HariFun

[@madferret2045]

High quality ping pong balls are made from cellulose/celluloid (can't quite remember), which is extremely flammable as YT videos have shown. But they're expensive to produce, so cheaper ones are made from a different, non-flammable plastic. Or at least not as explosive as legit ping pong balls lol.

[@MaxintRD]

Cool! On behalf of all the viewers from the Netherlands I'd like to thank you for making such a beautiful Dutch flag on the 4th of July. Bedankt!

[@HariWiguna]

(facepalm) You're welcome! :D Others have made similar funny comment. You guys are awesome! I have heard many horror stories of KZbinrs getting negative comments. So, it is good to see that even when I made a stupid oversight, everyone still have fun! Thanks 2,147,483,647!

[@ThingsWhichArentWork]

That's looking great Hari - very much looking forward to seeing all 512 in action. Cheers!!

[@HariWiguna]

Thanks Jim! PS: I've just lived vicariously through your spot welder videos. Excellent series.

[@IngoDingo]

They key to the flamble pong ball mystery is that old, quality ones are made out of a mixture of nitrocellulose and camphor. The new ones are often made out of cheap plastic.

[@HariWiguna]

I agree. The ones I got from China are meant for drunks playing beer pong. No ping pong players would touch these balls with their paddles. :-)

[@bitluni]

Super cool project!

[@AndreasSpiess]

I also like the colors in your video. Very well made! Only one column could make a nice display for example to show the percentage reached of the budget in the entry of a sales office ...

[@HariWiguna]

Hi Andreas! Oh... a physical bar graph! Nice... Thanks for the comment Andreas!

[@jobvanwijngaarden]

Looking forward to see the completed cube. Great work so far!

[@HariWiguna]

Yeah, I thought by using NeoPixels the cube would be simpler to build. As it turns out, making a very large cube and dealing with ping pong balls added complexities that I did not see coming. Hopefully I've solved all the problems now and it's just a matter of building 56 more pillars! :-) Thanks for the encouragement Job!

[@MatteoDiGaetano]

Wow, no words for this project.... Fantastic!!

[@HariWiguna]

Hi Matteo! Thanks for leaving a comment despite having no words :D Much appreciated!

[@DesktopMakes]

Great project Hari! I run a college makerspace and think this would be a great group project.

[@HariWiguna]

Hi Vladimir! Thank you for visiting my channel. Yes, this would make a good group project. There is enough drilling and soldering for everyone :-) If you guys make this, please leave me a link to it. I'd love to see it! Lorraine Underwood has made several and improved them too. twitter.com/lmcunderwood/status/984198522181480448?lang=en

[@13arn]

I can't wait to see the whole thing!

[@HariWiguna]

Me too! :D Thanks for the comment Noah!

[@bobwarren2590]

I like your project looks like a lot of fun as well as a lot of work but much satisfaction

[@HariWiguna]

Hi Bob, I thought NeoPixels would make this easier to build than traditional RGB led cubes by allowing me to bypass the huge task of wiring shift registers. However, I've underestimated the challenges of building a huge structure. So, you're right. It has been a lot of work, but the reward has been proportional as well. Thanks for the encouraging words Bob!

[@dazonic]

I was hoping the PCBs would be inside the balls so it’s cleaner. Paint the wires black too, I saw someone else did, looked great!

[@HariWiguna]

I considered putting the ball inside, but it means I'd need a huge hole on the bottom of the ball to facilitate inserting the PCB. They sell NeoPixels in the normal tubular LED shape, those would require smaller hole, but they're even more expensive. Painting the wires black would be cool, but I'd be afraid of accidentally painting the balls. One false move... :-( Thx for the comment dazonic! Interesting thoughts.

[@dazonic]

Hari Wiguna hmm yeah true. Mask the balls maybe? Lots of work though! Gonna be sick man good job

[@squalazzo]

as always, awesome work Hari! Waiting for the full cube :)

[@HariWiguna]

Thanks Squalazzo! It'd be so fun to have a giant 3D canvas :-D

[@BrianLough]

Looks great!

[@ProjectGuns]

Hi Hari, A great project, I like the jig for drilling the balls. you are the greatest!! Regards, Stan

[@HariWiguna]

Hi Stan! Originally, I made the outer part of that jig a cylinder, but it was hard to make sure that the halves align properly. Making it square solved that problem. Also, I worry that the drill would enlarge the guiding hole of the plastic jig, but so far it seems to hold up. :D Thx for the comment Stan!

[@jxt2721]

Excellent cinematography! (Also, first!) This is an amazing project!!!

[@HariWiguna]

Hi Jon! I spent waay too much time on my videos. lol. I guess making video is "making", and I really enjoy making things. Thank you for the comment Jon!

[@Karkiry3000]

Dont those neopixels need decoupling capacitors?

[@SeanHodgins]

Apparently not. :D

[@HariWiguna]

I tested them on the breadboard before building the pillars and I was able to chain eight Neopixels without any capacitors. My plan was to put a capacitor at the bottom of each pillar hidden underneath the base. However, to my surprise , I have NOT have to do that either?! Maybe when I have more LEDs...

[@SeanHodgins]

Putting them at the bottom of each pillar wouldn't exactly make them decoupling caps at that point. haha but I was just being facetious. As in, these obviously work without them. I've done a bunch of projects with neopixels and did not need them. Just I just put a large cap on each end of the power for the neopixels as a "just in case".

[@ChunkySteveo]

Just to check Hari - are these still WS2812B pixels, not WS2813B (as the 13's have built in cap and resistor)? It's going to look amazing BTW!

[@builtrodewreckedit]

That's really cool.

[@MathieuBurgerhout]

It looks awesome. Keep up the good work.

[@HariWiguna]

Thanks Mathieu! 56 more pillars to go... then the next level of fun begins. I've never had a 3D color canvas...

[@techdesigner9741]

So cool! I like your attention to detail. Subscribed👍

[@shinevisionsv]

You should make a simple snake game with that haha! Awesome work!

[@HariWiguna]

Good idea! Having COLOR really opens up a ton of possibilities. Thanks ShineVision SV!

[@shinevisionsv]

Thanks! :D

[@MakerProjectLab]

Great project, Hari!

[@HariWiguna]

Thanks Donald! I wonder if you could count foam core as a cool tool? In addition to being an inexpensive, easy to work with building material, I regularly use it to make jigs. I was surprised how well it works for this project considering that the soldering jig is almost twice as long as the $1 board I purchased. 3D printing a solder jig would take forever and would soften near that soldering iron.

[@CharlesSnyder]

That laugh! Lol.. Almost evilish... : P

[@HariWiguna]

Who doesn't like playing with fire?! lol Thanks for the comment Charles! Made me laugh... again. :D

[@karllaun2427]

Nice. I haven't ordered any ping pong balls.....yet.

[@HariWiguna]

Now that I've proven that there are non-flammable ping pong balls, what are you waiting for?! lol

[@karllaun2427]

Point well taken. Looks like there's a bit of lead time required on the balls. Need to get just a little further along on some other projects before starting on another. Looking forward to you next video.

[@HariWiguna]

I was just kidding around. Life is short. Do what you want. :)

[@karllaun2427]

Resistance is futile. The thing is, I love this kind of stuff. None of it is going to spoil if I set it aside for awhile. Question: any particular reason you got the black LEDs over the white version?

[@karllaun2427]

My ping pong balls arrived more quickly than yours, although they came in two shipments about a week apart. Anxiously awaiting the next update....

[@DiyintheGhetto]

Holy ping pong balls batman, Oh Hey Hari this is coming out awesome. Now i got to get you to make me a Gig like this one. So i can make mine now. Also how are you holding the ping pong balls to the Pixels with glue? :)

[@HariWiguna]

Hi J! Yeah, it was cool when I got one pillar working, but when I got 8x8, I could finally envision what the cube would look like. You could make the foam core jig yourself, its job is to keep the distance between the neopixel pcbs consistent. I can send you the 3D printed drill jig if you could not find a 3D printer at your local library. As far as keeping the ping pong balls in place... there is some friction between the ball and the wires and then gravity, no glue.

[@karl9460]

Oh man, you make building stuff look so much fun. Did you link to where you bought the ping pong balls from? I think I really want to build an 8x8 grid of them in 2D now as it looks so good, mmm, framed maybe?

[@HariWiguna]

Hi Karl, Yes, a framed 8x8 would already be cool and I bet you could come up with simpler construction for a 2D version. That's part of the fun: Figuring things out. One thing I'd like you to be aware of is that the video made the balls glow brighter than in real life. It also depends on the ping pong ball. The ones I bought in local store seems to be thinner and whiter -- therefore brighter than the one I got from China (thicker plastic and more clouded). Anyway, parts list including ping pong balls is at: hackaday.io/project/19115/components Please link to your version in comment when you got yours done! :)

[@UndernetSystems]

I'm sure the cube is going to come out great based on this first test. Also you have to make a video about making your 3D printer more quiet because It is loud lol. My printer is a kit from 2014 and the loudest noise coming from it is from the fan of the power supply.

[@jobvanwijngaarden]

You can try replacing the smaller fans to a larger diameter fan, and spinning them on low rpm. I did the same with my 3d delta printer kit. Cheers

[@HariWiguna]

lol Yeah my 3D printer is pretty noisy. The fan probably sounds louder to you because I had to crank up the mic volume so you could hear me :-) I need to get better at managing audio.

[@onnodirkzwager3537]

Nice project (y)

[@exosdel]

That´s impressive! Nice work! looking forward for the next video! Thumbs up!

[@HariWiguna]

Yeah, I can't wait to create color animations on a giant led cube. That'd be so much fun. Thanks for the encouragements!

[@mertcapkin7263]

what material are those rods for the connections?

[@ricardooreamillan3674]

Hi, how are you!? First congratulations for your great channel !!! It's a blast !! Could you share the design of those mini pcb you use for the ws2812 ??? I would like to try to make a few at home! Thank you very much ! a greeting!

[@HariWiguna]

Hi Ricardo! Thanks for the encouragements! PCB designs are at: easyeda.com/hwiguna/Neopixel_reinforced-3c4584dd5fff40e293b1ce0676a62ffb Greetings from Lincoln, Nebraska!

[@ricardooreamillan3674]

thank you very much!! keep it up!

[@krunoslavhrastic605]

I am so building this this summer. Looks so awesome. What gauge wire are you using and where did you buy it?

[@HariWiguna]

Krunoslav, yes, it is a pretty awesome project! I use 16 gauge wire from my local hardware store. I've added actual product link to the components list on my project page. Link to the flame safe ping pong balls are on this list as well. hackaday.io/project/19115-giant-rgb-led-cube PS: In the video, the ping pong balls look a lot brighter than in real life. Just as awesome but more subdued. I'm telling you this so you won't have the wrong expectation. Ask me anything, so you won't have to repeat my mistakes :-)

[@krunoslavhrastic605]

Thanks very much, how are the wire shadows, are they very visible?

[@roidroid]

Hari Wiguna on ebay there are balls for a bit cheaper if you search for: 150 ping pong balls.

[@HariWiguna]

Someone mentioned that before. Was that you? That's a valid concern. There ARE shadows, but they have soft edges, so not too bad. Also, since the NeoPixel has three LEDs, the shadows move depending on which led is lit. Keep the holes as clean as you could. Excessive blowout of plastic inside the ball also creates shadows. :-( I haven't decided on the best way to create clean holes for the wires. I think slow drill is better. Not sure yet. I decided NOT to drill holes for the LEDs. The balls just rest on the LEDs. Creating a hole for the light to come in makes the ball a little brighter, but I decided it was not worth the extra effort. I'll try to take some photos later and post them on the hackaday project page.

[@HariWiguna]

Thx!

[@andreaskoller1029]

Hello Hari Wiguna, are the CAD Data of the custom PCB public?

[@HariWiguna]

Yes, I shared the PCB file in video#154. If you build it, please share the result, I'd love to see it! easyeda.com/hwiguna/Neopixel_reinforced-3c4584dd5fff40e293b1ce0676a62ffb

[@codebeat4192]

Nice!

[@XerotoLabs]

ha mad , but in that good way . !

[@edgotbait]

They are not flammable because they are not made the same as real ping pong balls