The latest project from Debra Ansell of Geek Mom Projects combines form and function with PCBs forming an articulated chain that passes power, ground, and data. And, of course, the data line controls multicolor LED NeoPixels!
The chain links are an assembly with two PCBs, an acrylic spacer, and a plastic retention piece. On the top PCB piece, one side has three 2020-case sized NeoPixels, while the other side has three metal rings. These represent the power, ground, and signal.
Those three pads make contact with six pressure contacts on the bottom PCB piece. (There are two contacts for each ring for redundancy.) Because the pressure contacts are fragile, Ansell laser cut an acrylic piece that removes some of the mechanical strain on the connections.
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Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
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