MAKER：maketvee/ 译：趣无尽
Previously, we introduced a very cool “Lava Effect Lamp”. In this tutorial, I will introduce a more user-friendly lamp.
This LED matrix light uses standard WS2812b LED lights to form a cylindrical lamp body, finally combined with a wooden frame. The effect is quite amazing!
First, watch the video below.
Materials List
790×384 cardboard × several WS2812b LEDs × 100 (30 pieces/m) Raspberry Pi or Arduino × 1 wooden patch or other flexible strong materials × several wires × several
Shape Design and Laser Cutting
The main design parameter is the thickness of the material used. 1. This version uses 1.5mm cardboard, which is not only easy to cut but also very cheap. If the thickness changes, the CAD data should also be adjusted accordingly. 2. 3D design helps to avoid problems during assembly. 3. Laser cutting, the arrangement of the parts must facilitate the laser cutter’s cutting, and the size of the cardboard used is 790×384 cm. 4. It is recommended to use Inkscape for this tool. The attached SVG file contains all the information about the project’s parts.
Note: I modified the thickness of the model in Fusion360 as specified by the user parameters; you can also adjust the thickness of the material and generate your own laser cutting files. The model link is: https://a360.co/2OC2kvZ
Download the laser cutting SVG file from the project file library.
https://maker.quwj.com/project/109
Laser Cutting and Partial Assembly
The laser cutting produced the following parts: C-shaped horizontal parts × 12, vertical slots × 18, vertical connecting parts × 2, LED bearing parts × 20.
8 C-shaped parts, 9 slots, and 1 connecting part can be assembled into a semicircular shape. In this step, all parts are connected with slots, without using glue.
LED Wiring
Each LED strip has five LEDs and is glued to the carrier. 1. The DI (data input) and DO (data output) pins of the LED strip are connected in a zigzag manner, connecting the DO of the first strip to the DI of the next strip, and so on. 2. Each semicircle requires 10 strips. The 5V and GND are only connected on one side of the strip. The length of the wires matches the length needed for the matrix strip wiring. 3. All nodes must be glued securely before installing the LED strips in place. 4. Glue ten strips to each half of the cylinder. The DO of one semicircle connects to the DI of the other semicircle. The DI of the first semicircle will be the input to the Raspberry Pi or Arduino.
First Test
To ensure everything is working properly, the LED light will undergo its first test. Using Arduino and Neopixel should be the easiest method.
Wooden Decoration
After measuring the diameter and height of the cylinder, install the wooden finish in place.
Raspberry Pi, Arduino, and Power Supply
To write beautiful matrix effects in Python, you can use Raspberry Pi. Raspberry Pi Zero can be used, and it connects to the matrix via GPIO pin 18, using a 74HCT245 level shifter to adapt the 3.3V of the Raspberry Pi to the 5V of the WS2812.
When using more Neopixel / WS2812 LEDs, a larger capacitor (2200 uF) and series resistor (470 ohms) will be used.
Power Supply The maximum power for 100 WS2812b LEDs is 100x60mA = 6A. Of course, if the brightness is reduced, the power consumption will also be greatly reduced. A 5V power supply can achieve the brightness you want.
Arduino This matrix can be used directly on Arduino devices using Adafruit’s NeoPixel and NeoMatrix libraries. If you use the following use case, you must modify the PIN and initialize:
NeoMatrix:
You can use Adafruit’s GFX library to download different dot matrix fonts with a height of 5 pixels. Please use the attached Arduino sketch as a starting point (using PIN 4 as the starting point for the matrix). It is an adapted version of the Neomatrix example sketch.
NeoPixel:
The required files can be downloaded from the project file library.
Simulation
The Python source code can be downloaded from the Github repository.
Programming
Two modes are set here. The PI variable is defined at the beginning of cylinder.py.
1. PI=False is the simulation mode, which will start a Python program to test all animation effects. You need to install all libraries that the program depends on (such as pygame, numpy, etc.). In simulation mode, the cylinder displays as a 5×20 pixel matrix.
2. PI=True will drive the GPIO 18# pin of the Raspberry Pi. You can freely add other effects with parameters. The text uses a 3×5 pixel font, and due to height limitations, not all letters can be completely displayed.
I hope you enjoy this project.
The project file library address:
http://maker.quwj.com/project/109
via instructables.com/id/LED-Matrix-Cylinder/
Links in the text can be clicked to read the original text at the end
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