DIY monome compatible grid w/ Adafruit NeoTrellis

Gregory_Delabelle · 2020-01-16T12:47:23.297Z

Well i soldered it all: front pads and all the 5 back pads. Maybe worth a try?

For the rest looks all good IMHO…

noiserock · 2020-01-16T13:23:32.891Z

I think the issue is due to wonky laser cutting. I’ll do some sanding and try again.

okyeron · 2020-01-16T15:49:52.186Z

thopa:

im thinking of making a diy pcb that holds both the adafruit usb breakout and the teensy.

I assume i can load firmware to the teensy from the adafruit usb port? Or do both ports need to be exposed?

Also i need to cut the teensy external power pad right?

This is where I am at. See my Instagram for some work in progress. I am going to try a couple options - a very thing (0.4mm) regular pcb and then a “flexi pcb”. I hope to have a new design variation worked up tonight.

With the usb breakout you don’t need to have the teensy usb exposed and no, you don’t need to cut the power trace. But - only use one of the usb jacks - not both (unless you’re doing something different like splitting power/data)

okyeron · 2020-01-16T15:54:23.035Z

Does this happen reliably on the same neotrellis board each time or all over the place?

Could be a “bad” board (wonky diode or something)?

Fwiw - I’ve NOT soldered across the big pads on the led side of my boards

thopa · 2020-01-17T16:27:56.784Z

Hiya! @okyeron on i finished my build and is working good on my mac.
What fix do i need to do to use it with fates?
I cant seem to find the mentioned fix.
Cheers!

okyeron · 2020-01-17T16:31:25.093Z

thopa:

What fix do i need to do to use it with fates?

I set up a shell script for this.

cd ~/fates
git pull
cd install/norns/scripts/
./diy_device_fix.sh

Then restart norns (SYSTEM>RESET) or reboot.

(Usual disclaimers - this will void your warranty, etc. - you’ll need to do this again after updates)

thopa · 2020-01-17T16:42:52.861Z

okyeron:

./diy_device_fix.sh

Thanks for the help, unfortunately its not working.

I think i need to update my norns, but i was holding off since i had read there had been problems with the lates norns update.

So update and then re run the shell scrip?

Cheers

okyeron · 2020-01-17T17:03:19.674Z

Update probably doesn’t matter, but sure why not.

You will want to reboot with the grid disconnected. Then it may take a couple plug/unplugs to get the grid to recognize. Also - the grid takes about 4-5 seconds to “boot” so be patient.

noiserock · 2020-01-17T17:08:39.859Z

Sanding helped the multitrigging issue. Seems to be working fine now.

@okyeron is there a reason why you have the rainbow boot commented out in the project? I really like the idea.

okyeron · 2020-01-17T17:12:20.168Z

Couldn’t make it work properly. Something to do with the callbacks not initializing when the rainbow was there. Got frustrated and commented it out.

Corner led blinks on startup/init tho.

thopa · 2020-01-17T17:17:53.577Z

Ok so im in!

First of all thanks so much to @okyeron and everyone involved in making this possible!

I had been quite disappointed with my untz experience and not being able to get it working as a monome… but really glad i managed to reuse it by changing the pcbs and doing some mods.

I put the adafruit usb and the teensy on a pcb inside the case, and made the connections with wires.

image3024×4032 3.31 MB

image4032×3024 3.38 MB

image4032×3024 3.27 MB

image4032×3024 3.22 MB

image4032×3024 3.92 MB

image4032×3024 2.58 MB

image3792×2322 1.51 MB

ground_state · 2020-01-17T17:35:12.714Z

@okyeron; Seriously considering this, after nearly a decade of whinging about how I couldn’t afford a monome Grid and the DIYs were all either too hard or too expensive

My one question (at this exact moment ): Adafruit is out of Teensy ~~3.4s~~ 3.2s - would a Teensy 3.5 without headers /Teensy 3.6 without headers be OK? Is there any compelling reason not to get a PJRC Teensy 4.0 USB Development Board ?

okyeron · 2020-01-17T18:25:48.372Z

(3.4? maybe a typo… but) you want a teensy 3.2 or yeah… just get a 4 (since it’s about the same price and form factor).

The 3.5 or 3.6 are a much larger form factor and you don’t need all the extra pins/features.

FWIW - oshpark has Teensy 4’s now for $18

Alternately - order 3.2’s directly from PJRC

ground_state · 2020-01-17T19:10:26.771Z

@okyeron; derp 3.2 yep.

I like to one-stop if I can (save on shipping )

Thanks for the reply!

ground_state · 2020-01-17T19:47:16.014Z

@okyeron; Looking for clarification on the case from github.

This is a thumbnail of “neotrellis-128-8.ai”:

case966×375 177 KB

My assumptions about this:
(Note that the numbers refer to the thumbnail; I’ve arranged them from top to bottom)

2 - 3mm acrylic - top
3 - 5mm foam - spacer/button stabilizer
5 - 3mm foam - spacer
4 - 3mm foam - spacer/LED PCB support
1 - 3mm acrylic - bottom

The only thing which really strikes me as odd is the cutouts in layer 1.

Do you feel like the LED PCBs have enough physical support? I’m concerned about the solder joints connecting them… the interior corners of the boards are just “floating” in there, and in practice one would be pressing directly down on them.

EDIT: Also, I’ve never done a multi-material order - does this drawing need to be split per material?

okyeron · 2020-01-17T19:56:08.336Z

RE-EDITED

Note - The layers in that version on github might need to be updated - don’t order something cut from that just yet - looks like it’s missing some stuff I recently changed.

I’m also re-re-redesigning the case layers again and moving the teensy

Ok - so for what I’ve done, all the layers except for 3 are 3mm acrylic.

Layer 4 is physically supporting the pcbs and should keep the various joints from flexing (nearly all the edges are supported - except right near where I’ve got the teensy).

Layer 1 cutouts - the bigger ones are for the STEMMA connectors on the back of the neotrellis boards. It’ll be pretty obvious why when you see them in person. The tiny round holes are for using a bit of pin header to help position the teensy - see the pictures on github for a little more detail. I need to update those with new shots including the usb breakout setup.

Ordering - I really have NO IDEA if you can order 5mm EVA from a commercial lasercutting place or what (like ponoko). In a pinch, just use another layer of 3mm acrylic for that layer. Alternately I can probably sell you just the 5mm layer if ya want.

EDIT - Ponoko only has 2mm or 6mm black EVA foam.

The laser cutter at my local hackerspace is down for a week so I’m behind, but I expect I’ll have some cases for sale as soon as I can get access again.

ground_state · 2020-01-17T20:43:39.428Z

@okyeron; Awesomely fast and informative, as usual. I kinda wish we had a karma system here .

I will likely order a case from you, after due diligence on my part to make sure I can’t DIY it or otherwise order it elsewhere (more for choice of material than anything else, though if you’re doing black, I can live with that).

EDIT: Ah, also - the clarification RE: layer 4 makes it clear that there’s plenty of physical support for the PCBs

EDIT again: Pololu (different from Ponoko ) don’t do EVA foam at all…

okyeron · 2020-01-17T21:04:11.915Z

I can probably do matte white at some point (need to order more material), or even custom colors, but I have black material ready to go now. For my initial design, the top will be matte black, the bottom and mid-layers regular shiny black. Maybe an option for the bottom to be matte as well. Opinions there are welcome.

Who want’s one in Fuschia glitter?!

Purple_Glitter540×540 232 KB

ground_state · 2020-01-17T21:16:15.877Z

If I were more patient, I’d do an alu metallic finish acryl top. I don’t have much of a preference for the color or finish on the sides or bottom.

okyeron · 2020-01-17T21:25:39.840Z

Nice find on the Brushed Aluminum on Black stuff. I’ll see if I can find that material from my supplier.

FWIW - it might also be an option to just have you order the top-plate and I can provide the rest of the case body.