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Forum Index : Microcontroller and PC projects : MM2: Giant 3-digit LED display...
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Grogster Admin Group  Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9610 |
I needed a giant 7-segment LED display for my latest creation, and this is what I came up with:    The PCB size is 278mm x 145mm, and despite it's relatively large size, it is still very cheap to get made at JLC PCB - only US$5 per board. Some PCB houses charge HUGE amounts once you go above their most popular sizes, such as 100x100. The photos show the assembled module. I plan to use two of these in hallways, one pointing each way down the hallway so that staff can easily see the numbers either side of the display. My thanks specially to vegipete for making me aware of the Toshiba driver IC's I am using for each of the giant displays.  This is surprisingly cheap to build, and works a treat. The giant 4" LED displays are only about US$2.50 each. If anyone is interested in this, let me know, and I can compile a constructors pack with gerbers, sample MM2 code and BOM etc. Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops! |
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lew247 Guru  Joined: 23/12/2015 Location: United KingdomPosts: 1702 |
If you want larger 7 segment displays you can make your own any size you want |
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RetroJoe Senior Member  Joined: 06/08/2020 Location: CanadaPosts: 290 |
Cool - "someone should" make an injection molded version of those octagon LED segments. Theoretically, a single mold could be mass produced, as they could simply snap together to form each 7-segment digit, Enjoy Every Sandwich / Joe P. |
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CaptainBoing Guru Joined: 07/09/2016 Location: United KingdomPosts: 2170 |
very nice Grogs... massive dislays (5m per segment) can be buit from this stuff: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LED-Strip-Neon-Flex-Rope-Light-Waterproof-DC-12V-Flexible-Outdoor-Lighting-UK-AQ/363194510145?_trkparms=aid%3D1110006%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20201210111314%26meid%3D732e7dafc991466a898d95aa2ebc1f65%26pid%3D101195%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D12%26mehot%3Dco%26sd%3D184357675058%26itm%3D363194510145%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2047675%26algv%3DSimplAMLv5PairwiseWebWithDarwoV3BBEV2b%26brand%3DUnbranded&_trksid=p2047675.c101195.m1851 Edited 2021-02-04 00:16 by CaptainBoing |
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| Grogster Admin Group Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9610 |
@ lew247: ...only if you happen to have a 3D printer, which I have not got around to buying yet.  @ RetroJoe: Agreed. But the 4" ones are big enough for me. You can actually get 5" from the same supplier, but 4" is big enough for what I want. @ CaptainBoing: Yes, nice looking lights indeed! Nice even light diffusion based on the photos. The other type are LED's inside a plastic tube, but the light is a series of dots where the LED's are inside the tube. Those rope-lights look really nice. Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops! |
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vegipete Guru Joined: 29/01/2013 Location: CanadaPosts: 1132 |
Nicely done display. Although 'giant' is ... a bit of hubris? ;-) Here is the board I use the Toshiba TBD62783 on - two per board. Since the drivers are 8 channel and each digit is only 7 segments, 2 channels are left over. One drives a relay, the other drives a MOSFET used for optionally PWMing the low side for dimming. The PCB is about 12 1/2 by 15 1/5 inches. These are used as time clocks in sports arenas. The nice thing about driving 7 segment LEDs this way is that you have individual control over each segment, so you can display anything you like.   Visit Vegipete's *Mite Library for cool programs. |
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| Grogster Admin Group Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9610 |
Well, "Giant" by my standards anyway, compared to the little DIL LED displays you can buy. Anyway - yours is bigger then mine.  Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops! |
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