8x8x8 LED Cube Remix

thingiverse

8X8X8 LED Cube Remix/RedesignThis project is a remix/redesign of an impressive LED cube originally created by Whity. For details on the original design, check out the CubLED LED Cube 8x8 Matrix.This version incorporates several modifications:A different LiPO battery.Slightly different LED matrix panels.A reed switch for turning it off and on, using an embedded magnet in the stand.32 large magnets for a firmly secured lid.A removable lid featuring a magnetic USB charging port.A pogo pin connection port for the lid, complete with a cover.The cube is powered by WLED.I'm still working on refining the internal design to make it easy to assemble.I'll likely change the charging port to a simple USB C plug.I've had issues with the PB500C and will be switching to the PB100C.Parts Bill of Materials (BOM)Wires and Connectors:1x 22 AWG Flexible Silicone Power Wire1x 3 Connector Magnetic Pogo Pins1x Magnetic USB Charging Cable1x 30 AWG Flexible Silicone WireElectronics:1x PCB Board Kit Circuit Boards1x Adafruit PowerBoost 500 Charger1x ESP-32S Board ESP-WROOM-321x 3.7V 5000mAh 115659 Lipo BatteryLEDs:6x WS2812 LED 5050 RGB 8x8 64 LED MatrixMiscellaneous:1x 5x2mm Small Neodymium Magnets1x Plastic Reed Switch, Normally Open (N/O)1x M3 x 4mm L x 5mm Brass Knurled Insert Nuts1x Epoxy1x Hot glue gun and gluePrint SettingsI designed the parts with supports for a 0.6mm nozzle. While other nozzles might work, I haven't tested them. The print settings are as follows:General Settings:0.3mm first layer0.2mm layer heightSpecific Part - Inside - Lower:0.45mm for all layersColor Switching:Start with white filament for the first 2 layers (0.5mm)Switch to silver filament at the 3rd layer (0.7mm)You can set your slicer for an automatic filament change at 0.7mm, or manually switch it as I do. (See instructions and photos for details)A 0.7mm spill square is included to print first if you choose manual switching.High-Level Assembly Instructions (see further below for specific details)Printing:Print all the pieces.Inspect the hollow channels in the sides for any foreign objects.LED Panels:Epoxy the LED panels, positioning "data in" at the bottom and "data out" at the top.Make sure magnets are towards the outside and the reed panels match.Programming:Program WLED into the controller.Setup WiFi and upload my config and preset files.Reconfigure WiFi as needed.Battery Connector:Swap the pins if necessary. Ensure correct polarity to avoid damaging the controller.Charge the battery with the charging circuit.Magnets:Test fit each magnet hole.Epoxy magnets into place, ensuring opposite orientations in the sides and lid for attraction. Don't forget the one in the stand.Wiring:Plan wire lengths for LED connections.Test all LEDs before final assembly.Reed Switch:Carefully solder wires to the reed switch.Continuously test functionality during assembly.Cube Assembly:Use blue painters tape for alignment.Apply epoxy to seams and secure with tape.Optionally, use hot glue for additional reinforcement.Controller Enclosure:Assemble and adjust the inner enclosure to fit the cube.Final Assembly:Install and glue the lower inner enclosure.Solder and route wires as per instructions.Test functionality before closing the cube.Lid Assembly:Carefully solder and position wires on the lid.Adjust and glue the cover for proper fit.Long-winded Assembly InstructionsPrint all the pieces.Inspect the hollow channels in the sides for any random object that fell into them, it will be there forever if you don't find it now.Epoxy the LED panels with the "data in" at the bottom (the side without the magnets) and the "data out" at the top. Top and bottom don't matter, just know where they are, you will be connecting them all together in some way eventually. The sides are keyed to allow the panels to fit in only 2 different ways.Program WLED into the controller and setup the WiFi, then upload my config and preset files, then configure the WiFi again. Or just work it out without my files.Pull the pins out of the battery connector and swap them around if they need it, mine needed it, and if you get it wrong it will fry your controller. Red to the pin on the board near the +. Only you are sure you have the correct polarity, plug in and charge the battery now with the charger circuit.I have made the magnet holes as close to right as I can, but make sure that there are no odd fittings ones by test fitting each hole, unless you plan on filing a magnet down later make sure sure none stick out. Don't be tempted to heat press them into place, any temperature hot enough to melt the plastic will erase the magnet too. Then mix up a small batch of epoxy and with a small paintbrush, epoxy each magnet into place. You should try to make the ones in the sides all the same orientation and the the ones in the top all the opposite, that way they will be attracted to each other and not repulsed when the lid is put on. Don't forget the magnet in the stand.You can see in the splayed out view that my wires are not the shortest, nor the longest, they are long enough to reach each next connector and long enough to use the wire guards to glue them down as to reduce tension at the solder points. They will be folding up to form a cube, plan their lengths in the down and up positions. The run goes as such: 3 long wires to the bottom "data in" port, go from the bottom "data out" port to the "data in" on the side that makes the most sense, out that side to the in on the closest side, then out, then in the next side, and out, and in, and finally the last "data out" on the last side attach 3 long wires. Maybe label or mark each set so you know which is which. You will need to know the "in" to the bottom and the "out" from the side at some point. You can follow my picture and the panel orientation if you need. I have all the sides with their "data in" near the bottom panel of the cube. For the love of Pete, once you have all the panels wired, test that all lights and colors work on each panel. Don't be like me and turn it on and see that 2 blue lights are out and have to replace a lid. Once you are sure it works as it should, apply enough glue or epoxy near the edge or around the plastic guide pins to hold the panels down. You don't want one coming loose, but you don't want it screwing up assembly or dripping into a chamber.The reed switch is a pain. First solder two wires to each lead of your NO reed switch, then sliding a small shrink tube over each wire. Next you need to clamp the lead where it comes out of the plastic with side cutters or something similar prior to trying to bend the leads to a 90 degree angle. Failure to do this will result in you cracking the glass tube inside the plastic and damaging the reed switch. You will damage 1 to 3 before you fully understand this concept, so it's a good thing they come in packs of 5 or more. You need to check that the reed switch is working all the way up to encasing it in the side of the cube. Failure to make sure the reed switch is still functional prior to gluing the sides together will result in you starting over, or at best trying to pull apart a sticky mess while you attempt to make another reed switch before the epoxy sets. Did I mention if you bend those wires in any way without isolating the leads first you will break the reed switch.I use blue painters tape and put a piece for each side under the bottom piece, and carefully align the sides and tape each side next to the bottom center (like in the splayed out photo), making sure to align the magnet side away from the bottom so they'll be at the top when folded up. Have at least 4 other pieces of tape at the ready to put on each of the sides. You should practice folding, aligning and taping the sides in the up position now, before the glue, you won't get a second chance once the glue is down. Once you are sure you can apply epoxy to each of the seams and hold them in place and apply tape all while not getting glue everywhere, mix up the epoxy and with a small brush apply the epoxy more towards the sharp edge of the sides being glued (but not so much it goes over). The sides are not 45 degrees, more like 43, this is so you don't need to spend hours sanding and trying to mate perfect 45 degree angles to make one 90 degree angle. The sides have slop, the tape holds the edge together while the glue does it's job. I like to secure the inside edges with hot glue too while the epoxy near the edge hardens. If you are sure you got no excess glue on the top of the sides, you can use the top to confirm that everything is square, but if there is any glue on it, you will have a bad time.Once all sides have been glued together you can assemble the inner controller enclosure. It comes in 4 parts, one of the parts needs to be epoxy or glued to the other. There is a complete piece if you're up to getting the supports just right. You will need to heat press inserts into the lower part, but you can just use really long screws if you have to. You will likely need to file the openings for the pogo-pin connectors to get them to fit just right. Once you have test assembled the inner enclosure, it's time to see if it fits the way it should, you need to shrink or stretch the height of the inner lower piece to match the way your cube has turned out so far. You may be able to just grind/sand down some of the top of the lower piece if you need just a little more room, otherwise just print a new one.Make sure you have the top piece mostly assembled (or at least the LED matrix glued to the top). Take the test assembled inner enclosure and place it in the box, place the lid cover on that, and place the lid on that. It should seal perfectly, if not, you need to modify the inner lower piece as described above until there is no seam, or at least one you can live with. The assembly needs to be rotated so that however your lid is going to fit best, that the indent coming away from the pogo plug is below the "data in" pins of the lid LED matrix board.Once you get everything to fit, disassemble the controller enclosure and install the heat inserts. Reassemble the enclosure and confirm it still fits, adjust as needed.With your test assembly together, move any wires in the cube out of the way so that the bottom is clear. Be sure to understand that you will need to put the lid on the cube at the end of this step, so pulling them out and over the sides is not going to work. I taped mine into a ball and slid them into the slits in the sides of the enclosure before assembly. Apply some epoxy to the bottom of the inner enclosure and install it in the cube so it touches the bottom and is rotated to match how the lid fits best per the last step. Put the lid cover on, and put the lid on. Wait for epoxy to cure. You are trying to glue the bottom of the enclosure to as close to the final position as you can get, so maybe tape the lid down so the seems are good. Make sure you have put the lid cover on before the lid, it adds thickness that will be there in the end, if it doesn't fit in there before now, it won't fit then either so get it right in the previous step.All glued up, remove the lid (you do remember which panel it was right?), remove the lid cover added for thickness, unscrew the top part of the inner enclosure, the bottom should stay properly stuck to the bottom of the cube and stay in place. On to the plugs and wires.You will need to add flux to the pins and tin each connector, being careful not to heat them up too much at a time otherwise you will melt the housing and the pins will shift. Once tinned, tin and trim your wires (smaller 30 AWG for the lid connectors, larger for the charger). Solder 3 wires to the black pogo-pin connector for the lid (the larger side goes inside the enclosure), then push it into the removable insert and glue the wires to the tab on the insert it mounts in to relive tension on the wires. Perform the same tasks on the white USB connector, only this time use the 22 AWG wires and just pick the middle and one of the outside pins, the middle will be +5V. Glue the wires to the backside of the ESP mount (large plastic piece on the other side of the enclosure) to reduce tension. You will be manipulating all these small wires and they will break at the solder joint if not restrained.You will need to make some connections on the charging circuit. The 2 larger wires from the white USB pogo-pin connectors will go in USB and GND near the top, the two wires from the reed switch will go into the EN and GND near the middle, and two larger gauge wires will go from the GND and 5V at the bottom to the middle of the blank circuit board like the simple MSPAINT picture shows you. All these wires go out the various slits in the enclosure and around the enclosure back in another slit, there is not enough room with the battery in there to go through the inside, so when picking their lengths, go longer, you can always tuck them in around the enclosure between the sides. You can put the insert in place and then glue the charger board above it to the plastic mount (there is a cutout for the back of the solder connections).The ESP needs 3 connections, 5V, GND, and GPIO 16. You can use whatever GPIO pin you want, but I use 16. Those wires come out the back/bottom side of the ESP and over to the blank circuit board as per the MSPAINT drawing. Make them longer than you think they need to be, and glue them near the top of the ESP above the plastic to relieve tension. It's a theme for a reason. Once the wires are secure and soldered to the blank circuit board with some slack, glue the ESP to the plastic mount near the USB pogo-plug. Insert the battery into the lower assembly so that the plug can reach the plug on the charger assembly (but don't plug it in yet).At this point solder the remaining wires into their places on the blank circuit board. The ESP will connect to the wires leading to the bottom of the cube. The wires on the last side of the cube will come into the other side of the enclosure and get soldered to the wires going to the lid pogo plug. All of their power and grounds are bridged together per the MSPAINT drawing, but the data lines connect only as described.The blank circuit board will slide into a slot, and you will need to route the wires in and out the slits in the sides. You need do all this and just before you close the top, plug in the battery to the charging circuit. If you wired and programmed it right, the cube minus the lid should light up. If not, you need to figure out what's wrong. Battery dead? Different GPIO pin than 16?Lastly, the lid. It's a pain. It's a chicken/egg problem. You need to put the other half (the smaller black piece) in just the right spot, and you need to get the wires to just the right length, and you need to do this with no room to solder them to the LED matrix. You need to remember which posts were + and - and data, you need to match that so it's upside down, you need to solder tiny wires to posts that melt when they get too hot. You need to glue the cover in just the right place after you do all that. I wouldn't blame you if you just gave up and cut the end off the cover so you could make it easier to solder and fit the wires and plug without all the hassle. It took me 4 times to get it right. Good luck, I can't offer any advice, it is as it looks and it's fiddly. If you screw up the height of the plug, it won't touch, if you get the polarity wrong it won't light up, and if you're really lucky like me, your first matrix will be defective and you'll have to do it again.Videoshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KvxXvM4wk8https://www.youtube.com/shorts/w9weWPPOK2Ahttps://www.youtube.com/shorts/Vq_jqvMPLOk