Building an 8x8x8 LED Cube from an Ebay Kit

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Building an 8x8x8 LED Cube from an Ebay Kit:

Back in 2017 I decided to buy a kit and build an led cube.  I felt like soldering and I wanted some circuit board experience.  Eventually, I want to reprogram the matrix with a shortest path algorithm.  I think it would help in visualizing 3d matrixes and seeing a link between code and hardware.  I have not gotten to that part of the project, yet.  This blog is a quick recount of my experience.  There is a video of the final project on YouTube.

Goal:
  •         Stretch my soldering muscles
  •          Gain experience in:

o   Circuit board assembly
o   Micro controllers
o   Low voltage electronics
  • Help me understand how microcontrollers are programmed and used. 


Kit I bought:

3D Squared DIY Kit 8x8x8 LED Cube White LED Blue Light BoardElectronic OS843

This is not the exact kit (I bought mine two years ago), but it’s pretty much the same.  Don't expect an instruction manual.


Tutorials I referenced:

These ebay kits don’t really come with instructions so I also used a few tutorials as a guide.  A link to a playlist of all the ones I used can be found here. 


Steps:

1. Test 512 LEDs

2. Create a jig for the led grid assembly



3. Assemble the grid

4. Assemble the circuit board
Top

Bottom


5. Attach grid to circuit board

6. Test and enjoy!

A video of my finished project can be found on YouTube.


What I Learned:

Assembling this cube was a great way to gain confidence as an electronic hobbyist and assembler.  My soldering skills improved immensely because of the constant repetition.  I also enjoyed soldering to a circuit board for the first time.  It was very satisfying. 
I didn’t learn as much about programming microcontrollers as I wanted to in this project.  I learned more about how simple 0s and 1s can control a physical matrix structure. 
Overall this was a fun and valuable project, but I was disappointed to realize that I couldn’t reprogram the microcontrollers once assembly was finished.  Since then this project has been put on the back burner. 


What’s next?
         
            I want to eventually program my own controllers for an led cube.  I think it would be extremely beneficial in understanding how code relates to hardware.  I then would like to continue with my original idea of using the cube to visualize data structures in coding.  I’m not sure it’s possible, but it would really help CS education if it is.

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