How can I do a LED CUBE RGB?

[Manel_s4]

Hello, my name is Manel Serrano, and I'm seventeen. I'm studying the techologyc "batxillerat" and I'm doing a reserching work. So I have already done a cube LED 3 x 3 x 3 and I have programmed something.

So I want to extend my work doing a LED CUBE RGB and I don't know very well how do it.

I have a 18M2 and what do you recomend me? I think it's enough to do a 4 x 4 x 4 or 5 x 5 x 5 but what do you think? Is it more different than the I have already done?

I would like you recommend me and that you can give me some advices.

Thank you,

Manel

 

[nick12ab]

Can you clarify what exactly the cube is? I need to know

• Whether it is currently RGB or not?
• Does your current design multiplex the LEDs?
• Are you using 3x3 LEDs on each side of the cube or just on one side?
• Is your current one based on a PICAXE?

Also, this should have been posted in the Active PICAXE Forum.

 

[Manel_s4]

​

Ok, I'm sorry

• No, my first LED CUBE is only with red LEDs.

• Yes, I multiplex the LEDs

• I'm using 3x3 LEDs on each side, namely, I've got three floors and on each floor I've got nine LEDs, so, in total I've got 27 LEDs

• Yes, I have used the 18M2

 

[mrburnette]

​

Ok, I'm sorry

• No, my first LED CUBE is only with red LEDs.

• Yes, I multiplex the LEDs

• I'm using 3x3 LEDs on each side, namely, I've got three floors and on each floor I've got nine LEDs, so, in total I've got 27 LEDs

[

One way (brute force) to do this would be to take the 18 pins, subtract the 2 power pins to leave 16 potential I/O lines. You need 2 lines to handle the 3 floors states: OFF, Floor 1, Floor 2, Floor 3. The other 14 I/O lines can be applied to the 9 LEDs per floor... in effect, you only need 9 output lines, so you have 5 lines that can be used for Input, if required.
This assumes that you mutiplex within the PICAXE in software. To get more complicated, you can encode the 9 LEDs signals over 4 Output lines (%xxxx) and use external decode circuitry, drivers, etc. if you wish to drive high power LEDs, are running low on program memory and need to do external decoding, or if you need to have more than 5 input signals.

 

[hippy]

I suppose the big question is are you looking for RGB giving off plus 7 available colours ..

Off, R, G, B, R+G, R+B, B+G, R+G+B

or are you looking to be able to have any selectable colour, for example blue at 25% red at 50% ?

If off plus 8 colours is acceptable then that makes it effectively a 9 x 3 x 3 single colour LED cube which should be not much harder than what you have, but 27 fully variable colours would be difficult just in software.

 

[Manel_s4]

I have some doubts. I don't know if this LEDs works like the current LED (only one color).
Are the same model? How are programmed this LEDs? Have you got some information about this?

And.. as I have understood, you tell me something about a driver to mupltiplex de LED. How about it? How it works?

Thank you.

 

[boriz]

"I have already done a cube LED 3 x 3 x 3 and I have programmed something. "

Excellent.

Did you use a Picaxe? What Picaxe did you use?

4x4x4 is not systematically any different from 3x3x3. All you need is two more outputs.

Use the same software.

 

[Manel_s4]

I used the PICAXE 18M2. Have you done a LED single color or RGB?