PCB DESK Light

Greetings everyone and welcome back, Here's something Bright and Fun! The Desk Light Project is a tiny gadget that we may place next to our monitors on our desks to improve the aesthetics of our workspace.

Here, we created a completely unique PCB with a "Great Wave off Kanagawa" theme. In order to replicate the famous painting using PCB, we have employed the Etch, Solder Mask Opening, and Silkscreen layers in this PCB.

This gadget, which resembles a BOX, contains the lighting element, which is an XIAO RGB matrix connected to an XIAO SAMD21 microcontroller board. We have added a battery board PCB to the device's backside. It has an IP5306 Power Management IC, that raises a Li-ion cell's 3.7V to a steady 5V 2A, which powers the RGB LEDs and XIAO.

Let us begin with the build, as this article serves as a brief description of how this project was created.

Supplies

These were the components required in this project.

Custom PCBs (Provided by Seeed Fusion)
XIAO SAMD21 Microcontroller
XIAO RGB LED Matrix
IP5306 Power Management IC
10uF Capacitors
1uH SMD Indictor
3mm LED
Li-ion 18650 SMD Holder
USB Port
2R 1206 Package Resistor
M2 Screws

3D Design

The design process began with Fusion360.

Here, we modeled the PCB that is positioned on the front and the identical layout that is positioned on the back; the only distinction is that the rear PCB has a lithium cell holder in addition to certain SMD and THT components, such as an LED, USB port, indicator, and IC.

After that, the two PCBs are joined with the help of a rectangular box-shaped part, in the center of which is the XIAO RGB MATRIX and SAMD21 microcontroller.

The idea here was that we have placed the XIAO RGB MATRIX in the topmost region of the design. We will be adding a solder mask opening in the PCB, which will allow the RGB light to see through only in the topmost region.

The Design was finalized and then 3D printed using white PLA with 0.4mm Nozzle and 0.2mm Layer height, infill 10%.

Downloads

base.stl

PCB DESIGN: THE ART LAYER

Finding an appropriate Great Wave off Kanagawa image was the first step in the PCB design process. We then imported the image into Inkscape and put a circular sun on top of the wave along a few lines that extended in all directions, representing sunrays.

Next, the entire drawing is crammed within a rectangular frame.

The dimensions extracted from the Fusion360 model were used to create the board's outline and include two mounting holes.

Here, we want to put etch where all of the black lines are, then open the etch to turn all of the black borders on the PCB into silver.

Additionally, we remove the solder mask from the top section between the sun's rays and the bottom section's solder mask to let light through the top portion of the board.

Since there are no electronic components on this board, we created the design in PCB Cad without the need for a schematic and exported the Gerber data after the design was complete.

PCB DESIGN: BATTERY BOARD

The battery board, which consists of an IP5306 Minimal configuration with a few capacitors on both the input and output sides as well as a few resistors and an inductor, was then set up.

The XIAO SAMD21 and the RGB Matrix, in our case, are powered by the IP5306, a power management integrated circuit (IC) that is used in commercial power banks. It increases the 3.7V lithium cell's output to a steady 5V 2A, which may be utilized to power numerous 5V operated devices.

Along with these characteristics, it also has a battery fuel indicator light and low and high cut functions.

Regarding the board design, we used the CAD file's board shape to arrange all of the SMD components on the top side of the board and the bottom side of the board to allow for THT components such as the USB port, push button, LED, and lithium cell holder.

XIAO SAMD21 and XIAO RGB 6x10 Matrix

For this project, we're using the XIAO SAMD21 M0 Development Board paired with the XIAO RGB LED 6x10 matrix, which are both made by Seeed Studio.

The Seeed Studio XIAO SAMD21 is a compact and powerful development board featuring the ATSAMD21G18A-MU microcontroller, which is based on the ARM Cortex-M0+ architecture. This board is designed for low-power applications and is compatible with the Arduino IDE.

https://www.seeedstudio.com/Seeeduino-XIAO-Arduino-Microcontroller-SAMD21-Cortex-M0+-p-4426.html

We are using the XIAO RGB Matrix, which consists of 60 WS2812 LEDs arranged in a 6x10 grid, in addition to the XIAO SAMD21. This board is designed in a way that allows it to be directly linked to and controlled by any XIAO microcontroller. The user can easily link the board to any different setup thanks to the input and output connections provided on the bottom side of the board.

https://www.seeedstudio.com/6x10-RGB-MATRIX-for-XIAO-p-5771.html#

Seeed Fusion PCB Service

After finalizing both PCBs, we exported their Gerber data and sent them to Seeed Studio Fusion for samples.

Two orders were placed, one for the art layer and one for the back board; the art layer PCB was ordered in blue Solder mask, and the battery board was ordered in black Soldermask.

PCBs were received in a week, and their quality was super good considering the rate, which was also pretty low.

Seeed Fusion PCB Service offers one-stop prototyping for PCB manufacture and PCB assembly, and as a result, they produce superior-quality PCBs and fast turnkey PCBAs within 7 working days.

Seeed Studio Fusion PCB Assembly Service takes care of the entire fabrication process, from Seeed Studio Fusion Agile manufacturing and hardware customization to parts sourcing, assembly, and testing services, so you can be sure that they are getting a quality product.

After gauging market interest and verifying a working prototype, Seeed Propagate Service can help you bring the product to market with professional guidance and a strong network of connections.

Next is the PCB assembly process.

PCB ASSEMBLY

Using a solder paste dispensing needle, we first add solder paste to each component pad, one by one. We're using standard 37/63 solder paste here.
Next, we pick and place all the SMD components in their places on the PCB using an ESD tweezer.
With extreme caution, we lifted the complete circuit board and placed it on the SMT hotplate, which increases the PCB's temperature to the point at which the solder paste melts and all of the components are connected to their pads
Along with the indicator LED and push-button switch, we added a USB micro port to the bottom side and used a soldering iron to solder the pads of the components.
The lithium cell holder is then positioned, and its pads are soldered in place.

POWER SOURCE

We are using an 18650 3.7V 1800mAh Li-ion cell as our power supply, and it is attached to the PCB's backside lithium cell holder.

We used a multimeter to measure the board's output voltage after putting in the cell, and the result was 5.1V, confirming that the circuit is functioning.

BODY ASSEMBLY

The first step in the body assembly procedure was placing the XIAO on the main body in the intended place. We place the XIAO into its intended place using a tweezer.
To secure the XIAO to the main body, we next put hot glue on top of it.
Next, we use the tweezer to pick the XIAO RGB matrix and place it inside the main body. After that, we secure the matrix board and body in place using hot glue.

After the XIAO SAMD21 DEV board and RGB matrix were installed, let us take a closer look at the wiring procedure.

WIRING PROCESS

The wiring of the setup was straightforward: we connected the XIAO's 5V to the LED Matrix 5V, GND to GND, and D0 to the RGB Matrix's input.

To power both XIAO SAMD21 and RGB Matrix, we added the 5V output from the battery board with 5V and GND terminals as well.

FINAL ASSEMBLY

Following the wiring, we installed the battery board on the rear side of the main body and fastened it firmly with two M2 screws.
Subsequently, the Art Layer PCB is positioned on the front side of the main body, and it is secured with two M2 screws.

PCB Desk Light is now complete. Let's have a look at the code.

CODE

This was the sketch used in this project, and its based around the FastLED Library which you need to download and install first before compiling the sketch.

#include <FastLED.h>

#define LED_PIN 0

#define COLOR_ORDER GRB

#define CHIPSET WS2811

#define BRIGHTNESS 64

const uint8_t kMatrixWidth = 6;

const uint8_t kMatrixHeight = 10;

const bool kMatrixSerpentineLayout = true;

const bool kMatrixVertical = false;

uint16_t XY( uint8_t x, uint8_t y)

{

uint16_t i;

if( kMatrixSerpentineLayout == false) {

if (kMatrixVertical == false) {

i = (y * kMatrixWidth) + x;

} else {

i = kMatrixHeight * (kMatrixWidth - (x+1))+y;

}

if( kMatrixSerpentineLayout == true) {

if (kMatrixVertical == false) {

if( y & 0x01) {

// Odd rows run backwards

uint8_t reverseX = (kMatrixWidth - 1) - x;

i = (y * kMatrixWidth) + reverseX;

} else {

// Even rows run forwards

i = (y * kMatrixWidth) + x;

}

} else { // vertical positioning

if ( x & 0x01) {

i = kMatrixHeight * (kMatrixWidth - (x+1))+y;

} else {

i = kMatrixHeight * (kMatrixWidth - x) - (y+1);

}

return i;

}

#define NUM_LEDS (kMatrixWidth * kMatrixHeight)

CRGB leds_plus_safety_pixel[ NUM_LEDS + 1];

CRGB* const leds( leds_plus_safety_pixel + 1);

uint16_t XYsafe( uint8_t x, uint8_t y)

{

if( x >= kMatrixWidth) return -1;

if( y >= kMatrixHeight) return -1;

return XY(x,y);

}

// Demo that USES "XY" follows code below

void loop()

{

uint32_t ms = millis();

int32_t yHueDelta32 = ((int32_t)cos16( ms * (27/1) ) * (350 / kMatrixWidth));

int32_t xHueDelta32 = ((int32_t)cos16( ms * (39/1) ) * (310 / kMatrixHeight));

DrawOneFrame( ms / 65536, yHueDelta32 / 32768, xHueDelta32 / 32768);

if( ms < 5000 ) {

FastLED.setBrightness( scale8( BRIGHTNESS, (ms * 256) / 5000));

} else {

FastLED.setBrightness(BRIGHTNESS);

}

FastLED.show();

}

void DrawOneFrame( uint8_t startHue8, int8_t yHueDelta8, int8_t xHueDelta8)

{

uint8_t lineStartHue = startHue8;

for( uint8_t y = 0; y < kMatrixHeight; y++) {

lineStartHue += yHueDelta8;

uint8_t pixelHue = lineStartHue;

for( uint8_t x = 0; x < kMatrixWidth; x++) {

pixelHue += xHueDelta8;

leds[ XY(x, y)] = CHSV( pixelHue, 255, 255);

}

void setup() {

FastLED.addLeds<CHIPSET, LED_PIN, COLOR_ORDER>(leds, NUM_LEDS).setCorrection(TypicalSMD5050);

FastLED.setBrightness( BRIGHTNESS );

}

RESULT

This is the finished project, an ARTISTIC PCB DESK LIGHT inspired by the "Great Wave off Kanagawa." By pressing the push button located on the left side of the device, the device turns ON.

The RGB Glow is visible on the front side of the PCB, where we have opened the solder mask to allow light to pass through, and the RGB matrix illuminates the interior of the desk light.

We positioned this desk light next to our monitor, and it looks amazing and enhances the aesthetics of the desk setup.

This project serves as a demonstration of how we can use electronics to create art. We may alter the PCB to make it appear less like a conventional PCB and more like an artwork by adding unique artwork, such as vectors or patterns like I added in this project.

Overall, this project was completed and requires no further revision.

Leave a comment if you need any help regarding this project. This is it for today, folks.

Thanks to Seeed Studio Fusion for supporting this project.

You guys can check them out if you need great PCB and stencil service for less cost and great quality.

And I'll be back with a new project pretty soon!