Flexible PCB Source
NWCCTV
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So I purchased a few hundred individual WS2812B's from eBay. I am thinking of making my own designs, etc. just to play around with. Does anyone know where I can get flexible PCB strips such as those used in the W2811 and 2812 strips? I Googled it but it seems that most of what is coming up are the PCB connection ribbons.
Comments
If you want a straight flexible strip of LEDs, I think it would cost much less to purchase the LEDs on the strip than to make them yourself.
One way to make a string of WS2812B LEDs would be to link small PCBs together with a bit of wire. The above photo shows a few of the boards linked with some copper wire. The wire really needs to be soldered to the PCB for reliable operation. I had hoped bare copper wire would work well enough to light a few LEDs in a row but it did not work well and it's a fast way of burning out the LED drivers (if the ground wire comes unconnected the current returning through the WS2811's input pin will likely destroy one of the LEDs).
I think my design is a bit more conducive to linking together than Parallax's design. The curved sides of the boards help the PCBs align with each other. I also kept the the area near the edge of the board clear of undesirable copper.
Post #49 of the thread has the gerber files used to make these rings.
The gerber files used to make the small PCBs are attached to post # 23.
Besides the LEDs, you also need some 0.1uF capacitors when you make your own boards.
This is what I am thinking of doing. For the PCB's I was not thinking of doing straight lines but rather I had a few designs of my own. It seems to be a little pricier than I wanted so I will most likely just use wire to get the designs I want and then maybe use either U-Mold or just some silicon to enclose them with. Thanks all.