What number of addressable LEDs are you able to match on the floor of a 20x20x20mm PCB* dice? As DIY GUY Chris reveals on this tiny LED dice venture, utilizing WS2812B-1010 addressable LEDs (that includes a 1x1mm footprint), it’s potential to suit 8×8, or 64 LEDs on every PCB facet, giving a complete of 384 LEDs on the dice.
The dice not solely arranges and connects LEDs on every outer floor, but additionally homes an ATmega328P microcontroller and battery charging circuitry on the again facet of one of many PCBs. A tiny 3.7V lithium-ion battery is hidden contained in the assembled dice for moveable energy. Due to the addressable perform of the WS2812Bs used, a single MCU output controls your complete chain of LEDs, passing alerts from one gentle supply to the subsequent.
To correctly solder all of those tiny LEDs, DGC used a tiny stencil for making use of solder paste, making utility comparatively easy. Guaranteeing the proper LED orientation was a little bit of a problem, nevertheless, and after the LEDs had been utilized the management board needed to be flipped to solder on the MCU/and so forth with a warmth gun. Every board was then soldered along with the assistance of a 3D-printed inside construction, forming this lovely little LED dice.
Charging is supplied by a pair of pins, whereas a second pair of pins is jumpered collectively to show it on. Be sure you try the construct course of, and a demo of it shining away within the video under.
*Notice that 20x20mm seems to be the floor space of every PCB, probably making the dice’s assembled full quantity a bit bigger than 20x20x20mm. It’s nonetheless spectacular, and a very good illustration of how at such a tiny scale the vertical dimensions of elements, the joint construction, and board thickness are non-negligible design issues. For an additional actually tiny–and presumably additionally world’s smallest–system, try my 1-inch MIDI controller featured right here.