SmART Panel
The SmART Panel is an interactive light display that creator, Joey Kowalczewski, constructed using a pick-and-place machine, laser cutter, and Arduino code. His primary base for the project was PCB panels which he soldered and merged together to operate 100 LEDs as a whole, along with an LED control software, WLED Native. An inspiration for making this project is a large, art panel table that one of his professors designed and features at makerspace, HackBerry Lab.
(Above): Hero images of the SmART Panel
(Above): The start: creating a set of dividers for the Diffusion Box
(Above): The ABS material used to laser cut the diffusion box dividers is expensive, so best conserved resources means careful precision with the laser cutter
(Above): The completed Diffusion Box, after having applied cyanoacrylate (CA) glue to the dividers to maintain position
(Above): Constructing PCB boards using a CNC pick-and-place machine, which under programmed commands applies NeoPixels (LEDs) to the hand solder-pasted board
(Above): Following the pick-and-place machine process, you will then need to activate the solder to the NeoPixels using a hot air reflow oven process
(Above): On one of the already baked PCBs, you will need to construct a Microcontroller Board to send commands to the others using solder pasted components on the back. The image above shows it after going through the hot air reflow oven process
(Above): When all boards have been completed with attached components, you can then merge them all together with solder
(Above): All boards are together and now correspond with code uploaded to it from a computer using the Microcontroller Board and Arduino programming code. Above shows a strandtest from AdaFruit NeoPixel samples, but not all NeoPixels illuminate.
(Above): After troubleshooting and resoldering some of the NeoPixels, several others begin to form stronger connections and function properly
(Above): After having all NeoPixels on the PCB panel assembly functioning properly, you will then configure a light board software named "WLED"
(Above): Attaching the PCB panel assembly to the diffusion box using standoff inserts CA glued to the inside corners of the box and M3 screws through the corners of the panels
(Above): Videos of the completed SmART panel with different light features
