Jameco Electronics 8x8x8 LED Cube Manual

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8x8x8 LED Cube

PART NO. 2168940

This LED Cube will light up any party. Your friends will be mesmerized by its hypnotic effect as lights dazzle and dance in brilliant

patterns. It utilizes code based off of Instructables designer, CHR, and uses an Arduino UNO to power the cube and act as a

programmer. This cube gives of a warm glow that is pleasant to the eye to entertain any person of any age. Though it might quite a

commitment to build, the effort will be worth the wait. Surprise your friends and family with this incredible art piece, as it will be sure to

turn heads. Don't skip this wonderful project because it offers invaluable opportunities for electronic construction and Arduino coding.

I'll just leave it up to this video to convince you that this will be the next project you will be building.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6mXM-oGggrM

Time Required: Several Days depending on experience

Experience Level: Advanced

Required tools and parts:

Soldering Iron

Solder

Helping Hands

Wire Cutters/Strippers

Needle Nose Pliers

Vice

Aluminum Foil

Peg Board or piece of wood

Drill

Bill of Materials:

Qty

Jameco SKU

100

690620

206587

333973

38608

37373

46084

45330

153702

70755

178511

330722

93761

29891

690718

643831

525325

2151486

139231

139222

Component Name

100 ohm Resistors

Prototyping Board

Status Red LEDs

20 Pin Chip Sockets

16 Pin Chip Socket

SN74HC574N Chip

74HC138N Chip

8 Pin Male Header

8 Pin Female Header

2222A Transistor

1000uF Capacitor

100uF Capacitor

10uF Capacitor

240 ohm Resistor

16 Strand Ribbon Cable

Ribbon Cable Header

Arduino UNO

1" Standoffs

3/4" Standoffs

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Summary of Contents for Jameco Electronics 8x8x8 LED Cube

Page 1 8x8x8 LED Cube PART NO. 2168940 This LED Cube will light up any party. Your friends will be mesmerized by its hypnotic effect as lights dazzle and dance in brilliant patterns. It utilizes code based off of Instructables designer, CHR, and uses an Arduino UNO to power the cube and act as a programmer.
Page 2 40970 Screws, 4-40x3/8 40943 Nuts, 4-40 222010 USB Cable 2138636 AC Adapter 2168421 3mm Round Diffused Blue LED 5K MCD Bulb Light 25523 .1uF Capacitor 2153705 25-Foot Hook-up Wire Bundle Step 1 - Test the LEDs You will need 512 properly working LEDs in the lattice. They will need to be stable and bright. This step will show you how to separate the faulty ones from the usable ones.
Page 3 one. When you solder, don't hold the iron more than 2 seconds on the LED, otherwise it can be damaged. Apply minimal solder between each LED. I would NOT recommend to cut any wires until you have a working structure. Step 4 - Solder in Rows Go row by row, in the same way as before.
Page 4 Step 6 - 8 Identical Layers Repeat the last three steps another seven times to complete your layers. This will take patience and time. Step 7 - Let's Get Vertical Now with eight different layers, we will build up! I used triangular folds of paper to hold each layer above the other when I soldered. Make sure to place the first layer in the rig and start from there.
Page 5 Step 8 - Looks Like Raindrops It should be looking good up to here. Step 9 - Ground Lines The final step in lattice construction. These eight extra wires will drop down from each row to connect them to the board. So far, we have column connections but with these lines we will be able to control individual LEDs by separating the columns and rows apart.
Page 6 Step 10 - Finishing the Lattice It should look something like this, although mine came out slightly rectangular because I spaced the layers out more than half an inch. Ultimately, this won't affect animations but it adds a personal effect to it. Step 11 - Start the Controller Now let's start on the controller.
Page 7 Step 12 - Circuit Schematic Step 13 - Solder Trails Use solder trails to minimize wiring. I used them to bus a VCC line to each chip socket. Refer to this video if you don't know how: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=kROaQZOYNIw...
Page 8 Step 14 - Power Terminal This is the power portion of the controller board. It consists of a couple of capacitors and a status LED. Follow the top most diagrams in the schematic. You may or you may not want to include a power switch... I didn't. Step 15 - Data Lines Connect the chip sockets to each other.
Page 9 Step 16 - Resistors and Headers Use those 100 ohm resistors in between pins 12-19 and the 8 pin male header for each chip. These resistors should be enough, assuming you're powering 5V from the Arduino. The male headers are used to connect to each of the eight rows of the lattice. Step 17 - Address Selector The address selector chip will control the clock cycles to each chip.
Page 10 Step 18 - Transistor Schematic Use this schematic for the following step Step 19 - Transistor Array The transistor array is responsible for switching on and off GND for each layer in the LED cube. For each layer, use two PN2222As in parallel. The collectors are connected together to GND. The emitters need to be connected together in pairs, then connected to a male header.
Page 11 Step 20 - Connection Schematic Use this schematic and refer back to the first one in Step 10 to see how to wire the Arduino. Either an Arduino UNO or Diecimila will work. Also, refer to the connection key at the top of the picture, as this really ties both schematics together to make things easier for you.
Page 12 Step 22 - Enclosure Base Create the base for the cube to make it look pretty. I was able to find a smoky reflective surface at my local Tap Plastics. Begin by drilling an 8x8 matrix of holes just big enough to fit the legs of the LEDs through. Space the holes out appropriately to your cube. In addition, add eight holes for the ground connections.
Page 13 Step 24 - Build an Enclosure This could be anything you'd like it to be, just be creative. Either you might want something ordinary, like a dark box, or you might want people to see all the electronics that are underneath the cube. Whatever it may be, have fun with this part. Step 25 - Code and Sendoff! There are a variety of source codes and header files for you to use and play around with in order to add additional effects.

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2168940