Dream Light Cube - RGB colorful night light based on WS2812

"Dream Light Cube" - RGB phantom night light based on WS2812

Bilibili video link : Dream Light Cube - RGB colorful night light based on WS2812_bilibili_bilibili

• Overall design:

A frame-type light cube built using 36 WS2812 lamps. The color of each lamp bead can be independently programmed and controlled.

The luminous lamp is divided into two parts: the light cube and the controller, which are connected using a three-core power cord.

As a fan of CC cables, I must use Type-C for power supply. I currently have no plans to install a battery. After all, I designed it as a night light.

• hardware design:

The light cube part is composed of 12 independent small plates. Each small plate is one side of the cube. It is installed at an angle of 45° to ensure that it can be seen from all angles.

Here is a reference circuit of a single board. Each board is composed of three WS2812 and two 0.1uf capacitors.

(Note: In theory, one 2812 should be matched with one capacitor. I used three 2812 with two capacitors. However, the actual measurement has no effect, even without adding capacitors.

In order to facilitate production (not easy to confuse, and patch (can use steel mesh and reflow soldering), 12 boards are put together, as shown below:

The Gerber file is available in the attachment (the drawing is very irregular, and the PCB project of the motherboard is not open source, only the Gerber file is provided). The size is 7.3*12.5cm. It is recommended to make the board with a thickness of 0.8 or 1.0mm (if it is too thick, it will not work on the one hand) It looks good, but it’s not convenient to cut and make.

It is recommended to carry out patching first and then divide it into small boards (except for pure hand welding. Small boards need to build the nozzle at the connection part, on the one hand for aesthetics and on the other hand for the convenience of clamping for welding.

This is the welding fixture (you can get it from the accessories ). Three boards can be welded together. The same letters mean that adjacent pads need to be welded together.

Note: The clamp has reserved more width for PLA printing and can be inserted normally.

Next, it is enough to make a light cube. After the frame is welded, it is time to solder the connecting wires. Note that the side of the pad marked with an Leave a little more, then bend it inwards for welding, as shown in the picture:

After the light cube is welded, apply UV glue to fix the nodes (it is recommended to increase the structural strength inside all nodes. Although I tried it without glue and it fell from a height of 1m without any problem.

Then there is the standard top cover. The top cover power supply uses Type-C for input, and two 5.1k resistors are used as identification resistors (if it is powered by A2C, it can be omitted)

The window below is to pass the remote control signal. It is not recommended to lay copper (otherwise it may affect the signal

The silk screen on the front can be modified at will. Just delete my original LOGO (on the top layer). There is a tutorial in the video, which is very convenient (I believe everyone can

As for the controller, the first one designed was a pure remote control, which can be directly pasted on it. If it is a mobile phone remote control, it needs to be pasted on the reverse side, but it is not difficult.

Here’s the link: (For reference only, there are many to choose from. You can even make your own controller.

Mobile phone remote control board Bluetooth full-color LED light bar controller WS2811 2812 mobile APP smart color controller 5V12V-Taobao (taobao.com)

Use the remote control control panel full color controller RF wireless magic remote control WS2811 full color radio frequency remote control 2812 mini 17 keys 14 keys - Taobao (taobao.com)

• Structural design:

If the entire light cube is installed suspended, the order from top to bottom is: top plate, control panel, top cover, wires, light cube

Then I designed a cover myself, which I also changed many versions. My modeling skills were limited (I added symbolic ribs, but the effect was not very big).

The top cap is modeled by myself and is suitable for the 10cm outer diameter bottle I bought on Taobao (the large size in the link). There is no guarantee that it will work with all bottles.

Link to the bottle: Star Bottle Large Glass Bottle Lucky Star Origami Strips Handmade Wishes for Boyfriend Teacher Birthday Gift Set - Taobao (taobao.com)

Note: I think this bottle is a bit expensive, please share other links.

However, there is basically no problem with the modeling, except that the Type-C interface has a little more width.

Note that the hole in the middle is 3mm. In order to adapt to different wires, the inner diameter of the circle in the middle is 5mm. You can expand the hole by yourself.

• Software part:

What I use is the supporting software of this control panel "Symphony Lotus Lamp" (both Apple and Android have this name. As for why I use this control panel, it is mainly because it is more cost-effective.

There are only two things to note about the software: set the number of lamp beads to 36, and adjust the line sequence to GRB (this is mentioned in my B station video

The other thing is that you use software to control it. Basically, you will be able to use the software once you have used it.

Power on the module before use, then turn on the Bluetooth of your phone (no need to connect anything), then open the app, the software will connect by itself, you can see it in the upper left corner

There is a little tip on the software: if you feel it is too bright (in dynamic mode), you can go back to the first page and change the brightness.

• other:

Bilibili video link : Dream Light Cube - RGB colorful night light based on WS2812_bilibili_bilibili  (welcome Sanlian

For the production method (video version), see the video on Station B. The production tutorial starts at 3′00

If you have any questions or suggestions, please join the group to communicate, QQ group: 1016193632

Special thanks to: @平头creative@看山@STIEI_07 @圣 Crystal Killer@flying piggy@香港记running fast 

I would like to express my gratitude to all the friends and groups who provided suggestions and opinions during the design and improvement process!

Source of creativity: [Creative PCB] Cubic Lamp - Lichuang EDA open source hardware platform (oshwhub.com)

• Text version of production steps:

It may not be detailed enough, it is for reference only!

• Stack the boards in order, brush the solder paste and mount them, use reflow soldering (I will put the reflow temperature curve at the end of the article, or use a heating plate to solder
  
• Cut out 12 small plates and trim the burrs: it is recommended to use nozzle pliers for trimming, and they can be polished appropriately.
• Use a 3D printed fixture (bracket) to weld the light cube body. Note that adjacent pads with the same letters need to be welded together.

       Note: It is recommended to weld 4 cones in groups of 3 pieces first, and then weld the entire light cube. Of course, you can also weld the corresponding letters when you see them, but be careful not to break them, otherwise it will be troublesome to repair them with flying wires.

• Apply an appropriate amount of UV glue to all nodes except the signal input node (or output node if you need to weld the light cube string) for reinforcement.
• Welding the top plate: controller, TypeC interface, identification resistor (if forward installation is used, this step is not required, connect the controller directly
• Solder the leads to the light cube and use glue and heat shrink tubing to reinforce them. Pass the wires through the top cover.
• Install the top cover on the bottle, adjust the length of the lead wires so that the light cube is in the appropriate position, and mark the wires.
• Leave at least 3cm above the mark (5cm is recommended), carefully peel off the wire sheath, and solder the wire to the top plate.
• Tuck the wires back to the appropriate length and secure them, and use glue to secure the top plate (if possible, it is recommended to apply hot melt glue in the center for additional fixation)