35. LED cube - 4x4x4 (Version 2.0)

Hey everyone!

Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while. I have already taught you about my LED cube. Today I will be presenting you the second version of my LED cube. The only difference between the two versions, is that I have added new patterns. The supplies and setup will be similar to that of the first version, so if you are new to this project, please visit the first version's page. 

Supplies

• LEDs (x64) - Any colour
• Copper wires - 4" long and 19 gauge thick (There is a risk of the metal wire bending if you try to insert a 20 gauge thick copper wire through the hole in the prototype PCB)
• Resistors (x4) - 220Ω
• Arduino Nano
• Prototype PCB
• Wires - To connect each layer and column to the pin header
• Cardboard Sheet/ Wooden Plank/ 3D printed template

Tools needed:

• Soldering iron
• Needle-Nose pliers (for cutting)
• Round-Nose pliers (for bending the metal wires)
• Tweezers
• Ruler - 15cm

Setup

Take out a piece of cardboard or a wooden plank and draw a square grid measuring 4" x 4". The grid must have a total of 16 squares and carefully poke a hole in the places where two the lines meet. The object with which you poke a hole must have a diameter similar to that of the LEDs. The columns must be soldered to the anodes of the LEDs and the layers must be soldered to the cathodes of the LEDs. 

Connect each layer with a 220Ω resistor before soldering it to the pin header.

Connections

Layers

• 01 - A0
• 02 - A1
• 03 - A2
• 04 - A3

Columns

Coding

I have used 22 patterns in my second version of LED cube. Declare arrays for the layer pins and column pins. Within void setup( ), call the pinMode function to configure each pins as INPUT or OUTPUT. Setting all pins in the Column array HIGH and all pins in the Layer array LOW, will make all 64 LEDs light up at the same time. 

Here is a sample:

int Layer[ ] = {A0, A1, A2, A3};

int Column[ ] = {A4, A5, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13};

void setup( ){

for (int i=0; i<16; i++){

pinMode (Column[i], OUTPUT);

}

for (int i=0; i<4; i++){

pinMode (Layer[i], OUTPUT);

}

}

void loop( ){

on( );
delay (1000);
off( );
delay (1000);

}

void on( ){

for (int i=0; i<16; i++){

digitalWrite (Column[i], HIGH);

}

for (int i=0; i<4; i++){

digitalWrite (Layer[i], LOW);

}

}

void off( ){

for (int i=0; i<16; i++){

digitalWrite (Column[i], LOW);

}

for (int i=0; i<4; i++){

digitalWrite (Layer[i], HIGH);

}

}

If you still need help with coding, please feel free to comment below, or send an email to arduinoprojectsbyr@gmail.com. I will guide you with the coding.

Final Look

If anyone has any questions, or suggestions, about this project, please feel free to comment below or send an email to arduinoprojectsbyr@gmail.com.