Sand Toy 2021

thingiverse

Adafruit came out with this really cool project a couple of years ago. As I love projects with blinky lights, I thought I'd throw one together. https://learn.adafruit.com/matrix-led-sand Unfortunately, as some point the hole spacing on the LED matrix board changed and the 3D printed parts referenced in the guide no longer fit. Instead of trying to modify their design files, I started from scratch and re-modeled the parts using theirs as a guide for spacing and placement. It also seemed that there was a lot of stuff hanging out on the back of the panel, so I modeled a cover to make it a bit more tidy. I was a little too ambitious on the first version and tried to make the cover in one piece and include a Pi logo embossed into the print. It necessitated the use of support material and it just didn't come out that well for me. Version 2 is much more simplified and prints in 3 different parts that are glued together after printing. I also modified the original layout to make the hand grip space a bit smaller and reduced the holes to 12mm for the buttons I had on hand. I also added provisions for putting the power switch on the back cover, again to fit the one I had on hand. Note: I am a Fusion 360 NOVICE. I did my best to follow best parametric practices, but you may run into difficulties if you attempt major changes. Project Notes: I found I had to flip the LIS3DH board 180 deg to make the display correct. If you get the Stemma version using the little connector cable they have would make wiring a breeze. I had to put the battery manager on some small standoffs to get it high enough for a charging plug to fit over the top of my smashed down button wiring. This may or may not be an issue depending on the button hardware you use.