3x3x3 LED Cube

[Admin]

This thread is for the discussion of the 3x3x3 LED Cube circuit.

 

[Steve-1]

Can I run 8 of these circuits off a 12v rail of a PC PSU?

 

[steven]

Am having trouble wrapping my head around how to wire the LEDs. Is there a detailed explanation on this?

 

[George]

I think that one just looks like a bit.. to do but the wiring is pretty simple. Each set of three is just wired in series from the 4020 chip to ground the way I see it. Just make sure each set of three is connected to a different pin of the 4020 as in the diagram. You might want to search the web a little more for a better drawing than the one offered. Hope this helps a little

George

 

[JCB]

I built the circuit and it worked well for a minute and then lights out. I cheked back my circuit, the resistor and the capacitor and everything was ok. I changed the 4020 and it worked a couple of seconds before everything shut down. I rebuild the circuit from zero with all new component and the result was the same. Any clue?

 

[Fleck]

My guess would be that you're cooking the chip. It only delivers 15ma per output.
What LEDs & resistors are you using?

 

[Fleck]

I've just built a counter on veroboard & its working great. I have made a couple of changes though, the power supply and reset pins have a 100nf capacitor to ground, & the 33k resistor I've swapped for a 10k to speed it up. It now counts every 1.5 seconds.
I've also got 150 ohm resistors in series with the LEDs. They are taking about 10ma. The power supply I'm using is 9v.
It's just a counter with standard 3mm red LEDs I can't be arsed to make a cube.

Hope this helps

Don't give up

Rich

 

[JCB]

Thank you Rich, I add a 82 ohm resistor in series with the LEDs and connect the reset directly to ground and it work perfectly.
I put the circuit and the LEDs cube in a box that I made from sanded lexan powered by a 9v supply or a 9v battery and the result worth the work. It will be used as night light by my little brother.