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I originally mentioned this project before the Hardware Modding forums existed in the firmware forums. That post is located here.
Right now this is basically just a concept, I have no timeline to completion, but figured I would document my progress here. Let me just disclaim that have no desire to “compete” with Jeremy and his awesome game-frame, I merely want to explore taking the concept and seeing if it can be applied to a 32×32 LED display. If I ever complete this project it will be a 1-off for personal use. I will publish my files so anyone can freely re-create & modify the work that I have done.
Basically the plan is 2 part (hardware and software)…
Software: Currently I am thinking the software side would be to adapt Jeremy’s firmware (once released) for use with an ATMEGA2560 “Arduino Mega” and a 32×32 grid.
Hardware: I would basically be redesigning the entire project. 32×32 will draw 4x more power, so power distribution has to be thought out. I have yet to run the numbers to determine total power requirements, but this very likely could be entering PC Power supply territory. The size of the panel is currently planned to be 300mm². I will be designing my own LED panel and hand soldering all 1024 LEDs (and decoupling caps). I priced a 300mm² PCB and it will cost approx $260 just for the PCB. Then we are talking about another $175 for 1024 LEDs. Currently I am thinking I would cut the light isolation grid out of Acrylic on my hackerspace’s laser. I would layer 3 of them to get the required depth with a sheet of white vellum layered between top layers. I did a test cut of a 4×4 grid to see if the laser and material can handle it (picture below). I think it will work out fine, but I might need to increase the wall thickness slightly. The current spacing is a .75mm wall thickness with a 8mm cutout for the pixel. This equals an 8.75mm spacing between pixels. I might try a few more variations on the 4×4 grid to see which works and looks best. I will likely order a small 4×4 PCB to do some tests on. The concept is already proven by Jeremy’s design, I need to confirm I can get it to work with the resources at my disposal.
That is all for now, I will post updates as they happen.
Thanks.
Hey
Looks great!
Would also like to have a 32×32 Grid.
There was a kickstarter, but it has no seperate pixels like Jeremys frame.
And i really like the seperate, milky pixels.Perhaps instead of using a very expensive big cutom pcb u could just use some of these.
I think jeremy is using them as well:
http://worldsemi.en.alibaba.com/productgrouplist-219250505/LED_Panel_Screen.htmlReally cool, Damage. I’ll really enjoy watching your project evolve. Why not use strips instead of soldering your own boards?
Micro’s right, those are the panels I’m using (with a custom connector). While you can connect multiples, the bezels need to overlap and I’m not sure you can get the adjacent panel LEDs 1cm away as they need to be. Plus, doing a larger grid with them means calculating for the various zig zags, which sounds like a real headache to me.
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