http://www.instructables.com/id/4x4x4-LED-Cube-with-Charlieplexing/

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4x4x4 LED Cube with Charlieplexingby LostRite on January 26, 2013

Table of Contents

4x4x4 LED Cube with Charlieplexing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Intro:   4x4x4 LED Cube with Charlieplexing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Step 1:   Materials Needed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Step 2:   LED Circuit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Step 3:   Controller Board Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Step 4:   Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

File Downloads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Step 5:   Code II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

File Downloads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Step 6:   Test & Finish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

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http://www.instructables.com/id/4x4x4-LED-Cube-with-Charlieplexing/

Intro:  4x4x4 LED Cube with CharlieplexingI know there are tons of ibles on this now, but here is the method I used to make a few LED cubes for my brothers this last Christmas. The electronics are cheap and itdoesn't take much time to quickly make one of these. I wrote some very simple code to control them as well. I made a green one and a blue one. Both run on batteries(AA or AAA). I tried using coin cells but couldn't get them to spit out enough juice. You could definitely get the LEDs brighter with a more robust power source andtransistor network, but that wasn't my goal.

// scratch that, they are plenty bright

http://www.instructables.com/id/4x4x4-LED-Cube-with-Charlieplexing/

Step 1: Materials NeededA quick list of the parts you will need for this design (or at least what I used):

ATMega328P-PU microcontrollerribbon cable or individual wires (both work just as well) as thin as possible64 LEDs of your color choice9 resistors (100 ohm or 120 ohm or close)optional] experimenters / prototype board

you will also need:

AVR programmer with ISP connection

I have the wrong resistors shown in the picture... It took me up until the 4th resistor while soldering to realize that I had placed a reel of resistors in the wrong place on myshelves. That's what I get for moving to a new room. I have 22kohm resistors shown instead of the 100ohm resistors that they should all be.

Image Notes1. wrong resistors... my bad. should be brown-black-brown

Image Notes1. wrong resistors... I accidentally put in some 22 kohm's for the picture...

Step 2: LED CircuitThe pictures are hard to read, so I suggest understanding the schematic shown. Basically you are making 4 layers. the top and bottom layer look the same and themiddle two look the same, so that simplifies things.

The middle ones are very simple, just a 4x4 grid of LEDs in lines. The top and bottom ones take a second look.

Vertical lines are + voltage and horizontal lines are ground (for understanding the LEDs).

The numbers on my first picture for this step represent what pin they go to. Connecting each layer to each other should be done in such a way that you are onlyconnecting similar pins. I used pins 1, 2, 3, and 4 to connect layer 1 to layer 2. I used pins 6 and 8 to connect layer 2 to layer 3. I used pins 5, 6, 7, and 8 to connectlayers 3 and 4. Then I made sure every pin was connected to every other pin with the same number (i.e. - that all the 9's were connected, all the 8's were connected,etc.). If you miss one, no big deal, just go back and solder in an extra wire. I used the clipped off leads of LEDs to bridge anything that needed it.

Image Notes1. ignore, don't use this transistor setup

http://www.instructables.com/id/4x4x4-LED-Cube-with-Charlieplexing/

2. 100 ohms, not 2703. ignore!4. bottom layer

Image Notes1. one of the middle layers

Image Notes1. a bit sloppy, but one of the top or bottom layers

http://www.instructables.com/id/4x4x4-LED-Cube-with-Charlieplexing/

Step 3: Controller Board DesignYou don't need a very large prototyping board to work on, just enough to fit the ATMega and the resistors. Simply place the microcontroller on the board, and then placethe 9 100ohm resistor on pins 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, 13, and 14. In other words, we are using port D and PB0 of the microcontroller. The atmega328p is way overkill for thisproject, but whatever.

pin 7 will be the (+5V) Vcc where you connect the power source. pin 8 will be (0V) the ground.

pin 1 is reset, pin 17 is MOSI, pin 18 is MISO, and pin 19 is SCK.

Those will be the only pins that we use.

Basically, all you have to do is attach the resistors to each of the pins mentioned as Port D and PB0, and then connect your ribbon cable or wires to the output of theresistors. Then, connect a wire to pins 1, 17, 18, and 19 for the communication to the programmer, and also to 7 and 8 for the power supply (and programmer if needed).

The 9 wires coming out of the resistors connect to the 9 pins on our LED cube.

http://www.instructables.com/id/4x4x4-LED-Cube-with-Charlieplexing/

Step 4: CodeYou will need an AVR programmer (or you can use an arduino, although I did not use this method) with ISP communication.

As mentioned on the last step, you will need to connect your programmer in ISP fashion to the microcontroller. A picture of the ISP pinout is shown, and can be matchedto the following pins.

MISO = pin 18MOSI = pin 17SCK = pin 19reset = pin 1Vcc = pin 7GND = pin 8

A .zip file with the source code and the hex file for burning is included on this step along with the .c file.Please note that in the avrdude screen capture, it showns my filename as GccApplication1 in the folder Debug. Change this filepath to whatever you name the file and towherever you put the file. Otherwise, use the command shown below:

avrdude -c usbtiny -p atmega328p -U flash:w:filepath\filename.hex

changing usbtiny to whatever programmer you use, and the microcontroller if you used a different one.

***See the attached folder for the code****Updated the code to include more functions (1/27/2013)*

http://www.instructables.com/id/4x4x4-LED-Cube-with-Charlieplexing/

File Downloads

4x4x4 LED Cube.zip (68 KB)[NOTE: When saving, if you see .tmp as the file ext, rename it to '4x4x4 LED Cube.zip']

Step 5: Code II// This step is just the C code written out for those who don't want to download the zip file on the last step or this step (same code).

#include <avr/io.h>#include <util/delay.h>#include <stdlib.h>

int rn;int r64;int r48;int r32;int r16;

// cathode (c) is short (-) lead, anode (a) is longer (+) lead// cathode <---- layer 1 ----------------> <---- layer 2 ----------------> <---- layer 3 ----------------> <---- layer 4 ---------------->int c[]={2,3,4,5, 1,3,4,5, 1,2,4,5, 1,2,3,5, 6,7,8,9, 6,7,8,9, 6,7,8,9, 6,7,8,9, 1,2,3,4, 1,2,3,4, 1,2,3,4, 1,2,3,4, 6,7,8,9, 5,7,8,9, 5,6,8,9, 5,6,7,9};

// anode <-------- layer 1 ---------------> <-------- layer 2 ---------------> <-------- layer 3 ---------------> <-------- layer 4 --------------->int a[]={1,1,1,1, 2,2,2,2, 3,3,3,3, 4,4,4,4, 1,1,1,1, 2,2,2,2, 3,3,3,3, 4,4,4,4, 5,5,5,5, 6,6,6,6, 7,7,7,7, 8,8,8,8, 5,5,5,5, 6,6,6,6, 7,7,7,7, 8,8,8,8};

void delay(int ms) // must write our own delay function since _delay_ms(int) only accepts constants (we can't pass a variable to it){for (int i=0; i <= ms; i++){_delay_ms(1); // in milliseconds}}

int main (void){rn = 642563; // for the random seedDDRD = 0x00000000;DDRB = 0x00000000;PORTD = 0x00000000;PORTB = 0x00000000;while(1){LineSpin(20,1,1);LineSpin(16,1,1);LineSpin(12,1,1);LineSpin(8,1,1);LineSpin(6,1,2);LineSpin(5,1,2);LineSpin(4,1,3);LineSpin(3,1,3);LineSpin(2,1,4);LineSpin(1,1,8);

scroll(75);scroll(50);scroll(25);scroll(10);scroll(3);

drawBox(100,40); // multiply inputs to get time in ms

spin(1,60);spin(1,40);spin(1,30);spin(1,20);spin(1,15);spin(1,10);spin(1,8);

http://www.instructables.com/id/4x4x4-LED-Cube-with-Charlieplexing/

spin(1,6);spin(1,5);spin(1,4);spin(1,3);spin(1,3);spin(1,3);spin(1,3);spin(1,3);spin(1,3);spin(1,3);

rain(100, 100, 16);

Snake_x(2,1,100);Snake_x(2,14,60);Snake_x(2,16,40);Snake_x(2,18,20);Snake_x(2,10,10);

layerPattern(50);layerPattern(100);

FlashOn(0,0,16);FlashOn(1,1,10);FlashOn(10,1,6);

randomGen();randomGen();randomGen();randomGen();randomGen();randomGen();}return 0;}

// op calls the coordinates of the LED from the indexed arrays abovevoid op(int n) {DDRD = 0x00000000;DDRB = 0x00000000;PORTD = 0x00000000;PORTB = 0x00000000;int cn = ((c[n-1])-1);int an = ((a[n-1])-1);//---------cathodesif(cn==8){ DDRB = _BV(DDB0);PORTB = _BV(PORTB0);}else{ DDRD = _BV(cn);PORTD = _BV(cn);}//---------anodesif(an==8) { DDRB |= _BV(an); }else { DDRD |= _BV(an); }}

void allOff(){ // turns pins 1 - 9 off (this means all pins used are off)PORTB & 0;PORTD & 0;DDRB = 0x00000000; // pinMode INPUT for entire portDDRD = 0x00000000; // pinMode INPUT for entire port}

FlashOn(int refresh_rate, int dark_time, int cycles){allOff();delay(dark_time);for(int c=0;c<cycles;c++){for(int i=1;i<65;i++){op(i);delay(refresh_rate);}}}

// ----------------- drawing algorithms ---------------------------------------void boxFrame(v) { //rasters a wire-frame of the boxint list[40]={1,2,3,4, 5,8, 9,12, 13,14,15,16,17,20, 29,32,33,36, 45,48,

http://www.instructables.com/id/4x4x4-LED-Cube-with-Charlieplexing/

49,50,51,52, 53,56, 57,60, 61,62,63,64};for (int i=0;i<41;i++) {op(list[i]);for (int t=0; t<v; t++)_delay_us(10);}}

// layer patterns (AKA slice patterns (z))void sz1() { // lights up the bottom layerfor (int i=1;i<17;i++) {op(i);}}void sz2() { // lights up the 2nd layerfor (int i=17;i<33;i++) {op(i);}}void sz3() { // lights up the 3rd layerfor (int i=33;i<49;i++) {op(i);}}void sz4() { // lights up the 4th layerfor (int i=49;i<65;i++) {op(i);}}

// slice patterns (x)void sx1() { // lights up the 1st x slice (back)int list[16]={1,2,3,4, 17,18,19,20, 33,34,35,36, 49,50,51,52};for (int i=0;i<16;i++) {op(list[i]);}}void sx2() { // lights up the 2nd x sliceint list[16]={5,6,7,8, 21,22,23,24, 37,38,39,40, 53,54,55,56};for (int i=0;i<16;i++) {op(list[i]);}}void sx3() { // lights up the 3rd x sliceint list[16]={9,10,11,12, 25,26,27,28, 41,42,43,44, 57,58,59,60};for (int i=0;i<16;i++) {op(list[i]);}}void sx4() { // lights up the 4th x slice (front)int list[16]={13,14,15,16, 29,30,31,32, 45,46,47,48, 61,62,63,64};for (int i=0;i<16;i++) {op(list[i]);}}

// slice patterns (y)void sy1() { // lights up the 1st y slice (left)for (int i=0;i<64;i=i+4) {op(i);}}void sy2() { // lights up the 2nd y slicefor (int i=1;i<64;i=i+4) {op(i);}}void sy3() { // lights up the 3rd y slicefor (int i=2;i<64;i=i+4) {op(i);}}void sy4() { // lights up the 4th y slice (right)for (int i=3;i<64;i=i+4) {op(i);}}

// rainvoid rain(int dur,int inidur,int cycles) {

http://www.instructables.com/id/4x4x4-LED-Cube-with-Charlieplexing/

srand(rn);rn = ((rn*13)%7)+1;for(int i=0;i<cycles;i++){r64 = (rand()%16)+49;r48 = r64-16;r32 = r48-16;r16 = r32-16;op(r64);delay(inidur); // you can have it pause extra long on the first light if you want with inidur.op(r48);delay(dur);op(r32);delay(dur);op(r16);delay(dur);}}

// random (generates a hazy random oscillating field of light)void randomGen() {srand(rn);for(int i=0;i<10;i++) {int r = (rand()%64)+1;op(r);delay(100);}rn++;}

// spin around z axisvoid spin11(int v) {int core[8]={6,11, 22,27, 38,43, 54,59}; // upper left and bottom right for each sliceint outer[8]={1,16, 17,32, 33,48, 49,64}; // upper left and bottom right cornerfor (int t=0;t<v;t++) {for (int i=0; i<8; i++) {op(core[i]);_delay_us(500);op(outer[i]);_delay_us(500);}}}void spin12(int v) {int core[8]={6,11, 22,27, 38,43, 54,59};int outer[8]={2,15, 18,31, 34,47, 50,63};for (int t=0;t<v;t++) {for (int i=0; i<8; i++) {op(core[i]);_delay_us(500);op(outer[i]);_delay_us(500);}}}void spin21(int v) {int core[8]={7,10, 23,26, 39,42, 55,58};int outer[8]={3,14, 19,30, 35,46, 51,62};for (int t=0;t<v;t++) {for (int i=0; i<8; i++) {op(core[i]);_delay_us(500);op(outer[i]);_delay_us(500);}}}void spin22(int v) { // the top right and bottom left cornersint core[8]={7,10, 23,26, 39,42, 55,58};int outer[8]={4,13, 20,29, 36,45, 52,61};for (int t=0;t<v;t++) {for (int i=0; i<8; i++) {op(core[i]);_delay_us(500);op(outer[i]);_delay_us(500);}}}void spin23(int v) {int core[8]={7,10, 23,26, 39,42, 55,58};

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int outer[8]={8,9, 24,25, 40,41, 56,57};for (int t=0;t<v;t++) {for (int i=0; i<8; i++) {op(core[i]);_delay_us(500);op(outer[i]);_delay_us(500);}}}void spin13(int v) {int core[8]={6,11, 22,27, 38,43, 54,59};int outer[8]={5,12, 21,28, 37,44, 53,60};for (int t=0;t<v;t++) {for (int i=0; i<8; i++) {op(core[i]);_delay_us(500);op(outer[i]);_delay_us(500);}}}

// ------------------ programs ---------------------------------------------void spin(int spins,int v) {for (int i=0; i<spins; i++) {spin11(v);spin12(v);spin21(v);spin22(v);spin23(v);spin13(v);}}

void scroll(int v) { // one by one, {turn on, wait, off} each LED in orderfor (int n=1;n<65;n++) {op(n);delay(v); // wait v milliseconds before rastering next LED}}

void allOn(int cycles, int delaytime) {for (int i=0;i<cycles;i++) {for (int n=1;n<65;n++) {op(n);for (int t=0; t<delaytime; t++)_delay_us(1);}}}

void drawBox(int cycles, int v) { // v is delay in 10's of micro secondsfor (int i=0;i<cycles;i++) {boxFrame(v);}}

void layerZup(int v) { // higher v = slowerfor(int t=0;t<v;t++) {sz1();}for(int t=0;t<v;t++) {sz2();}for(int t=0;t<v;t++) {sz3();}for(int t=0;t<v;t++) {sz4();}}void layerZdown(int v) {for(int t=0;t<v;t++) {sz4();}for(int t=0;t<v;t++) {sz3();}for(int t=0;t<v;t++) {sz2();}for(int t=0;t<v;t++) {sz1();}}void layerYup(int v) {for(int t=0;t<v;t++) {sy1();}for(int t=0;t<v;t++) {sy2();}for(int t=0;t<v;t++) {sy3();}for(int t=0;t<v;t++) {sy4();}}void layerYdown(int v) {for(int t=0;t<v;t++) {sy4();}for(int t=0;t<v;t++) {sy3();}for(int t=0;t<v;t++) {sy2();}for(int t=0;t<v;t++) {sy1();}

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}void layerXup(int v) {for(int t=0;t<v;t++) {sx1();}for(int t=0;t<v;t++) {sx2();}for(int t=0;t<v;t++) {sx3();}for(int t=0;t<v;t++) {sx4();}}void layerXdown(int v) {for(int t=0;t<v;t++) {sx4();}for(int t=0;t<v;t++) {sx3();}for(int t=0;t<v;t++) {sx2();}for(int t=0;t<v;t++) {sx1();}}

void layerPattern(int v) { // higher v = slower shift layer speedlayerZdown(v);layerZup(v);layerYdown(v);layerYup(v);layerXdown(v);layerXup(v);}

LineSpin(int dur, int dt, int cycles){for(int c=0;c<cycles;c++){int spin_x[]={1,5,9,13,14,15,16,12,8,4,3,2};for(int a=1;a<13;a++){for(int t=0;t<dur;t++){op(spin_x[a]);delay(dt);op(spin_x[a]+16);delay(dt);op(spin_x[a]+32);delay(dt);op(spin_x[a]+48);delay(dt);}}}}

Snake_x(int layer, int cycles, int speed) // valid layer are 1,2,3,4{int start_led = (16 * layer) - 15;int x[]={1,5,9,13,14,15,16,12,8,4,3,2};srand(rn);int r = rand()%100;int current_layer = layer;for(int c=0; c<cycles; c++){for(int i=1;i<13;i++){if ((r < 20) && (current_layer != 1)){current_layer--;}else if ((r > 80) && (current_layer != 4)){current_layer++;}

op(x[i]+(16*(current_layer-1)));

delay(speed);r = rand()%100;}}}

File Downloads

4x4x4 LED Cube.zip (68 KB)[NOTE: When saving, if you see .tmp as the file ext, rename it to '4x4x4 LED Cube.zip']

http://www.instructables.com/id/4x4x4-LED-Cube-with-Charlieplexing/

Step 6: Test & FinishI would be posting videos but I didn't think to before giving them away. Maybe I will make another and show it off. In the meantime, all I have to share are the finishedpictures.

As always, if you have ANY questions, please ask. I love helping when I can.

*Update (1/27/2013) - Since Kiteman asked so nicely, here is the picture of the cube I made today and a video of most of the functions running. Looks even better thanthe rest! :)

http://www.instructables.com/id/4x4x4-LED-Cube-with-Charlieplexing/

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