Light Cube by BlownToBits

BlownToBits

Hobby & DIY>Electronics

GIF

Print Profile(1)

All

P1S

P1P

X1 Carbon

X1E

A1 mini

0.2mm layer, 2 walls, 10% infill

Designer

13 h

5 plates

5.0(3)

Open in Bambu Studio

Boost

174

Released

Description

A fun project that is a real accomplishment when finished! It is mostly beginner/intermediate.

Intro

This project requires some soldering skills and a computer to program the associated microcontroller. Soldering is not too difficult and there are plenty of tutorials to help with that. The skills that you will learn on this project will open the door to many more fun projects so it’s worth it to learn if you don’t already have this knowledge. Let’s get started!

Printing

0.2mm layer, 2 walls, 10% infill, 45 degree bridge, no print tower, no support(however you may chose painted support around back at power port). There is a filament change but that's not too hard to do. Just insert a ‘pause’ at the proper layer. White will diffuse better but I liked the vibrant look of clear.

WLED flashing

‘Flash’ the microcontroller with WLED firmware. Simply plug it into your computer and go to https://install.wled.me/ and click install and select the appropriate port that your microcontroller is plugged into. If you need help with this you can always go to the knowledge base on that website for further instructions and/or their WLED discord. Super helpful folks there. Enter in your Wi-Fi credentials after flashing the unit and now you will have access to the user interface. Click Config tab, then click LED Preferences. Change the ‘Length’ to 174 LEDs(more or less. You may have different lenths depending on how you wrap it.) Click Save on top. Now feel free to use any of the cool effects in the library!

Wiring

This part is actually pretty simple. Only three 60mm wires. I recommend color coding them so as to not get confused. White -ground, red -5 V+, green -data signal(GPIO2). The LED strip itself will already come with the end wired so you can just cut the plug off and solder it to the microcontroller directly. White to ground, red to 5V, green to GPIO2. I designed the internal box with exact dimensions so that every time you wrap around the corner(in a spiral fashion) it will be in the middle of the little LEDs. Do this part carefully as this strip does not like getting bent more then once. If you’re using raw length of material with no wires pre-soldered to the end you will need heat shrink tubing to protect the soldered end, as the pads break off VERY easily without support. The length is approximately 2.8 m or 174 LEDs. The top part gets a little messy(see picture) but it won’t really matter in the end. Still looks cool. Plug unit in and test that strip is working.

I designed the box walls with little alignment holes that you can use 5mm lengths of raw filament in (thanks pilfit). Base, top, and wall bottoms have pockets for 6mm dia. x 2mm magnets if you wish. Makes assembly much easier. Assemble all of the walls and the top with superglue and filament. Slide the microcontroller in the slot on the base. Before gluing the top parts on, plug it in again to make sure everything is functioning properly. Once confirmed you can glue light cube on base(I used hot glue for this part) and top parts to base or use the magnets. Enjoy the beautiful, mesmerizing light!

Parts List

ESP32 C3 controller- https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805781327184.html

WS2812B LED strip(any 60/m pitch LED could work, but these can be turned/bent easier)- https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256806035559210.html

Comment & Rating (21)

@Spoelly

I like this model but it has a design flaw the small one dit not have.. the usb port is not fully accessible. could you otherwise lower the port access or create a higher bracket for the esp chip?

(Edited)

The designer has replied

@user_982244676

Oh my! Thanks for the report. I will fix this

@Spoelly

Replying to @user_982244676 :

Please let me know when you fixed it, thanks!

@user_982244676

Replying to @Spoelly :

Uploading fix now. Thanks for reporting this!

@CaWi

Boosted

As promised a few more impressions, thanks again! 291 LEDs ;-)

GIF

The designer has replied

@user_982244676

WOW!!! That's Impressive. I love it!

@CaWi

Boosted

Replying to @user_982244676 :

Many Thanks!

@Resyekt

Boosted

such a cool model, I’ll post pictures once I get the lighting installed. Can I ask why the top doesn’t have holes to connect via magnet? I’d love for the whole thing to pop together with magnets. it’s possible I just did something wrong lol. I guess you’d have to have a separate print for the top that has magnets on all sides. Personally I’d even be happy with the 4x piece having magnets slots on each side then people can add as much magnetic strength as they want. I may attempt to make my own remix adding the slots but if you made one it would be much easier because I’m incompetent 😂 I definitely plan to print more of these as presents, I’m just using a normal led light strip to simplify things (144led/meter) ETA- I installed the lights, ended up using a low density strip instead because the high density wasn’t long enough, still looks great, but I’ll probably order a longer 144/m strip for increased brightness on the next one. one more recommendation, I’d like for the bottom plate to have some nubs or something in place to center the light box, I’m not sure if I just did something wrong but currently there’s nothing that keeps it center on mine. Nothing some glue won’t fix but figured I’d mention it. thanks again, I love it! used glow filament for the transparent part so it should look pretty cool after being turned off, I’ll post better pictures once I put it in my sons room 👍🏼

(Edited)

The designer has replied

@user_982244676

WOW! Thanks for sharing! That turned out nice. For the top I was just gluing but magnets could be cool!

@Resyekt

Boosted

Replying to @user_982244676 :

it really did come out awesomely! I was torn on whether or not to use a holographic build plate but I’m happy I did. i hope you don’t mind the small recommendations, i just really like this design so I couldn’t help it since you already have perfect magnet holes on the other sides. I actually used one 6x2 for each of the bottom holes and then 2 6x2 (actual dimension less than 2) on the side piece helping to give it a more flush sturdy fit. Anyways I appreciate the model, I’ll send you pictures of any more I make in the future!

@jfourman

This was a really fun make. And as a newbie, I learned a lot about matching filament and soldering. I loved Reskeyt's use of the holographic plate. It gives interest to the model even when it isn't lighted. My first challenge was finding the right filament to best print on the holo plate. I printed both silver and black samples and found that black best showed the holo pattern. Black PETG-HF was a little more shiny than my black PLA. So my first print was black PETG-HF. It was a mess for me on the holo plate. I next tried black PLA which printed perfectly. The "white" layer was PETG-HF Translucent Clear. I quickly learned that PETG doesn't stick to PLA. All of the black cubes just fell off of the PETG layer. The winner was black PLA on the holo plate with white PLA for the light layer. The result was perfect. My final challenge was soldering the microcontroller as I am a newbie here too. Fortunately, I purchased six of the boards ($0.99 USD each). So it was no problem to sacrifice one. Be sure to solder the connections with no solder extending beyond the edge of the board or the board won't slide into the slot in the base. I attached magnets at all of the points. I CA glued the top and sides and left the top attached to the base with magnets only. Be sure to follow the instructions to install the firmware on the board (I first connected to my PC with a charge/power cable rather than a data cable. ...duh?). I ended up with 204 LEDs covering the inner box (I hot glued the box to the base). All of the LEDs won't light until you configure the number installed. This is a beautiful model. Thanks BlownToBits.

(Edited)

GIF

The designer has replied

@user_982244676

That looks sooo cool! Thanks for sharing.

@Lopaka

Boosted

Print Profile

0.2mm layer, 2 walls, 10% infill

I just finished printing and assembling a light cube for my kids, which was both fun and challenging. It was my first time soldering and programming an ESP32, so I damaged a board and ruined two LED strips. I recommend buying extra components for mistakes. Despite the challenges, the final result was rewarding, and watching the LEDs display effects was satisfying. For beginners, expect some trial and error, but this project is well worth the effort.

@Spoelly

Print Profile

0.2mm layer, 2 walls, 10% infill

Nice model

@CaWi

Boosted

Print Profile

0.2mm layer, 2 walls, 10% infill

Thanks! Later more pics. 291 LEDs

GIF

@jfourman

This looks really cool. I'm eager to build it. I'm confused as to what filaments were used and where. Outer cubes?, inner liner? and inner shell? I want to use "clear" but I'm not sure where you used it.

The designer has replied

@user_982244676

The 3mf should have everything you need but basically only only 10 mm on all of the sides should be the solid material you want to use and the inside 2 mm and above will be the clear. Inside box does not matter what color

@user_982244676

Replying to @user_982244676 :

Here

@xtinytoadx

Looks really cool. might try this project as a challenge somewhere down the road

@Resyekt

Boosted

I just finished it and it was actually surprisingly easy. I used a simple rgbic led strip instead which simplified it quite a bit and it looks great. You can get them for 10-15 on amazon and cut them to the needed length. just make sure it’s “RGBIC” and not “RGB” the IC stands for independent controller and means you’ll get cool effects like rainbows and patterns (similar to ops video) rather than just a solid color. Sorry if you already know about LED strips, just wanted to explain it incase you didn’t. I also used magnets but you could also just glue the whole thing together without issue.

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