Introduction: Visuino How to Use LCD TFT ST7735

About: Arduino fan!

In this tutorial we will use a LCD TFT ST7735 connected to Arduino UNO and Visuino to display a picture and a random number.

Watch a demonstration video.

Step 1: What You Will Need

  1. Arduino UNO (or any other Arduino)
  2. Breadboard
  3. Jumper wires
  4. LCD TFT ST7735
  5. Visuino program: Download Visuino

Step 2: The Circuit

Connect:

1.8 TFT Display PIN [LED] to Arduino PIN [3.3 V]

1.8 TFT Display PIN [SCK] to Arduino PIN [13]

1.8 TFT Display PIN [SDA] to Arduino PIN [11]

1.8 TFT Display PIN [A0 or DC] to Arduino PIN [9]

1.8 TFT Display PIN [RESET] to Arduino PIN [8]

1.8 TFT Display PIN [CS] to Arduino PIN [10]

1.8 TFT Display PIN [GND] to Arduino PIN [GND]

1.8 TFT Display PIN [VCC] to Arduino PIN [5V]

NOTE: Some Arduino boards have different SPI pins so make sure you check your board documentation.

Step 3:

All you need to do is drag and drop components and Connect them together. Visuino will create the working code for you so you don’t have to waste time on creating the code. It will do all the hard work for you fast and easy! Visuino is perfect for all kind of projects, you can easily build complex projects in no time!

Download the Latest Powerful Visuino Software

Step 4: Start Visuino, and Select the Arduino UNO Board Type

To start programming the Arduino, you will need to have the Arduino IDE installed from here: http://www.arduino.cc/.

Please be aware that there are some critical bugs in Arduino IDE 1.6.6. Make sure that you install 1.6.7 or higher, otherwise this Instructable will not work! If you have not done follow the steps in this Instructable to setup the Arduino IDE to program Arduino UNO! The Visuino: https://www.visuino.eu also needs to be installed. Start Visuino as shown in the first picture Click on the "Tools" button on the Arduino component (Picture 1) in Visuino When the dialog appears, select "Arduino UNO" as shown on Picture 2

Step 5: In Visuino Add Components

  1. Add "TFT Color Display ST7735" component
  2. Add "Pulse Generator" component
  3. Add "Random integer Generator" component

Step 6: In Visuino Set Component Properties

  1. Select "PulseGenerator1" component and set the frequency to 1
  2. Select "RandomIntegerGenerator1" component and set "Max" to "1000" and "Min" to ''0"
  3. Select "Display1" component and set "Type" to "dtST7735R_BlackTab"

NOTE: Some Displays have diferent properties so experiment by selecting diferent types to find the one that works best, in my case I choose "dtST7735R_BlackTab"

Double click on the "Display1" component and:

  • in the dialog drag "Text Field" to the left, set size:3, X:10,Y:10
  • in the dialog drag "Draw Bitmap" to the left,load bitmap (In my case a Visuino logo) set X:5,Y:50

Step 7: In Visuino Connect Components

  1. Connect "PulseGenerator1" component pin [Out] to "RandomIntegerGenerator1" pin [Clock]
  2. Connect "RandomIntegerGenerator1" component pin [Out] to "Display1">"TextField1" pin [In]
  3. Connecrt "Display1" component Pin [Out]SPI to Arduino Pin SPI[In]
  4. Connecrt "Display1" component Pin [ChipSelect] to Arduino Digital Pin [10]
  5. Connecrt "Display1" component Pin [Reset] to Arduino Digital Pin [8]
  6. Connecrt "Display1" component Pin [Register Select] to Arduino Digital Pin [9]

Step 8: Generate, Compile, and Upload the Arduino Code

In Visuino, Press F9 or click on the button shown on Picture 1 to generate the Arduino code, and open the Arduino IDE

In the Arduino IDE, click on the Upload button, to compile and upload the code (Picture 2)

Step 9: Play

If you power the Arduino UNO module, the Display will start to show a picture and every second a random number.

Congratulations! You have completed your project with Visuino. Also attached is the Visuino project, that I created for this Instructable. You can download and open it in Visuino: https://www.visuino.eu