This LED light box or nightlight is a cool looking light up box with real functions. It can light up in different colors when you touch the button, and the dimmer switch on the top allows for variable lighting whether you are relaxing, sleeping, or want some mood lighting in a room. There is so much room for creativity when designing and decorating this box, so let your mind run free and have fun!

Supplies

Part list:

- Sheet of 3/8 inch plywood - Circuit Playground Bluefruit - Aligator clips - Potentiometer - Copper wire - LED strip - Any type of saw - Sandpaper - External battery pack - Code file attached - USB to micro USB Data cable - CircuitPython - 3D Printer (optional)

Step 1: Cutting the Pieces for the Box

Cut list for wooden box:

Bottom: 6.5" x6"

Top: 6" x 6"

Long sides: 6" x 4"

Short sides: 5.28" x 4"

For this box I used 3/8 inch plywood, and the measurements are based on that. Any thickness can be used, but keep in mind that this will require the lengths of the short sides to be increased or decreased. You can also make this box any size you want, although I wouldn't recommend making it any smaller as it will become difficult to fit the lights inside. I cut these pieces from one larger sheet using a chop saw, but a bandsaw, table saw, or hand saw will also work. It helps to measure and measure again before you cut as you can only cut once!

P.S. make sure if you are using a saw with a thick blade (most saws) that you take into account the thickness of the blade into the measurement of the wood, otherwise you pieces may be too small.

Step 2: Assembling the Box

Now that you have the six pieces cut, you are ready to assemble the box. I used glue and pin nails, but glue alone is strong enough if you do not have access to nails.

Start by taking the bottom and placing it on a flat surface. Run a line of glue along one of the edges of the longer side pieces, and press it down on the edge of the bottom piece. If you are using nails, now is the time to put two or three through the bottom up into the side to hold it in place while the glue dries.

Repeat this gluing and nailing process with the other three sides, making sure they are on correctly and square. Do not glue the top on. There is work that needs to be done inside of the box, therefore gluing it shut would make this difficult.

Step 3: Drilling Some Holes

Light does not easily travel through 3/8 inch plywood, not really at all. So we need to drill some holes in the box to let the light shine through, as well as a hole in the top for the potentiometer we will use as a dimmer switch. These holes were drilled using a drill press but could easily be done by a battery powered hand drill as well. And if you do not have a large enough bit, just make more holes to make up for it.

For the hole in the top, I used a 5/8 inch forstner bit and drilled a hole in the center.

For the sides, I used a larger 7/8 forstner bit. I marked 3 holes on each side that were 1 3/8 inch away from the top of the box, and spaced out 1.5 inches apart, so each hole would be centered at the 1.5 inch, 3 inch and 4.5 inch marks across the 6 inch length.

Step 4: Finishing and Sanding

Now that the box is assembled and the holes are drilled, any sanding or painting can be done at this point. I decided not to paint my box, as I like the natural feel and look of wood. However, you can decorate the box however you want to your liking.

It is also now you can do some sanding, to round the corners and the edges to make the box easier to hold.

Also, if you can find a small piece of scrap approximately 5" long, and cut it into two pieces and glue them to the top as shown. This will help to hold the top in place. Also, a wooden block with two screws, whatever size you find works can be used to hold the potentiometer in place.

Step 5: Assembling the Interior

For this project, the wiring is not too difficult. Just make sure the potentiometer is attached to the 3.3v, and use A3 for the signal wire based on the code provided. The capacitive touch wire is attached to the copper wire and the A5 port. Make sure that the battery pack is plugged in and turned on when ready for use. the LED light strip is attached to A1 and VOUT. The LED strip can just be coiled up at the bottom of the box and the rest of the electronics can just be placed on top and the top put on.

Step 6: Optional: 3D Printing

This step is optional as not everyone has a 3D printer and the project will work fine without it. For this project I found a polar bear figure at https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4636296 .

Using a PRUSA mini, with .2mm resolution, 10% infill and white PETG i was able to print the figure in under 2 hours. I attached this bear to the potentiometer knob with hot glue as a thing to grab and look cool on top of the box. However, you can put anything you would like here, as well as leaving it as just the knob.