Hackaday, so if you’ve built your own—don’t hesitate to let us know! Video after the break.

Continue reading “Build Yourself A Beautiful Interactive Light Toy” →

Minimalist LED Lamp Is Circular Beauty Incarnate

September 4, 2023 by Lewin Day 8 Comments

Lamps used to be things built to provide light with specific purpose, whether as reading lamps, desk lamps, or bedside table lamps. Now we just build them for the vibes, as with this minimalist LED lamp from [andrei.erdei].

The build uses a 3D-printed frame printed in opaque grey, with a diffuser element printed in a more translucent white. This is key to allowing the LED to nicely glow through the lamp without ugly distracting hotspots spoiling the effect. The lamp mounts 36 WS2812B LEDs in strip form. These are controlled from an Arduino Nano running the FastLED library for lightweight and easy control of the addressable LEDs. Smooth rainbow animations are made easy by the use of the HSV color space, which is more suitable for this job than the RGB color space you may otherwise be more familiar with.

[andrei.erdei] does a great job of explaining the build, including the assembly, electronics, and code aspects. The latter could serve as a particularly good resource if you’re just starting out on your own builds in the blinky, glowable space. Video after the break.

Continue reading “Minimalist LED Lamp Is Circular Beauty Incarnate” →

Tutorial Teaches You To Use Neopixels With Micropython

February 12, 2022 by Lewin Day 4 Comments

Addressable LEDs are wonderful things, with products like Neopixels making it easy to create all kinds of vibrant, blinking glowables. However, for those without a lot of electronics experience, using these devices can seem a bit daunting. [Bhavesh Kakwani] is here to help, with his tutorial on getting started with Neopixels using the MicroPython environment.

The tutorial flows on from [Bhavesh’s] Blink example for MicroPython, and is aimed at beginners who are learning for the first time. It explains the theory behind RGB color mixing that allows one to generate all manner of colors with WS2812B-based LED strings, and how to code for the Raspberry Pi Pico to make these LEDs do one’s bidding.

The guide even covers the use of the Wokwi simulation tool. This is a great way for beginners to test their projects before having to play with actual hardware. This is useful for beginners, because it’s a great way to catch mistakes – is there a software problem, or did they push the soldering iron through the microcontroller? It’s also a technique that pays dividends when working on more complicated projects.

Whether you’re entirely new to the embedded world, or just want to learn the intricacies of talking to addressable LEDs and make sense of color mixing theory, this tutorial will serve you well. Before you know it, you’ll be building glowing projects with the best of them!

DIY Nanoleaf LED Panels Offer Peace Of Mind

February 11, 2022 by Lewin Day 14 Comments

Nanoleaf light panels are a popular product for creating glowing geometric designs on walls. However, for those that like to avoid IoT devices that integrate with big cloud services, they’re not ideal, and involve compromising on one’s privacy, somewhat. [Viktor] decided to build something of his own instead to avoid this problem.

The design is that of an equilateral triangle, which allows the panels to tesselate well. Each panel consists of two 3D printed parts. The black PLA base holds the WS2812B LED strips, cabling, and ESP8266 controller, while a white PLA cover goes over the top, which acts as a diffuser to spread the light from the individual LEDs. Each triangle contains 24 LEDs, and six triangles together consume around 1.6 amps when in use.

The benefit of the system is that it’s not controlled from a company’s cloud system, which can be shutdown at any time. [Viktor’s] setup runs entirely independently, and can be controlled from a simple web page. Plus, there’s nothing stopping him from modifying the code to use the panels for any purpose; commercial products like Nanoleaf don’t offer anywhere near the flexibility of building your own.

We’ve seen others build their own smart lighting with similar techniques before, too. Video after the break.

Continue reading “DIY Nanoleaf LED Panels Offer Peace Of Mind” →

You Can Now Build Your Own Glowing LED D20 (with A Whopping 2,400 LEDs)

April 3, 2021 by Lewin Day 9 Comments

The D20, or twenty-sided die, is most commonly known in the shape of a regular icosahedron. It’s a fantastic, enchanting geometry, and one that has held the balance of fate in innumerable tabletop roleplaying games over the years. It was this sacred geometry that [Greg Davill] chose to bless with the glory of glowing RGB LEDs. Now, [Greg] has shared the files so you can build your own.

The development blog of the D20 is a great read, highlighting the challenges of creating such a compact item that glows so brilliantly. The design uses a full 2400 1.5 mm x 1.5mm LEDs, in the old-school RGB style, split evenly between the twenty sides. That’s right, there’s no fancy self-addressing smart LEDs here — each LED is manually controlled directly by [Greg]’s hardware. A SAMD51 and ICE40UP5K FPGA are put to work running the displays. Each panel is held together in a barely-there 3D printed frame, linked together with ribbon cables to keep things compact. A Sony camera battery is slotted inside the tight confines of the frame to supply the necessary power.

We first covered the project late last year, and it’s great to see it out there now in a form that’s readily reproduced. Assembly of such a board is not for the faint of heart, however, with plenty of fine SMD parts to tangle with. We suspect this is just yet another salvo in the ongoing arms race of LED glowables, and we can’t wait to see what [Greg] — and the rest of the community — comes out with next. If you’ve got a lead on the new glowing hotness, let us know. Video after the break.

Continue reading “You Can Now Build Your Own Glowing LED D20 (with A Whopping 2,400 LEDs)” →

Mimic Artfully Employs LEDs In Fashion

November 24, 2019 by Lewin Day 6 Comments

Any science fiction piece set in the near-future involves clothes that light up or otherwise have some form of electronics inside. This hasn’t happened in mainstream fashion just yet, but [Amped Atelier] are doing serious work in the field. Mimic was their entry for the 2016 MakeFashion Gala, serving as a great example of LEDs in fashion done right.

Mimic consists of two pieces, designed as cocktail dresses that mimic their surroundings, in much the same way as a chameleon. LEDs are controlled by an Arduino, fitted with a colour sensor. When activated, the Arduino can change the color of the LEDs to match whatever is presented to the sender. This technology could serve as a great way to avoid clashing with a friend’s outfit, or to send a surreptitious signal to your ride that you’re ready to leave.

The LEDs are hidden beneath attractive geometric diffusers, which are 3D printed directly on to the fabric of the outfit. This gives an attractive, finished look to the garment, and allows the diffusers to naturally flow with the lines of the piece.

These pieces show that it’s possible to create glowable night wear that is as stylish as it is high tech. If you’re looking for something a little edgier however, we’ve got that too. Video after the break.

Continue reading “Mimic Artfully Employs LEDs In Fashion” →