Author Archives: R-B

Charming 8x8x8 RGB LED cube

Check out this another 8x8x8 RGB LED cube controlled by Arduino. The 512 RGB LEDs are driven by 25 74HC595 shift registers using multiplexing.

8x8x8 RGB LED cube

8x8x8 RGB LED cube

For those unfamiliar with LED cubes, they are simply a 3-dimensional array of LEDs that make for interesting displays. My project here is not the first RGB LED cube, nor is it the best, but I am documenting my process because while designing this cube I appreciated every resource on 8x8x8 RGB LED cubes I could find. My goals for this project were to create an 8x8x8 multicolor (RGB) LED cube cleanly. That is, with all the electronics contained neatly. Additionally, I wanted to use Arduino code to make it more accessible to others and for ease in upgrading. More on this later though.

The hardest challenge was in making the LED frame straight and square. As with most things, quality depends on how much time you put into it. If I were to redo this project that would be the step I spend the most time trying to get right. Overall the project was rewarding in the end and I would say don’t be intimidated by the amount of work needed for design and assembly.

 

Microchip announced a new addition to its PIC12/16LF155X 8-bit microcontroller (MCU) family featuring dual ADC peripheral

Microchip Technology expands low-cost 8-bit PIC® Microcontroller portfolio with new devices featuring dual ADC peripheral.

Microchip Technology Inc., a leading provider of microcontroller, mixed-signal, analog and Flash-IP solutions, today announced a new addition to its PIC12/16LF155X 8-bit microcontroller (MCU) family with the PIC16LF1554 and PIC16LF1559 (PIC16LF1554/9) devices. The PIC16LF1554/9 includes two independent 10-bit 100K samples per second Analog-to-Digital Converters (ADC) with hardware Capacitive Voltage Divider (CVD) support for capacitive-touch sensing. This unique ADC configuration enables more efficient sensor acquisition and assists with advanced touch-sensing techniques for extremely noisy environments, low-power applications, matrix keypads and water-resistant designs.

New PIC MCUs with dual ADC peripheral

New PIC MCUs with dual ADC peripheral

Read the full story!

Automatic fish feeder

Never forget to feed your fish again with this DIY fish feeder, which is Arduino controlled and can be programmed to automatically feed the fish at a fixed interval of time. It uses a servo motor to release the food from a container into the aquarium when it’s time to feed the fishes.

Automatic fish feeder

Automatic fish feeder

« Older Entries Recent Entries »