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Step 25Build the cube: solder the layers together
Now comes the tricky part, soldering it all together!
The first two layers can be quite flimsy before they are soldered together. You may want to put the first layer back in the template to give it some stability.
In order to avoid total disaster, you will need something to hold the layer in place before it is soldered in place. Luckily, the width of a 9V battery is pretty close to 25 mm. Probably closer to 25.5-26mm, but that's OK.
Warning: The 9 volts from a 9V battery can easily overload the LEDs if the contacts on the battery comes in contact with the legs of the LEDs. We taped over the battery poles to avoid accidentally ruining the LEDs we were soldering.
We had plenty of 9V batteries lying around, so we used them as temporary supports.
Start by placing a 9V battery in each corner. Make sure everything is aligned perfectly, then solder the corner LEDs.
Now solder all the LEDs around the edge of the cube, moving the 9V batteries along as you go around. This will ensure that the layers are soldered perfectly parallel to each other.
Now move a 9V battery to the middle of the cube. Just slide it in from one of the sides. Solder a couple of the LEDs in the middle.
The whole thing should be pretty stable at this point, and you can continue soldering the rest of the LEDs without using the 9V batteries for support.
However, if it looks like some of the LEDs are sagging a little bit, slide in a 9V battery to lift them up!
When you have soldered all the columns, it is time to test the LEDs again. Remember that tab sticking out from the upper right corner of the layer, that we told you not to remove yet? Now it's time to use it. Take a piece of wire and solder the tab of the bottom layer to the tab of the layer you just soldered in place.
Connect ground to the the ground tab.
Test each led using the same setup as you used when testing the individual layers. Since the ground layers have been connected by the test tabs, and all the anodes in each columns are connected together, all LEDs in a column should light up when you apply voltage to the top one. If the LEDs below it does not light up, it probably means that you forgot a solder joint! It is A LOT better to figure this out at this point, rather than when all the layers are soldered together. The center of the cube is virtually impossible to get to with a soldering iron.
You now have 2/8 of your LED cube soldered together! Yay!
For the next 6 layers, use the exact same process, but spend even more time aligning the corner LEDs before soldering them. Look at the cube from above, and make sure that all the corner LEDs are on a straight line when looking at them from above.
Rinse and repeat!
The first two layers can be quite flimsy before they are soldered together. You may want to put the first layer back in the template to give it some stability.
In order to avoid total disaster, you will need something to hold the layer in place before it is soldered in place. Luckily, the width of a 9V battery is pretty close to 25 mm. Probably closer to 25.5-26mm, but that's OK.
Warning: The 9 volts from a 9V battery can easily overload the LEDs if the contacts on the battery comes in contact with the legs of the LEDs. We taped over the battery poles to avoid accidentally ruining the LEDs we were soldering.
We had plenty of 9V batteries lying around, so we used them as temporary supports.
Start by placing a 9V battery in each corner. Make sure everything is aligned perfectly, then solder the corner LEDs.
Now solder all the LEDs around the edge of the cube, moving the 9V batteries along as you go around. This will ensure that the layers are soldered perfectly parallel to each other.
Now move a 9V battery to the middle of the cube. Just slide it in from one of the sides. Solder a couple of the LEDs in the middle.
The whole thing should be pretty stable at this point, and you can continue soldering the rest of the LEDs without using the 9V batteries for support.
However, if it looks like some of the LEDs are sagging a little bit, slide in a 9V battery to lift them up!
When you have soldered all the columns, it is time to test the LEDs again. Remember that tab sticking out from the upper right corner of the layer, that we told you not to remove yet? Now it's time to use it. Take a piece of wire and solder the tab of the bottom layer to the tab of the layer you just soldered in place.
Connect ground to the the ground tab.
Test each led using the same setup as you used when testing the individual layers. Since the ground layers have been connected by the test tabs, and all the anodes in each columns are connected together, all LEDs in a column should light up when you apply voltage to the top one. If the LEDs below it does not light up, it probably means that you forgot a solder joint! It is A LOT better to figure this out at this point, rather than when all the layers are soldered together. The center of the cube is virtually impossible to get to with a soldering iron.
You now have 2/8 of your LED cube soldered together! Yay!
For the next 6 layers, use the exact same process, but spend even more time aligning the corner LEDs before soldering them. Look at the cube from above, and make sure that all the corner LEDs are on a straight line when looking at them from above.
Rinse and repeat!
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Great Instructable. Thanks!