Skip to content
POPULAR SEARCHES:
  • Arduino
  • CNC
  • Raspberry Pi
  • Woodworking
  • 3D Printing
  • IOT
  • Robot
  • Maker Faire

Make: Magazine Logo Make: Community Logo Maker Shed Logo Maker Camp Logo Make: Makerspaces Logo Make: Learning Labs Logo Maker Faire Logo

Subscribe
  • Explore
    • Make: Magazine
      • The premier publication of maker projects, skill-building tutorials, in-depth reviews, and inspirational stories, accessible by all ages and skill ranges.
    • Maker Faire
      • A celebration of the Maker Movement, a family-friendly showcase of invention and creativity that gathers together tech enthusiasts, crafters, educators across the globe.
    • Maker Shed
      • A smart collection of books, magazines, electronics kits, robots, microcontrollers, tools, supplies, and more curated by us, the people behind Make: and the Maker Faire.
    • Make: Books
      • Maker-written books designed to inform and delight! Topics such as microcontrollers including Arduino and Raspberry Pi, Drones and 3D Printing, and more.
    • Maker Camp
      • A free program that lights children’s creative fires and allows them to explore projects in areas such as arts & crafts, science & engineering, design, and technology.
    • Make: Community
      • Membership connects and supports the people and projects that shape our future and supports the learning initiatives for the next generation of makers.
    • Make: Projects
      • A project collaboration and documentation platform.
  • Learn
    • Books & Kits

      Get hands-on with kits, books, and more from the Maker Shed

    • Transformational Learning

      Make: Learning Labs for young adults

    • Young Maker Projects

      Find projects for young makers

    • Watch and Learn

      Skill builder, project tutorials, and more

  • Experience
    • Magazine

      Subscribers' Digital Portal

    • Membership

      Access Make: Community

    • Faires

      Find a Maker Faire near you

    • Makerspaces

      Find a Makerspace near you

  • Participate
    • Organize

      Start a local Maker Faire

    • Write

      Share a book or article proposal

    • Engage

      Become a Make: Community member

    • Teach

      Host a class or workshop

    • Share

      Post a project

  • Shop
    • Kits, Books, & More

      Maker Shed, the official store of Make:

    • Make: Magazine

      Subscribe to the premier DIY magazine today

    • Make: Membership

      Community access, print, and digital Magazine, and more

  • Awards
    • 2022 Project Collection

      Browse and Vote on Your Favorite Projects

    • About

      Learn More About the Amazing Maker Awards

    • Promote

      Graphics and More to Help Spread the Word

Log In
avatar Join Now
avatar
Log Out
Subscribe
Get Make: Magazine Issue 79
Subscribe Today to Make: Magazine
  • All Stories
  • Magazine Projects
  • Board Guide
  • Maker Spotlights

Projects from Make: Magazine

Joey Hudy #2 Led Cube Kit

With this project you will learn to put this kit together.

  • By Joe Hudy
  • Time Required: 30-45 minutes
  • Print this Project
  • Total0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
Share via
  • Facebook
  • Like
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Digg
  • Del
  • Tumblr
  • VKontakte
  • Print
  • Email
  • Flattr
  • Reddit
  • Buffer
  • Love This
  • Weibo
  • Pocket
  • Xing
  • Odnoklassniki
  • WhatsApp
  • Meneame
  • Blogger
  • Amazon
  • Yahoo Mail
  • Gmail
  • AOL
  • Newsvine
  • HackerNews
  • Evernote
  • MySpace
  • Mail.ru
  • Viadeo
  • Line
  • Flipboard
  • Comments
  • Yummly
  • SMS
  • Viber
  • Telegram
  • Subscribe
  • Skype
  • Facebook Messenger
  • Kakao
  • LiveJournal
  • Yammer
  • Edgar
  • Fintel
  • Mix
  • Instapaper
  • Copy Link
Joey Hudy #2 Led Cube Kit
March 11, 2013, 10:33 pm PDT
  • Parts
  • Tools

Parts

  • Wire (3)
  • Resistor (3)
  • LED, Red (27)
  • Cardboard guide (1)
  • 8-Pin IC Socket (2)
  • IC (2)
  • Arduino pins (1)
  • PCB (1)

Tools

  • PCB
  • LED, Red
  • Resistor
  • Wire
  • Cardboard guide
  • 8-Pin IC Socket
  • IC
  • Arduino pins

Advertisement

Support Make:
Join Make: Community Today

Hot Topics

  • Learn Electronics with Make: Kits and Books
  • Fix Our Planet

Advertisement

Support Make:
Join Make: Community Today

Steps

  • Project Steps View All
  • 1. Joey Hudy #2
  • 2. A bit of information about...
  • 3. Guide Sheet
  • 4. Connecting your LED's
  • 5. Before cutting the extra wire,...
  • 6. Do the same 2 more...
  • 7. Solder all 3 levels together
  • 8. Put your 2nd layer on....
  • 9. Do the same with the...
  • 10. Lets start with the Resistors
  • 11. Black Wires
  • 12. Attaching the 3 black wires.
  • 13. Insert the tower into the...
  • 14. Next the IC's
  • 15. Arduino Pins
  • 16. Place your shield on top...
  • 17. Connect your Arduino to your...

Advertisement

Step #1:

NextPrev
Joey Hudy #2 Led Cube Kit

Joey Hudy #2

Step #2:

NextPrev
Joey Hudy #2 Led Cube Kit
  • A bit of information about LED's
  • All LEDs have a positive (+) and a negative (-) lead. As you can see in the picture, the positive (+) lead is longer than the negative (-) lead. You will always be bending the negative (-) lead. The official term for the negative lead is “cathode” and for the positive lead it is “anode.” For these directions we will use “short” and “long.”

Step #3:

NextPrev
Joey Hudy #2 Led Cube Kit
  • Guide Sheet
  • I used this as my template. If you ever get confused (easy to do) refer back to the guide sheet. This will tell you the placement and orientation of the LEDs and how to bend their leads.
  • Each circle has 2 dots. The one with the arrow is the negative (-) lead and the one standing alone is the positive (+). This diagram shows you which way to bend your negative (-) leads.

Step #4:

NextPrev
Joey Hudy #2 Led Cube KitJoey Hudy #2 Led Cube KitJoey Hudy #2 Led Cube KitJoey Hudy #2 Led Cube Kit
  • Connecting your LED's
  • This is an enlarged picture to show the use of the Helping Hands to hold your work.
  • ALWAYS FOLD DOWN THE NEGATIVE (-) SHORTER LEAD.
  • 1) Start with the center hole. Fold down the negative (-) lead on the right side. 2) Place the second LED in as shown. Solder them together. Don’t worry about the end of the LED being too long. We will be trimming them. 3) Place the third LED in as shown. Solder them together. Continue on until all 9 LEDs are soldered together.

Step #5:

NextPrev
Joey Hudy #2 Led Cube KitJoey Hudy #2 Led Cube KitJoey Hudy #2 Led Cube Kit

Before cutting the extra wire, take another look to make sure all your LEDs are going the correct way and you folded down the negative (-) lead in each case. This is the time to catch a mistake; you can always unsolder and fix it. Using your wire cutters, cut off the extra wire. Mostly these should be on the 4 corners.

Step #6:

NextPrev
Joey Hudy #2 Led Cube Kit
  • Do the same 2 more times.
  • You should have three 9-pin LED squares

Step #7:

NextPrev
Joey Hudy #2 Led Cube Kit
  • Solder all 3 levels together
  • Now the tricky part starts: stacking them together.
  • Put one LED piece back into the foam. You can find something to slide in between levels as shown.

Step #8:

NextPrev
Joey Hudy #2 Led Cube KitJoey Hudy #2 Led Cube KitJoey Hudy #2 Led Cube Kit
  • Put your 2nd layer on. You will be soldering the positive (+) lead to the corresponding positive (+) lead on the next layer as shown. You may need to bend the wires so they meet.
  • Please note that the picture above is showing how to stack the layers. They have not been soldered together. If you connect one positive (+) to a negative (-) your LED will not light up in the end.

Step #9:

NextPrev
Joey Hudy #2 Led Cube Kit
  • Do the same with the 3rd layer
  • This is what you should have in the end. As long as all the soldering is good the LEDs will still shine. Set your LED “cube” off to the side. Let’s work on the PCB.
  • Set this aside while we work on other parts. We will put this onto the pcb later

Step #10:

NextPrev
Joey Hudy #2 Led Cube KitJoey Hudy #2 Led Cube KitJoey Hudy #2 Led Cube KitJoey Hudy #2 Led Cube Kit
  • Lets start with the Resistors
  • The Resistors come with their leads straight. You need to bend them as shown. There is no polarity (+ or -) to these, so you don’t have to bend a particular wire. Just bend either one down.
  • Place each resistor into the board. Solder each in on the back of the PCB. There is no right or wrong way for these. I prefer to have mine going in the same direction.

Step #11:

NextPrev
Joey Hudy #2 Led Cube KitJoey Hudy #2 Led Cube KitJoey Hudy #2 Led Cube Kit
  • Black Wires
  • You will need to take your wire strippers and strip off a bit of insulation at each end. You will be soldering the top and the bottom, so strip off enough to do so. You may also choose to strip off all the black insulation. Either way is fine.
  • You will need to cute each wire to fit. One goes on each level of the LEDs. So you will have a long, medium and a short one.

Step #12:

NextPrev
Joey Hudy #2 Led Cube Kit
  • Attaching the 3 black wires.
  • Look at your black wires. You need to solder each of them to the correct level. First look for the very first LED you put into the foam. This is the wire you will solder to the negative (-) leads. Solder your short black wire to the negative (-) lead of the LEDs on the bottom level.
  • Solder your medium black wire to the negative (-) lead of the LEDs on the second level. Solder your long black wire to the negative (-) lead of the LEDs on the top level.

Step #13:

NextPrev
Joey Hudy #2 Led Cube KitJoey Hudy #2 Led Cube KitJoey Hudy #2 Led Cube Kit
  • Insert the tower into the PCB
  • Take your time and get each wire into the correct hole. It’s kinda like a puzzle. Once you’ve succeeded in doing that, solder the wires in place on the back side. Then give yourself a pat on the back!

Step #14:

NextPrev
Joey Hudy #2 Led Cube KitJoey Hudy #2 Led Cube KitJoey Hudy #2 Led Cube Kit
  • Next the IC's
  • The first piece that goes in - goes in a curtain direction.
  • You will see on the PCB a little 1/2 circle. You will also see a notch on the piece. Line up the 1/2 circle with the notch. picture 2
  • Solder. Do on both pieces.
  • Next gently place in the IC's. You will need to be careful and take your time.

Step #15:

NextPrev
Joey Hudy #2 Led Cube KitJoey Hudy #2 Led Cube KitJoey Hudy #2 Led Cube Kit
  • Arduino Pins
  • You have 1 long piece of pins.
  • You need to break them apart to the correct length to fit into the arduino.
  • Place each piece into your Arduino. This will make the fit better.

Step #16:

NextPrev
Joey Hudy #2 Led Cube KitJoey Hudy #2 Led Cube KitJoey Hudy #2 Led Cube Kit
  • Place your shield on top of the pins.
  • Solder the pins onto the shield. Doing this on the top of the shield.

Step #17:

NextPrev
Joey Hudy #2 Led Cube Kit

Connect your Arduino to your computer. Install the test code, found here. You should see all the LEDs go on. I usually take mine into the bathroom – nice and dark!

Joe Hudy

Joe Hudy

I am 16 years old and I am a maker. I have made a air cannon that I got the opportunity to shoot with President Obama. I have also made two Arduino kits that are currently in the Maker Shed and they are called the 3x3x3 LED Cube Arduino shield and the SMD LED Arduino shield. I am currently working on 3D scanners.

When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Subscribe & Save

  • Get dozens of projects in every issue covering DIY electronics, 3D printing, craft, and more
  • Learn tips and skill-building tutorials from experts in the maker community
  • Save over 40% off the annual cover price for a full year (4 issues) of Make:
SUBSCRIBE TO MAKE: MAGAZINE
Make: Community brand logo Publishers of Make:Magazine Producers of Maker Faire Logo
  • About us
  • Our team
  • Advertise with us
  • Help Center
  • Contact us
  • Support Make:
  • Find a Maker Faire
  • Manage Magazine Subscription

Make:
Maker Faire:
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
©2022 Make Community LLC. All rights reserved
Special Pinterest-only offer!
One year of Make: Magazine for just $19.99
Cookie Settings
We use cookies to continuously improve our websites for you and optimize its design and customization.
We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.

Our websites use cookies to improve your browsing experience. Some of these are essential for the basic functionalities of our websites. In addition, we use third-party cookies to help us analyze and understand usage. These will be stored in your browser only with your consent and you have the option to opt-out. Your choice here will be recorded for all Make.co Websites.

Allow Non-Necessary Cookies
Send this to a friend
FEEDBACK