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 Hobby Components 

 V2 4x4x4 LED Cube Kit 

 Build Guide 

 Document version 1.0 

Summary of Contents for V2 4x4x4 LED Cube Kit

Page 1: ...Hobby Components V2 4x4x4 LED Cube Kit Build Guide Document version 1 0 ...

Page 2: ...arranties whether express implied or statutory including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose accuracy or lack of negligence Hobby Components Ltd shall not in any circumstances be liable for any damages including but not limited to special incidental or consequential damages for any reason whatsoever COPYRIGHT NOTICE This document including ...

Page 3: ...tors RED RED BLK BLK BRN 1 10K Ohm resistor BRN BLK BLK RED BRN 3 100nF ceramic capacitor marked 104 1 470nF ceramic capacitor marked 474 1 SR1100 Diode 1 28 pin IC socket 1 18 pin IC socket 1 ULN2003 18 pin IC 1 ATMega328 28 pin IC 1 Push button 1 2 1mm DC socket 1 5 Pin right angled header may be supplied as a 40 pin breakable strip 20 spares Male to female sockets supplied as a 40 pin breakable...

Page 4: ... Ideally with a fine tip 2 Solder 3 A small pair of snips or side cutters 4 A pair of small long nose pliers Recommended 4x4x4 V2 Cube kit LED template SKU HCPROT0101 OR A piece of perspex plywood which will be used as a jig for soldering the LEDs that make up the cube 3mm drill bit and drill ...

Page 5: ...ldered in order of height The first step is to start by soldering the resistors In your kit these will be marked appropriately The orientation of most of the components doesn t matter but we will point out any components where the orientation does matter In these cases it is important to make sure you have them inserted correctly Unless otherwise stated solder components to the PCB by inserting th...

Page 6: ...ners of the socket first That way if the socket isn t sitting flat it is then easy to reheat the soldered pads to flatten the socket before soldering the rest of the pins With these tips in mind we can now start soldering the components to the PCB Solder each type of component in the following sequence Step 1 Resistors 16x 180 Ohm resistors R2 to R17 marked BROWN GREY BLACK BLACK BROWN The orienta...

Page 7: ...m resistors R19 to R21 marked RED RED BLACK BLACK BROWN The orientation of the components doesn t matter 1x 10K Ohm resistor R1 marked BROWN BLACK BLACK RED BROWN The orientation of this component doesn t matter ...

Page 8: ...ing to the edge of the PCB Step 3 IC sockets 1x 18 pin 1x 28 pin IC socket In both cases solder the sockets with the notch end of the socket pointing into the PCB Be careful when inserting the sockets that none of the pins bend under the socket instead of going through its pad hole they should drop into holes without any resistance ...

Page 9: ...0 way strip which can be broken into a 5 pin section Solder this header with the pins pointing to the outside of the PCB Step 4 Capacitors 3x 100nF ceramic capacitors C1 C2 C3 marked 104 1x 470nF ceramic capacitor C4 marked 474 The orientation of the components doesn t matter ...

Page 10: ...sh button switch Note that the orientation of the switch is important referencing the image insert the switch into the PCB so that the pins are on the top and bottom sides of the switch Step 6 5V Power socket 1x DC Socket ...

Page 11: ...ng can either be left on the pin or removed depending on your preference These pins are the only component that is soldered to the non silkscreen top side of the PCB Step 8 Base LEDs 4x 5mm LEDs D1 to D4 The orientation for the LEDs is important the short leg of the LED called the cathode should be oriented to the outside of the PCB You can also identify the cathode side of the LED as it has a fla...

Page 12: ...2803 Insert the ICs into their sockets Note that the orientation of the IC s is important at one end of each IC you will notice a semi circle cut into the case When the IC s are inserted into the board these should point to the inside of the PCB ...

Page 13: ...x4 grids If you don t have the optional template then it is recommended that you first construct yourself a jig template as this will allow you to construct the grids quicker and with more accuracy To do this you will need a piece of perspex plywood or any stiff material you can drill holes into measuring at least 8cm x 8cm Using a drill with a 3mm bit drill 16 holes arranged in a 4x4 grid with th...

Page 14: ...two sockets shown in the image and with the shorter leg of the LED inserted into the outer socket With the PCB powered the LED should randomly turn on and off as the cube runs through its demo Tip 2 When bending the legs of the LEDs use a pair of long nose pliers This will help to avoid applying mechanical stress to the base of the LEDs as you bend the legs IMPORTANT Avoid applying mechanical stre...

Page 15: ...e cathode side and the long leg is the LED positive anode side so it is very important to make sure you are bending the correct leg Using a pair of pliers bend all 48 LEDs as shown in the image below Note that the short leg is bent slightly higher from the base of the LED than the long leg This is because when the LEDs are soldered together into a grid the short leg of each LED will have to cross ...

Page 16: ...ou should now have a total of 64 LEDs 48 with both legs bent and 16 with just the long leg bent Step 2 Making the first row The next step is to take some of the LEDs you have just bent and solder them together to make the first row of 4 LEDs If you purchased the optional template PCB you will now need this to construct the grids Otherwise please see the section of this document titled Template for...

Page 17: ...the first row with the LED that has the single leg bent on the far left hand side Make sure that none of the short legs are touching the long legs where they pass over them Step 3 Making the first 4x4 grid Repeat step 2 three more times until you have 4 rows of LEDs with their short legs soldered together ...

Page 18: ...Once step 3 has been completed with all 4 row and 4 column legs soldered together the entire 4x4 grid can now be carefully removed from your jig and set aside The next step is to repeat steps 2 3 to make 3 more identical grids until you have a total of four 4x4 grids ...

Page 19: ...ient your built up PCB so that the silkscreen component side is facing down and the DC power socket is to the rear of the PCB Next take one of the 4x4 grids and using a pair of long nosed pliers carefully insert the column legs long legs of the grid into the first row of LED sockets P1 P5 P9 P13 so that the LEDs are pointing towards you ...

Page 20: ...Now repeat the last step with the remaining 3 grids inserting them into each following row of LED sockets Note the last row of sockets P17 to P20 at the rear edge of the PCB should be left unconnected ...

Page 21: ...ort legs of each grid need to be soldered together Start by soldering the top row of legs together first whilst making sure each grid is evenly spaced from the next If you purchased the optional template PCB it has notches down one side that can be used to accurately space each grid ...

Page 22: ...Repeat this step for the other 3 rows of short legs The short legs on the rear 4x4 grid can be trimmed with a pair of snips side cutters as they don t need to be connected to anything ...

Page 23: ...ither completely strip off the outer insulation or leave it on and just strip the ends of each length depending on your preference If you do completely strip off the insulation make each length of wire a little longer than it needs to be That way you can bow it slightly so that it doesn t touch any parts of the cube it has to pass Connect socket P20 to the bottom row of LEDs P19 to the second P18 ...

Page 24: ...ions or problems whilst building your cube just post your question on our support forum via the link below we re happy to help https forum hobbycomponents com viewtopic php f 133 t 3009 Arduino users One final note for anyone familiar with programming Arduinos your cube is also Arduino compatible This means you can reprogram your cube with your own animations To help you do this we have written an...

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