Laser Stem RGB Matrix

I love colourful things and RGB LEDs hold a special place in my heart... so every opportunity I can get to design something new, weird or just fun using RGB LEDs, I run with it.... so here is my latest project... an RGB matrix with a twist!

In the video I am using a Wemos D1 Mini because I already had one connected to an 8x8 RGB panel from another project. You has just as easily use an Arduino Nano or similar small board.

The base was 3D-printed for a previous project, and I laser cut the stems from clear acrylic and the grill pieces from black matt acrylic, but you could definitely 3D print all of the pieces from black and clear filament.

I ended up with all of these parts, and then it was just about putting it al together!

Once everything was together it was time to get some software on the micro-controller.

I installed the FastLED library in the Arduino IDE and flashed the D1 Mini with the Strip Demo, and then all that was left was to light it up!

I'm super happy with the final result!

There are lots of things you could do with this as a starting point. Adding a microphone would allow you to make it react to sound or even work as an audio level display.

You could also use the D1 Mini and make a web interface to it so you can change what it is showing via Wifi.

Because it's a regular 8x8 LED matrix, you can also display scrolling text on it!

I hope you enjoyed this quick but stunning looking project!

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