LED 7 Segment Clock

A seven segment clock built with an esp-01 (esp8266) controller and ws2812b leds.

Hardware

Following setup is the recommended setup, but you can always scale it up and use more leds. The amount of leds is configurable.

Housing (3D-Prints)

All STL-Files are located in stl-files/. Neccessary amount is:

• 28 pieces of segment_cases.stl in a color of your choice
• 28 pieces of segment_cover.stl in transparent
• 2 pieces of dot_cover.stl in transparent
• 1 piece of bridge.stl in a color of your choice

Electrical Components

• 58 pieces of WS2812B SMD LED on PCB board (like these)
• ESP-01 controller
• 5v to 3.3v step down regulator
• 5v power supply
• 330 Ohm resistor
• A lot of wires
• Breadboard (for dev setup only)
• Soldering board

Tools

• Soldering iron

Configuration

There are multiple options to set before flashing. All of these options are configured in the first section of esp_code\esp_code.ino.

How to setup development environment

• Arduino IDE

  • Open Arduino IDE
  • Go to: File / Preferences
  • Enter http://arduino.esp8266.com/stable/package_esp8266com_index.json into the Additional Board Manager URLs field and click OK
  • Go to: Tools / Board / Boards Manager...
  • Search for esp8266 by ESP8266 Community and install
  • Go to: Tools / Board and select Generic ESP8266 Module
  • Adding libraries:
    • Go to: Sketch / include library / Manage libraries...
    • Install NTPClient by Fabrice Weinberg (v3.1.0)
    • Install Adafruit NeoPixel by Adafruit (v1.2.3)

• Visual Studio Code (Recommended for Intellisense and Highlighting)

  • To use vs-code for arduino or esp projects you need to install the Arduino IDE as above. After these steps open vs-code.
  • Go to Extensions search for Arduino and install.
  • If your Arduino IDE isn’t installed in the default folder you need to specify the installation path in your workspace settings (For more information see documentation of Arduino Extension).
  • In your .vscode folder should be a c_cpp_properties.json file. Add the path to your Arduino libraries to the includePath list.
    • On Windows: C:\users\USER\documents\Arduino\libraries

Wiring

Connect all segments like shown in the following sketch:

Now connect these components to a single bus as this:

• ESP Pin 2 -> 330 Ohm resistor
• 330 Ohm resistor -> first led of lower minute
• last led of lower minute -> first led of upper minute
• last led of upper minute -> first dot
• first dot -> second dot
• second dot -> first led of lower hour
• last led of lower hour -> first led of upper hour