Well I will be happy to give you some pointers. I have been trying to get my hands on a raspberry pi for a while but I want the version B and it has been sold out and back ordered for a long time now. Just waiting for the factory to catch up.
My power supply that I have has a current limit setting. I just set it to about 10-15mA. If you have a DC power supply that has a settable current limit you can take your connecting wires, disconnected from anything of course, and short them together and the supply should go to constant current mode, CC, and when it does you then should be able to adjust, via a knob or button, the current it is providing. Hope this helps.
Thanks for the question. Basically, yes, you will connect, as seen in the video towards the end, the positive power supply (red cable) to side pins one at a time and then place the negative power supply (black cable) to the bottom pins to activate the different LED's on the level that you have connected the positive cable to. And then move the pos cable and probe the bottom pins with the black cable for each additional level. Hope this helps. Take care.
Hi, a very nice and clear video on how to construct. I'm new to 3D LED cubes and I started a project on making a 6x6x6 cube. May I ask if it is similar to the 4x4x4 cube as I can make a 6x6x6 cube following your steps, just adding more holes and rows?
Yes you should be able to just extend the one that I have shown you. Check the link in the description of the video for the link to a kit. Now this kit has a manual that has the schematic in it that you can download for free. Just make sure that by extending it will still work. I believe it should.
The reaspberry pi is an great platform. I am trying to get one. I don't know as much as I would like about it though. so I would think that if you could get some digital i/o off of it then yes you could.
hey i like your job here. but i dont understand how to make it work, the videos you comment with that draw i dont know how to make the code. i need it for a school project and i dont have much time so please send me the code and tell how to connect with broadboard. Thanks so much!
No this works just fine. Probably the difference is that I am doing high side switching instead of low side switching. Basically the transistors that I will be using will be p-channel and will switch the power line. The micro just provides a ground to turn on specific LED's. Check out my hardware and software videos to see how it all comes together. 4X4X4 LED Cube Hardware 4x4x4 LED Cube Part1 (HW) 4X4X4 LED Cube Software 4x4x4 LED Cube Part2 (SW)
also what denotes the cathode and anode is inside the led. the FAT side is NEGITIVE and the SMALL is POSITIVE. so if your using scavanged parts, and they are cut already..this is how you can tell what is what.
misperry yeah, and you can see inside it when its frosted but not as well just hold it up to a light to get a good view of them. but i scavange my parts, so they are cut so i needed to know what was what. hope this helped you a bit.
Hey there and thanks for your comment. Unless you have some sort of current limiting power supply you need to put a resistor inline. LED's have a very low junction resistance and you can take a chance on there being a lot of current flowing through it if you just hook it up to a power supply that can source like 1-3 Amps of current. Thus, it is best to use a resistor. For sizing the resistor there should be a forward current indication on the datasheet of any LED. Best rule of thumb to use if you don't have the datasheet and don't know where to get one is around 10mA. Thus, since I use 5V most of the time for my controllers I use a 475 Ohm resistor. By ohm's law V = I*R, if I want 20mA of current from 5V then the equation is R = V/I => R = 5V / 10mA is 500 Ohm. In 1% resistors the closest to 500 ohm and that is easy to find anywehre is around 475 ohm. Hope this helps.
+starfirr XvX Yes this is a common anode so you should be able to use the arduino. However, I am using serial to parallel chips so they are taking all the sinking of current as well as I am using FET's for the anodes so that way whatever micro you choose is not taking the brunt of the current. Check out my hardware video: ua-cam.com/video/ugiwZ3_eI4g/v-deo.html
Sure, the code that I have written is very basic. The best way to do this will be to do it on a refresh basis. Basically you will have to power the first layer then the second then the third and so on at a fast rate like 120Hz or so so that it is not humanly visible. Then you just turn on leds that need to be on during each interval. I am trying to get time to make a video illustrating this so that it will be more clear.
Hey there, it depends on how you are activating the LEDs. If you have it set up like I do with serial to parallel converters and some MOS transistors that can take the current then yes you can light them all since they are sourcing their power from the serial to parallel chiips and not the controller chip i.e. arduino. However, if you are sourcing the power from the arduino you will have to look at the current limitations of the arduino to see if you can. I don't think you will be able to power all of the LEDs straight from the arduino. What you will need to do is to buffer it with either transistors, some sort of LED driver chip, or like in my example the serial to parallel chips. See my hardware video on this for an example: ua-cam.com/video/ugiwZ3_eI4g/v-deo.html Hope this helps and good luck
Hello, thank you for your quick help. I have more questions to ask you. in most of the instructables about the LED cube almost all of them didnot use the addtional components like extra transistors for the anodes and mosfets. Getting more components is a little bit challenging since in Ethiopia we dont have online marketing. therefore what i am asking you is can i use a trick of multiplexing (lighting one column at a time) to avoid harm to the arduino. I already built my cube referring to your video ... thank you !!!!
Ahh I see. Yes you can use that trick. You can just set things up on a refresh type of basis and just power each level one right after the other at a frequency that the eye can't pick up like 100Hz or something and you will effectively PWM it. Now when you do this you will sacrifice brightness when you do this since you are only powering it for a short period of time each cycle. Also you could raise the resistance value of your current shunt resistors. Again you will reduce the light output when doing this. Those are two things to experiment with to keep the power consumption down. Good luck.
Uhm! looks like a problem here! At the end you have 4 anode wires and 16 cathode wires. But how to connect it with an Arduino for example? Maybe: 16 x BC547, connect base(BC547) with 1K pulldown to Arduino pin, collector(BC547) to cathode and emitter(BC547) to ground. 4 x BC547, connect base(BC547) with 1K pulldown to Arduino pin, collector(BC547) with 100 ohm to 5 volt and emitter(BC547) to anode. Or... do you have a better idea because the 4 x BC547 connected to the anode of the led's is not the most proper way.
Hey there, thanks for the comment. If you would like to see how I have connected this up for control you can check out my HW video in the link below and if you would like to see some very simple software you can check out the SW video as well. I just used simple 74HC595 shift register chips to gain all the IO needed to control all the LED's 4x4x4 LED Cube Part1 (HW)
Hey there thanks for your comment. If you would like you can view my other two videos in this series on hardware and software to control it. Hardware 4x4x4 LED Cube Part1 (HW) Software 4x4x4 LED Cube Part2 (SW)
really awesome man... u explained all steps with making by ueself and its awesome i loved ur video and liked it and also subscribed but be sure to make some more nice videos like this and u ca combine this stuff with ur arduino uno aand program it and make some more new videos and i m waiting for .ino programs but in the above video u didn't showed how to stack and solder i think that is more difficult than normal soldering
Hi. New to this, finish with this video(ua-cam.com/video/vf_IpviMiFU/v-deo.html), where can I get the rest. I have look but i can't find it. How do i connect this final product to the board? Thank you.
+techdetech Hey I am sorry for the late response for some reason youtube had disallowed your comment. Well any way I have checked out your channel and I like the LED stuff you are doing. Keep up the great work.
Юрий Пупкин IF you are looking for more, I have more videos and this is also in a playlist on my channel here you go: 4x4x4 LED cube part 1 (HW) ua-cam.com/video/ugiwZ3_eI4g/v-deo.html 4x4x4 LED cube part 2 (SW) ua-cam.com/video/IUWtjNdgDoI/v-deo.html 4x4x4 LED cube demo ua-cam.com/video/c78hNPqU6UY/v-deo.html
Well I will be happy to give you some pointers. I have been trying to get my hands on a raspberry pi for a while but I want the version B and it has been sold out and back ordered for a long time now. Just waiting for the factory to catch up.
nice clear step by step process. important to note when you soldered the layers that you went top down...
My power supply that I have has a current limit setting. I just set it to about 10-15mA. If you have a DC power supply that has a settable current limit you can take your connecting wires, disconnected from anything of course, and short them together and the supply should go to constant current mode, CC, and when it does you then should be able to adjust, via a knob or button, the current it is providing. Hope this helps.
Despite my previous facetious comment, your video is very good.
Thanks for the question. Basically, yes, you will connect, as seen in the video towards the end, the positive power supply (red cable) to side pins one at a time and then place the negative power supply (black cable) to the bottom pins to activate the different LED's on the level that you have connected the positive cable to. And then move the pos cable and probe the bottom pins with the black cable for each additional level. Hope this helps. Take care.
When you test each layer bulb by bulb, how much power or volts are you using? Thanks!
Hi, a very nice and clear video on how to construct. I'm new to 3D LED cubes and I started a project on making a 6x6x6 cube. May I ask if it is similar to the 4x4x4 cube as I can make a 6x6x6 cube following your steps, just adding more holes and rows?
Yes you should be able to just extend the one that I have shown you. Check the link in the description of the video for the link to a kit. Now this kit has a manual that has the schematic in it that you can download for free. Just make sure that by extending it will still work. I believe it should.
The reaspberry pi is an great platform. I am trying to get one. I don't know as much as I would like about it though. so I would think that if you could get some digital i/o off of it then yes you could.
If I want to the LEDs that active as I want, so I have to use CCS?
How do you limit the current to the LEDs when you test them with the power supply?
hey i like your job here. but i dont understand how to make it work, the videos you comment with that draw i dont know how to make the code. i need it for a school project and i dont have much time so please send me the code and tell how to connect with broadboard. Thanks so much!
Can I use a 555 timer and get a pattern ? I know that the pattern wont be programmable , but still it will be a pattern !
Is it wrong to bend the anodes like you did,cause in some other tutorials they always bend the cathodes and im wondering if i did it wrong?
No this works just fine. Probably the difference is that I am doing high side switching instead of low side switching. Basically the transistors that I will be using will be p-channel and will switch the power line. The micro just provides a ground to turn on specific LED's. Check out my hardware and software videos to see how it all comes together.
4X4X4 LED Cube Hardware
4x4x4 LED Cube Part1 (HW)
4X4X4 LED Cube Software
4x4x4 LED Cube Part2 (SW)
also what denotes the cathode and anode is inside the led. the FAT side is NEGITIVE and the SMALL is POSITIVE. so if your using scavanged parts, and they are cut already..this is how you can tell what is what.
+Shadetree Props Awesome. Thanks for the great tip. This is when you are looking inside the LED as long as it is clear.
misperry yeah, and you can see inside it when its frosted but not as well just hold it up to a light to get a good view of them. but i scavange my parts, so they are cut so i needed to know what was what. hope this helped you a bit.
can you let me know when you got the software uploaded so i can watch it. Thank you
+Francisco Sanchez Sure here is the whole playlist.
ua-cam.com/video/ugiwZ3_eI4g/v-deo.html
Thanks for the comment. I am glad it has helped out.
you describe it really well man. tx a lot.
Where can I purchase the led's with the longer legs please.Thanks John
+karen berry The leds that I used in this came from parts express. They have great deals on bulk, www.parts-express.com/cat/leds/1395
+misperry ok thanks for reply :)
is it save using led without resistor?
Hey there and thanks for your comment. Unless you have some sort of current limiting power supply you need to put a resistor inline. LED's have a very low junction resistance and you can take a chance on there being a lot of current flowing through it if you just hook it up to a power supply that can source like 1-3 Amps of current. Thus, it is best to use a resistor. For sizing the resistor there should be a forward current indication on the datasheet of any LED. Best rule of thumb to use if you don't have the datasheet and don't know where to get one is around 10mA. Thus, since I use 5V most of the time for my controllers I use a 475 Ohm resistor. By ohm's law V = I*R, if I want 20mA of current from 5V then the equation is R = V/I => R = 5V / 10mA is 500 Ohm. In 1% resistors the closest to 500 ohm and that is easy to find anywehre is around 475 ohm.
Hope this helps.
Hi there, thank you for your comment. I am glad it helped you out.
this is a coman anode cube right?? i want to use arduino with it so i think i will build a cathode cube
+starfirr XvX Yes this is a common anode so you should be able to use the arduino. However, I am using serial to parallel chips so they are taking all the sinking of current as well as I am using FET's for the anodes so that way whatever micro you choose is not taking the brunt of the current. Check out my hardware video: ua-cam.com/video/ugiwZ3_eI4g/v-deo.html
do you know how to programe arduino,? im finding a hard time with undrestanding a matrixe code i just found in the net some help please?? *.*
can you help me understand on how to understand the pattern generating code
Sure, the code that I have written is very basic. The best way to do this will be to do it on a refresh basis. Basically you will have to power the first layer then the second then the third and so on at a fast rate like 120Hz or so so that it is not humanly visible. Then you just turn on leds that need to be on during each interval. I am trying to get time to make a video illustrating this so that it will be more clear.
Hello, i was wondering if i can light all of my LEDs at once without harming my Arduino. i'm frustrated due to the current limitations of the arduino
Hey there, it depends on how you are activating the LEDs. If you have it set up like I do with serial to parallel converters and some MOS transistors that can take the current then yes you can light them all since they are sourcing their power from the serial to parallel chiips and not the controller chip i.e. arduino. However, if you are sourcing the power from the arduino you will have to look at the current limitations of the arduino to see if you can. I don't think you will be able to power all of the LEDs straight from the arduino. What you will need to do is to buffer it with either transistors, some sort of LED driver chip, or like in my example the serial to parallel chips. See my hardware video on this for an example: ua-cam.com/video/ugiwZ3_eI4g/v-deo.html
Hope this helps and good luck
Hello, thank you for your quick help. I have more questions to ask you. in most of the instructables about the LED cube almost all of them didnot use the addtional components like extra transistors for the anodes and mosfets. Getting more components is a little bit challenging since in Ethiopia we dont have online marketing. therefore what i am asking you is can i use a trick of multiplexing (lighting one column at a time) to avoid harm to the arduino. I already built my cube referring to your video ... thank you !!!!
Ahh I see. Yes you can use that trick. You can just set things up on a refresh type of basis and just power each level one right after the other at a frequency that the eye can't pick up like 100Hz or something and you will effectively PWM it. Now when you do this you will sacrifice brightness when you do this since you are only powering it for a short period of time each cycle. Also you could raise the resistance value of your current shunt resistors. Again you will reduce the light output when doing this. Those are two things to experiment with to keep the power consumption down. Good luck.
Uhm! looks like a problem here! At the end you have 4 anode wires and 16 cathode wires. But how to connect it with an Arduino for example?
Maybe:
16 x BC547, connect base(BC547) with 1K pulldown to Arduino pin, collector(BC547) to cathode and emitter(BC547) to ground.
4 x BC547, connect base(BC547) with 1K pulldown to Arduino pin, collector(BC547) with 100 ohm to 5 volt and emitter(BC547) to anode.
Or... do you have a better idea because the 4 x BC547 connected to the anode of the led's is not the most proper way.
Hey there, thanks for the comment. If you would like to see how I have connected this up for control you can check out my HW video in the link below and if you would like to see some very simple software you can check out the SW video as well. I just used simple 74HC595 shift register chips to gain all the IO needed to control all the LED's
4x4x4 LED Cube Part1 (HW)
Thank you for your comment. Glad to know this helped you out.
Could u use a raspberry pi in this?
Sir would you please show the next step
excellent manual ! Thank you!
PLEASE HELP
how can i program the code to go by b0000??
4x4x4 LED cube Arduino Uno:
I conected
column:
" a1-13
" a2-12
" a3-11
" a4-10
" b1-9
" b2-8
" b3-7
" b4-6
" c1-5
" c2-4
" c3-3
" c4-2
" d1-1
" d2-0
" d3-A5
" d4-A4
layer 4-A3
layer 3-A2
layer 2-A1
layer 1-A0
Hey there thanks for your comment. If you would like you can view my other two videos in this series on hardware and software to control it.
Hardware
4x4x4 LED Cube Part1 (HW)
Software
4x4x4 LED Cube Part2 (SW)
superb .. very useful
very helpful and informative
really awesome man... u explained all steps with making by ueself and its awesome i loved ur video and liked it and also subscribed but be sure to make some more nice videos like this and u ca combine this stuff with ur arduino uno aand program it and make some more new videos and i m waiting for .ino programs but in the above video u didn't showed how to stack and solder i think that is more difficult than normal soldering
Really nice...
Mine is still in pieces, but this helps a lot, thanks
alphahr no problem. Glad it helped you out!
'
very good to make LED lights 4X4X4 cube...
take time
Hi. New to this, finish with this video(ua-cam.com/video/vf_IpviMiFU/v-deo.html), where can I get the rest. I have look but i can't find it. How do i connect this final product to the board? Thank you.
+Lugademas Here is a link to the playlist with it all ua-cam.com/video/ugiwZ3_eI4g/v-deo.html thanks.
thnx
What now?
Hey there thanks for the comment. Here is the play list from constructing this to programming it. Thanks.
ua-cam.com/video/ugiwZ3_eI4g/v-deo.html
Nice video
I make also Led videos
+techdetech Hey I am sorry for the late response for some reason youtube had disallowed your comment. Well any way I have checked out your channel and I like the LED stuff you are doing. Keep up the great work.
k?
ok ?
ok...
Юрий Пупкин IF you are looking for more, I have more videos and this is also in a playlist on my channel here you go:
4x4x4 LED cube part 1 (HW)
ua-cam.com/video/ugiwZ3_eI4g/v-deo.html
4x4x4 LED cube part 2 (SW)
ua-cam.com/video/IUWtjNdgDoI/v-deo.html
4x4x4 LED cube demo
ua-cam.com/video/c78hNPqU6UY/v-deo.html
If you want to make patterns real easy use this program:
www.instructables.com/id/LED-CUBE-CODE-4x4x4-Arduino/
great link thanks for sharing
nffff
i didn't like this video