Jig Instructions

8/3/2019 Jig Instructions

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Jig Instructions v 1.1, June 2011

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HYPNOCUBE

Things that go blink in the night

Introduction

The following instructions were provided by one of our customers, Rob Sheldon. Robs version of the jig is an

improvement over our original jig design in just about every way it should be easier to make, easier to use,and yield better results. Rob was kind enough to write up very thorough instructions, photos and all, so I present

them to you here, with permission. Thanks Rob!

Hi Gene,

First I would like to say that I was very impressed with your HC4 kit. Everything was packaged very

well and the quality of the parts is excellent.

The reason I am offering these suggestions on the assembly jigs is to make a good kit even better.

My jigs are very simple to make, and is easy to use, and hold the wires tightly. I know many people

do not have access to wood working equipment so I have kept the wood part of the jig to bare

minimum.

The assembly jigs are 2 pieces of wood. The large piece is 12 x 12 inches, and the small piece is 12

x 2 inches.

The best material for the jigs is 1/2 inch thick MDF hardboard. MDF is also called fiberboard. It is

easy to drill into. 1/2 inch plywood will also work well. Home Depot sells both materials in smaller

sizes and will cut them for you.


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The other parts needed to make the 12 x 12 jig are 16 6 x 1/2" sheet metal screws and 48 #10

washers.


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Here are the measurements to mark the board for the holes for the screws. Use a SMALL drill bit to

make these holes for the screws. (Ed: One customer pointed out that the 10.75 marked on the top of

the below picture does not equal 1.25 x 9. It should be pointed out that the space between each grid

line needs to be 1.25, but the space between the hole and the grid lines need not be. In the picture

below, it is 1 between the holes and the first/last grid line.)

After drilling the 16 small holes, measure and mark the board and draw out a 1.25 inch grid in the

board with a fine line marker or pencil. This grid is very useful in giving you straight visual lines to

keep all the wires and LEDs lined up nice and straight during assembly. It would have been better to

center the grid between the screws.


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(Note: The following pictures are from Robs first jig, before adjusting the spacing to better distribute

the wire length and allow for more flexibility in connecting the grid to the PCB. Thats why they lack

the extra spacing in the middle. All of the instructions are still accurate.)

Next put 3 washers on a screw and screw it into the board. Don't screw it all the way in. Leave it a

little loose so the washers are free to move. Do this to the remaining 15 screws.

Measure and mark the small 12 x 2 inch board. The 8 holes are 1.25 inches apart. This small jig is

used bend the leads on the LEDs, and to hold 8 LEDs while soldering.

The Hynocube uses 5 mm size LEDs and finding the correct size drill bit is a little bit of a challenge.The perfect size drill bit is a #9 bit from a Numbered Drill Bit set. Most people do not have a

Numbered Drill Bit set so we can use one of our American sized fractional drill bits and make it work

for us.

Use a 13/64 or a 7/32 inch drill bit to drill the 8 holes. Try to drill the holes straight into the board.

Straight holes keep the LEDs straight. These holes are a little bit large for the LEDs so to snug up the

holes we can use a little bit of masking tape.


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If you used a 13/64 bit you will need one layer of tape.

If you used a 7/32 bit you will need 3 layers of tape.

Put the required layers of masking tape over the holes. Press down on the tape with your finger and

the tape will indent were the holes are. Use a sharp razor knife to cut an X in each indentation in the

masking tape.

Now using one of the LEDS push the LED into the hole. It should fit snug now.


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Mark one of the holes as shown to be used as bending guide. Also draw one long straight line across

the holes as shown. This line is used as a guide to keep things lined up straight.


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If an LED is a bit tight in the hole, safety remove LED from the jig using a small screw driver and

gently pry the LED up while gently pulling up on the wire leads.

Now install the 8 LED strips into the large jig.

Start at the top left screw and insert the left end of the wire between the top and second washer. Just

snug up the screw to squeeze the washers together to hold the wire. You do not have to over tighten

the screw. The top washer may turn a little while tightening and move the wire. Holding the washer

with your fingers will help this.

Next put the right end of the wire between the top and second washer on the right side screw. Lightlytighten the screw to squeeze the washers together to hold the wire.

On the right hand side the tightening of the screw may turn the washer and actually put a little tension

on the wire to keep it straighter. The turning of the washer can be helped along by trying to turn the

washer while tightening the screw. Play with this a little bit and align the wire and LEDs with the grid

that is drawn on the board.


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Sorry, I don't have a picture of a single 8 LED wire on the jig

Here is a complete wired assembly. A little hard to see but a 3 drop wires wired are installed!

IMPORTANT!!

Here are TWO big differences with this jig........

1. Using the screws with 3 washers and putting the wires between the top and second washer the

GREEN wires of the LEDs and the LEDs touch the board. This keeps the horizontal wires very

straight. No sagging. This makes it very easy to align the LEDS.


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2. The GREEN drop wire can being soldered into place WITHOUT removing the lattice from the jig.

Follow this procedure:

1. Solder in the Red drop wire to the LEDs. Trim the excess LED wires.

2. Slide the Green drop wire between the Green LED lead and the board. Position the wire, hold it in

place with a few pieces of tape and solder it in. It is to difficult to trim these LED leads now so this

trimming step can wait for when the lattice is removed from the jig.3 Solder in the Blue drop wire to the LEDs. Trim the excess LED wires.

Here is a picture of installing the Green drop wire:

This is all have. The only other suggestion I would have is a PDF that clearly shows all themeasurements for making the jigs and marking the grid.

Well I hope you like my suggestions. If I can clarify anything, please ask. I can't supply any addition

pictures on assembly unless I build another cube!

Cheers,

Rob Sheldon

Documents

Jig Instructions