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Awesome led cube by AlexTheGreat on January 22, 2008
Table of Contents intro: Awesome led cube . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2
step 1: materials and tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3
step 2: the box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4
step 3: lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4
step 4: finish the box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5
step 5: armor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6
step 6: Time Travel! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6
Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8
Advertisements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8
Make Magazine Special Offer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8
Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8
http://www.instructables.com/id/Awesome-led-cube/
intro: Awesome led cube You never know when you might need a glowing cube to convince people you are from the future.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Awesome-led-cube/
step 1: materials and tools To make this you will need: A LED (preferably high power) a 3 volt coin cell battery a 100 ohm resistor (anything close to 100 will work) a momentary or push button switch. thin sheet metal plexiglass tools: hot glue gun metal shears sharpie saw soldering iron
http://www.instructables.com/id/Awesome-led-cube/
step 2: the box Cut out 6 squares of equal size from the plexiglass with a saw. Use the hot glue gun to make them into a box. Leave off the last side for now. Drill a hole in one side of the box, make the hole large enough for the button on the switch to be pushed through it.
step 3: lighting Solder together the switch, resistor, and the led. Duct tape the two wires that remain to the battery. Hot glue the assembly to the inside of the cube with the button in the hole.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Awesome-led-cube/
step 4: finish the box Fill the box with hot glue to diffuse the light. Glue the final side on.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Awesome-led-cube/
step 5: armor Cut out of the sheet metal futuristic designs and glue them onto the cube. Make sure that when you glue onto the button you don't stop it from being pressed down, and that it sticks out enough to be pushed down. To give you an idea, Duck-Lemon made two templates. (last pictures)
step 6: Time Travel! Use the cube to slow, stop, or reverse time, or even turn ordinary technology into transformers. Your choice. It looks the best in the dark.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Awesome-led-cube/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Awesome-led-cube/
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Comments 50 comments Add Comment
muse11 says:
view all 839 comments Apr 17, 2009. 3:42 PM REPLY
I'm sorry but i'm not very smart with this kinda stuff, but what would be considered a high powered LED?
Kasaron says:
Apr 13, 2009. 12:15 AM REPLY As an additional note, if one were to use thicker sheet metal, welded properly, it would give an overall much more convincing effect. Also, if it was made larger, 3 wide-angle LEDs and a pair or trio of batteries suspended int he center would give a much more even light.
zachht111 says:
Apr 14, 2009. 12:13 PM REPLY
i like the idea, but the battery keeps running out and its almost impassable to replace
Kasaron says:
Apr 16, 2009. 10:49 PM REPLY
I may just have to design one of these that "blooms" open.
JAVIIProductions says:
Apr 16, 2009. 4:59 PM REPLY
Cool an All Spark
Legofanatic says:
Apr 15, 2009. 2:42 PM REPLY
Reminds me of the Allspark from transformers.
skatesurfdelmar says:
Apr 6, 2009. 9:07 AM REPLY could u make this a usb memory stick? it could replace the battery and light up when u stuck it in a computer... culd sombody make an instructable on how to?
http://www.instructables.com/id/Awesome-led-cube/
ephrice says:
Apr 15, 2009. 1:24 AM REPLY U can make an usb stick but it take smaller measuments on the plexiglass. Are you could take the inside of the an USB stick and pour Resin into a a small box mold. Then place the USB into that while it set up. Be sure to use plastic wrap for a liner or it may stick to the box. This also gives the final project a more textured look.
Lacurazz says:
Apr 12, 2009. 9:41 PM REPLY
what exactly would be a 'high powered LED'?
reddog92396 says:
Apr 10, 2009. 3:26 PM REPLY
Transformer Cube!
mr.craper106 says:
Apr 12, 2009. 4:48 PM REPLY
yup :D
lewis94 says:
Apr 12, 2009. 10:00 AM REPLY Is there any pre-made products what I can buy and use the parts instead of buying them seperate because that would make the project a whole lot easier. It a really good idea and I would recommend this to a mate
Jacktop says:
Feb 11, 2009. 4:03 PM REPLY
can I make it so I can replace the batteries?
TXTCLA55 says:
Apr 4, 2009. 5:32 PM REPLY
Use button cells, they tend to last about 3x longer than normal batteries.
coco911231 says:
Apr 11, 2009. 9:57 AM REPLY
a good button cell has a lifespan of 4 weeks of continus use
icyice says:
Apr 10, 2009. 1:42 PM REPLY
could you use silver spray paint to paint the parts where you would use the sheet metal?
coco911231 says:
Apr 11, 2009. 9:56 AM REPLY
shure u can i used gold spraypaint and it looks great!
blade2685 says:
Apr 10, 2009. 11:10 AM REPLY I'm very interested in this project, but I am wondering about the power source...Are you able to change it or once its dead its dead?
covey12 says:
Apr 5, 2009. 5:38 PM REPLY
aluminum(spelled right?) tape would work much better than metal, its easily cuttable (real word?) and is already has adhesive
Kazeem says:
Apr 10, 2009. 10:03 AM REPLY
Aluminium... in England anyway.... That is apparently spelled correctly if you're American though
ducktapedude says:
Mar 22, 2009. 8:41 PM REPLY hey where do you get this stuff like a hardware store i want to make this so badly and impress my friends but have no idea how much it will cost or where to get this stuff
rlindstrom says:
Apr 6, 2009. 9:55 AM REPLY the best place to get the led's the switch,battery ect. would be radioshack. i have no clue how much this stuff will cost. you would have to price it out.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Awesome-led-cube/
Lacurazz says:
Apr 10, 2009. 7:47 AM REPLY
The most expensive thing would be the battery which should be about 5-6 dollars with the LED being about 2-3 dollars
Electricians says:
Apr 7, 2009. 9:49 AM REPLY
Ebay!!
strouslot says:
Mar 24, 2009. 2:15 PM REPLY
Hardware store. They have it all.
reborn666 says:
Apr 10, 2009. 7:07 AM REPLY
how do u make it change colour
lowbike1 says:
Apr 9, 2009. 9:39 AM REPLY you can buy little blinking leds @ the dollar store ( at least the dollar store by my house) and use that, already done (battery, switch etc), just build the box for it.. hmm... I'm doing this this weekend!
mrmarkayne says:
Apr 8, 2009. 1:11 PM REPLY I love this, but would love also to see it have some 'hidden' functionality. perhaps scavenging a cheap EM field meter and a few other bits you could make it light up in the presence of an electromagnetic field, and even glow brighter in response to the strength or proximity of the field. If someone could figure that out, I'd love to see how it might be done.
Ironegg says:
Apr 5, 2009. 4:27 PM REPLY
Have you tried using more than one LED? Does it look good, or does the lighting seem to uneven.
Instructoguy12125 says:
Mar 30, 2009. 6:37 AM REPLY you should out fit it with a hologram projector and a speaker to make it seam like a jedi holocron. the blue one would work well for vooddoo biases holocron.
TuckerFilms says:
Mar 31, 2009. 2:40 PM REPLY
A holocron was EXACTLY what I was thinking when I saw this. Love to make a few of these for a fan film.
Instructoguy12125 says:
Apr 4, 2009. 11:01 AM REPLY
yeah me too
Kankuro says:
Apr 5, 2009. 2:48 PM REPLY
LUKE I AM YOUR FATHER lol
Kankuro says:
Apr 5, 2009. 2:47 PM REPLY
i wonder if u can make it change color...
Derin says:
Apr 5, 2009. 6:05 AM REPLY
RESISTANCE IS FUTILE!!!
Lacurazz says: Here's how I wired it: positive side of battery to one side of switch other end of switch to resistor Resistor to LED then LED to negative side of battery keep in mind to keep the positive side of the LED facing towards the positive end of the battery
http://www.instructables.com/id/Awesome-led-cube/
Apr 3, 2009. 3:30 PM REPLY
swimmer95 says:
Apr 1, 2009. 2:51 PM REPLY
how do you make the switch i made one but it works backwards i mean it stays lit then when i press the button it turns off
DriX says:
Apr 2, 2009. 11:27 AM REPLY
Use different legs of the switch. Some will give you the correct result, test which ones are.
Dragonknight says:
Aug 21, 2008. 11:10 AM REPLY Anybody suggest making a Puzzle Box replica from Hellraiser yet? That'd be pretty cool. Just cut out the sheet metal following the puzzle Box design...
ste5442 says:
Feb 10, 2009. 12:15 PM REPLY
Or for a total geek look maybe the 'Borg' cube from Star Trek :-) PCBPolice
lanceearlhaines says:
Apr 1, 2009. 2:25 PM REPLY
Yes that appeals to this geek
viacin says:
Aug 23, 2008. 2:30 PM REPLY lol ya, There has gotta be a hellraiser cube on instructables somewhere. If you could take the outer design and use it as a template... but who wants to open a portal to hell anyway? Only if I can sell tickets :D
mdgnys says:
Feb 2, 2009. 10:18 AM REPLY
I do ill make a list of people that can "visit"!! lolllllll
Sagar Gondaliya says:
Jan 14, 2009. 7:23 PM REPLY
lol id pay a million to go. i should get a discount though cuz i asked first. :)
lanceearlhaines says:
Apr 1, 2009. 2:04 PM REPLY read first then post! i see the same questions over and over and over. I think a cool idea would be to use a Faraday led flashlight design on the inside. that way you can just shake the cube to recharge the battery. If you made a sphere playing catch with a friend would serve to charge it, or rolling it ect. make a small recessed hatch that can close to house the switch.
skatepalooza says:
Mar 25, 2009. 10:15 AM REPLY
it would be realy cool if you made it react to music (i will try)
belgvr says:
Mar 27, 2009. 7:15 AM REPLY
GREAT idea, man... it wouldn't be difficult if you use a small microphone :D i'll try it too ;)
skatepalooza says:
Apr 1, 2009. 12:44 AM REPLY
i hooked it up on my television using a TIP41 transistor and it works nicely
belgvr says:
Apr 1, 2009. 6:46 AM REPLY
how?? do you have schematics?
Ezsynn says: Ah!! It's the allspark ftw!!!
view all 839 comments
http://www.instructables.com/id/Awesome-led-cube/
Mar 21, 2009. 4:29 PM REPLY
