Pixel Art frame

Frame for a 16x16 LED matrix. Easy to print and assemble. The cutouts allow you to easily open the frame when replacing components.

This Pixel Art frame is perfect for looping animations typical of the winter holidays season!

PLA works perfectly. I recommend using white PLA for printing the LED enclosure. I tested the printing of the frame with Prusament Woodfill, and the result is excellent.

Version 2

Version 2 of the “pixelart_esp32_base” model (pixelart_esp32_base_v2 and pixelart_esp32_base_v2_with_boxes) has an additional hole (12mm diameter) to add a separate USB-C port for dedicated power supply.

In addition, the ESP32 board support has been modified to leave more space for tightening the additional USB-C socket.

This new configuration allows for better power supply to the LED matrix. See the power supply improvement section for more detail.

Dimensions

Width: 200mm.
Height: 200mm.
Depth (only the frame): 26mm.
Depth with back support: 80mm.

Print settings

• Nozzle diameter: HF 0.4mm.
• Layer height: 0.2mm.
• Perimeters: 2.
• Infill: 10% gyroid.
• Solid layers: keep the default settings (5 top and 3 bottom). The attached model files, in the “Models with boxes for 100% infill on the pins” folder, already have edit boxes for printing plugs with 100% infill.
• Support: none.

Tested with

• PLA.
• Prusament Woodfill (0.4mm nozzle diameter).
• PETG.

Electrical components

• ESP32 C3 SuperMini.
• WS2812B RGB Flexible 16x16 pixel Led Matrix (160x160mm).
• Wiring cables.

Software

You can find software to animate the Pixel Art frame in my GitHub repository. Important note: the software quality is not professional, but hey, it works and it's free! And more importantly, it's open source, so you can improve it as you wish (PRs are welcome).

Wiring

• Connect the 5V and GND pins of the ESP32 C3 Supermini to the DC IN and GND pins of the LED matrix.
• Connect the GPIO4 pin of the ESP32 C3 Supermini to the DIN pin of the LED matrix.

Power supply improvement

You can improve the power supply avoiding to power the LED matrix through the ESP32 C3 Supermini board USB connector. Instead, you can use a separate 5V power supply and wire it as follows:

• connect the 5V pin of the power supply to the DC IN pin of the LED matrix and to the 5V pin of the ESP32 C3 Supermini board.
• Connect the GND pin of the power supply to the GND pin of the LED matrix and to the GND pin of the ESP32 C3 Supermini board.
• Connect the GPIO4 pin of the ESP32 C3 Supermini to the DIN pin of the LED matrix.

This solution will provide a more stable power supply to the LED matrix, especially when displaying bright images or animations with many LEDs lit up. This will help to prevent voltage drops and issues when you use the PC USB port to power the ESP32 C3 Supermini board. In other words, you use a proper power supply to power both the ESP32 C3 Supermini board and the LED matrix and PC USB port is used only for programming the ESP32 C3 Supermini board.

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