Patrick Thomas Mitchell is a Kickstarter junkie. He’s currently running his twelfth funding campaign to launch his 4x4x4 LED Cube Electronics kit. The kit is marketed toward makers and the DIY crowd as a one time project or an add-on to a current project that needs lighting.
The kit works with 5mm LEDs that can be ordered through this campaign or supplied by the user. The cube structure allows up to 64 LEDS to be used in a 4x4x4 configuration. Each layer of LED is controlled separately by the PIC18 microcontroller, and several different blinking configurations can be programmed. 8-12 Volts DC are required to power the system and a 120-240 Volt DC in / 9 Volt 1 Ampere out wall adapter is an option for the campaign or users can use their own power source.
4x4x4 is billed as a short fun project that can be placed on your desk as a conversation starter or a fast fun project. The campaign video is straightforward, no frills and really works to explain the project and what Patrick hopes that users will do with the project. My favorite part of the Kickstarter campaign video is when Mitchell says that the project is good for soldering enthusiasts.
Mitchell has cultivated a great following on Kickstarter after building so many projects, and this campaign has already pushed past its modest $600 goal. Additional funding will go toward his next project, a new voice changer prototype. He follows a set schedule during a campaign – during the first two weeks he optimizes the software and gets component orders ready to go. After two weeks a campaign’s possibility of success can usually be predicted and component orders can be made. By the end of the fourth week he’s started assembly videos and started kitting the projects.
This is a great, small project that can be done by a seasoned maker in one day or built by a beginner over time. It’s great that Patrick Mitchell is using Kickstarter to fund his projects and continue to put out products that will aid makers toward adding more electronics to their large scale projects.