Introduction: DMX Controlled LED Moving Light - TrueLight750 (Updated) (Still In-Progress)

TrueLight750 is a DMX-controlled LED moving light. The light was modeled based on High End System's SolaFrame750 and scaled down 60%. Version 1 has been completed and is able to pan, tilt, and change color, and is controlled through DMX. The majority of the light is 3D printed besides hardware and electronics. With the current version, the motors skip and the movement is not very smooth. Therefore, I have started working on Version 2 which will consist of large motors, and better motor drivers, along with a few other improvements.

Supplies

Electronics (Updated):

Main Board

  • MAX485 (IC Transceiver)
  • ATMega328
  • TMC2226 stepper motor driver [2x]
  • 16 MHz Crystal
  • 680Ω 0.75W resistor
  • 15Ω 1.5W resistor
  • 120Ω 0.75W resistor
  • 10kΩ 0.75W resistor
  • 22 pF capacitor [2x]
  • 0.1 μF capacitor [5x]
  • 1 μF capacitor [2x]
  • 10 μF capacitor
  • 47 μF capacitor
  • 100 μF capacitor [2x]
  • SMBJ20A TVS Diode
  • SMDJ7.0A TVS Diode
  • SMD LED
  • 3 Turret Terminals
  • 2-pin Screw Terminal [2x]
  • 2-pin Header Connectors [4x]
  • 3-pin Header Connectors [2x]
  • 4-pin Header Connectors [2x]
  • 5-pin Header Connectors
  • 16-pin Header Connectors
  • 5V 10A Relay

Power Supply Switch Board

  • 470V Varistor
  • 560V Varistor
  • 3Ω 3W resistor
  • 2-pin Header Connector [5x]
  • 4-pin Header Connector

LED

  • WS2812B-V5 LEDs [--x]
  • 3-pin Header Connectors
  • Resistor

Other

  • 15V 4.34A AC/DC Power Supply
  • 5V 4A AC/DC Power Supply
  • 4-pin
  • 2-pin
  • NEMA 17 2.1A 90oz.in Stepper Motor
  • Power Entry Receptacle
  • XLR 3-pin male receptacle
  • Rocker Switch
  • Fuse Holder [x2]
  • USB Receptacle
  • 40mm 12V Fan [x3]
  • 8-DIP switch
  • 3.15A Glass Fuse [2x]
  • Limit Switch [2x]

Hardware:

  • Machine Screws
  • Heat Inset Screw Inserts
  • 6004RS Bearing

Step 1: Light Housing

SolidWorks was used to design the housing components of the light. The 3 main components are the main body, yoke, and base.


Main Body

The main moving light body is broken into 4 parts: the bottom, middle, and top components, and a shaft. The middle component contains a spot to mount the servo on one side and a spot to mount the shaft on the other. The shaft is hollow to allow wires to run through, and there are 2 spots to put screws which are used to activate the limit switch. The top component has a spot to mount the LED and an acrylic lens. All 3 parts are screwed together.


Yoke

The yoke is split up into 5 parts: the 2 yoke arms, the center pivot, and 2 covers for the outside of the yoke arms. One of the yoke arms contains a hole to screw in a shaft coupler for the motor. The other yoke arm has a channel to run the wires through, a place to mount a limit switch, and a spot to press fit the bearing. The center pivot is used to screw the 2 yoke arms together, allowing for easier assembly later on, and a shaft coupler also mounts to the center pivot. There are also 2 side panels that get screwed on, which allows easy access to the wires and motor shaft.


Base

The base is broken up into 6 parts to allow for easy printing: the 2 handles, the cover, the main base, and 2 fan holders. The handles will be attached to the main base with screws on the inside and the cover will also be screwed to the base. The main base contains spots to screw the PCBs, servo, fans, limit switch, and various electronics. The fan holders are used to secure the fans to the base.

Step 2: Circuit Schematics

Main Circuit

The primary circuit for this project was inspired and based on Svinska013's DMX Fixture and Simulatedbog545's DMX-controlled light. The brain behind the circuit is an Atmega168 microcontroller. The microcontroller receives signals through a MAX485 which receives signals through the DMX 3-pin receptacle. The two stepper motors are each controlled by an A4988 stepper motor driver which is connected to the microcontroller. There is also an 8-DIP switch (to allow the address of the light to be changed), two limit switches (one for pan, one for tilt), a status LED, a 16MHz crystal, and the main LED connected to the microcontroller.


Power

To provide power to all the components a 15V 4.34A AC/DC power supply is used. The power supply gets input voltage through a power entry receptacle that can be plugged into the wall. Before the input to the power supply, there is a switch, a fuse, and a varistor (to protect the power supply from voltage surges). On the output of the power supply, there are two capacitors (for filtering), a TVS Diode, and an LED with a resistor to indicate if the circuit is powered or not. This 15V input into the main circuit is used to power the stepper motors. However, most of the components run on 5V, therefore a 4.7Ω 20W resistor is used to drop some of the voltage and a 5V regulator is used to ensure the output is 5V. This 5V powers the stepper motor drives, MAX485, microcontroller, fans, and main LED.


LED

The last circuit is the main LED which consists of 37 RGB addressable WS2812B-V5 LEDs. The circuit also contains a 500Ω resistor.


When designing the circuits I made use of header connectors as much as possible to make it easier to wire, assemble, and disassemble if necessary.

Step 3: PCB Designs

Once all the electronics are tested and verified that the system functions, I plan on getting custom PCBs to compact the design and make it neater. These are the custom PCBs that I designed for the three main electrical components,

Step 4: Assembly

Here are pictures of the final assembly.


I am currently in the process of testing the electronics and will update this page as I make more progress. Any feedback on the project, especially on the electronics as that is not my forte, would be greatly appreciated

Step 5: Electronics (In Progress)

Step 6: Code (In Progress)

Step 7: Final Product (In Progress)