Arduino + WiFi, Music Responsive LED Light Fixture

Step 17: Saiko5 Assembly - Step 6: Attach Light Brick 7 to Back Plate

The Light Brick 7 with case is assembled by first attaching the populated Light Brick 7 to the back plate and heat sink. This piece is made of anodized aluminum, and so has high thermal conductivity to help prevent the LEDs on the board from overheating and being damaged. Use of the Light Brick 7 board without a heat sink will result in frequent thermal cycling of the solder joints and the semiconductor die, which causes LED burn out, LED decreases in brightness, and as solder joints are cyclically stressed, can cause soldering failure. Attaching the Light Brick 7 to the back plate requires four 1/2" black machine screws, four plastic washers, and four nuts.

To attach the LED board, line up the holes on the Light Brick 7 board with the aluminum back plate, and push through the machine screws from the back plate side. Next, use one plastic washer, and one nut in order to secure the board to the back plate. The connection here must be quite tight in order to achieve adequate thermal conductivity and heat sinking.