"THE IDEA." Bulb
My project in the shape of a bulb with 10 LEDs that are placed around it!
Created by
mavory
Tier 5
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0 followers
mavory
submitted "THE IDEA." Bulb for ship review ago
mavory
added to the journal ago
Completion :)
When I had these things ready, I just put the LEDs on the PCB and soldered them... I continued cleaning the board and trimming the wires.
I also decided to make a second one and for it I chose white LEDs again and it went very well and most importantly quickly. So within half an hour I had the second PCB installed.
TEST
I said to myself that I had it all done and cleaned, so I'd at least try it out and connected a 9V battery and everything went pretty well! I just accidentally blew a capacitor on one of them, so I replaced it with a 100uF one and everything works fine!!!
mavory
added to the journal ago
Soldering!!!
The package arrived very quickly and I was able to start soldering. Unfortunately I had to pay about 13 dollars in customs :(
I continued unpacking both packages and arranging the components and I must say that it took me a while to choose the color of the LEDs.
I prepared all the things for soldering and it was time to start! First I started with the components such as chips, capacitors and lastly I chose the orange LEDs which I thought would go best with my design.
CAN ⚡🚀
approved "THE IDEA." Bulb ago
Nice lightbulb
mavory
submitted "THE IDEA." Bulb for ship review ago
mavory
added to the journal ago
"THE IDEA." Bulb
My project in the shape of a bulb with 10 LEDs that are placed around it!
Why did I do this?
I wanted to take a break and create a project that wouldn't take so long... So I created this project!
KiCad things:
Here are pictures of the schematic and PCB I created in KiCad!
PCB:
Schematic:
BOM
| Reference | Value / Type | Qty | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| U1 | NE555P | 1 | Timer |
| U2 | 4017 | 1 | Coun |
| D1 - D10 | LED | 10 | Standard LED |
| C1 | 1 µF | 1 | Electrolytic Capacitor |
| C2 | 0.01 µF | 1 | Ceramic Capacitor |
| R1 | 470 Ω | 1 | Resistor |
| R2 | 1 kΩ | 1 | Resistor |
| RV1 | 50 kΩ | 1 | Potentiometer (Speed control) |
| J1 | Power | 1 | Power Header (2-pin) |
| J2 | Debug / Signal | 1 | Signal Output Pin |
| PCB | Black | With shipping | 3.50 USD |
mavory
added to the journal ago
Exporting
So when I had everything ready, we started exporting all the stuff and putting it on GitHub. We also found out the price of the PCB, which costs 2 USD.
mavory
added to the journal ago
Finishing things in KiCad
Next, I continued with connecting all the components to the PCB and I have to say that it didn't turn out so badly! The most time-consuming part was probably editing the paths so that they were well-aligned and not scattered everywhere. I also copied the values on the PCB so that I knew what would go where and so that I wouldn't get it mixed up.
I noticed that I hadn't finished the bottom part of the border either, so I quickly finished it and also added the text!
I also took the inside of the light bulb and converted it to a .dxf file again and inserted it into the silkscreen layer. I played around with it a bit and was able to continue with minor adjustments like centering and other things...
mavory
added to the journal ago
PCB making and one big problem
I started to assemble the bulb with all the components and thought about where I would put everything...
I had no idea what would go where, but I started with the N16 and then it went quickly! (thank goodness)
But I ran into a big problem. I had to figure out how I would place the LEDs so that they were at least somewhat symmetrically placed. So I measured each LED about 20 times and wondered why it didn't fit me... And then I noticed that I had the lines different the whole time (each one had a different angle and length).
So I redid it and then it was quick to put it together.
mavory
added to the journal ago
PCB start!
I ran the check and I had about 1-2 problems there, because I numbered the potentiometer wrong, but I quickly solved that and was able to go to the PCB!!
So, at first I took the bulb image, converted it to .dxf format and inserted it into KiCad... Sometimes it was too small, sometimes too large, so I had to choose the right size so that everything was within 100x100mm.
Then I traced the image in the edges layer and I had the base ready.
mavory
added to the journal ago
KiCad diagram
According to the manual, I imported everything into the KiCad program and also downloaded the N16 footprint.
Then I started to connect everything step by step to make it work! It probably took me the most time to position it all well and connect the LEDs correctly. Otherwise, it went well and here is the diagram:
mavory
added to the journal ago
THE IDEA.
When I was thinking about what my next project would be, I wanted to choose something easier so I could take a break. I chose the Blinky board, but I was thinking about the shape...
First I wanted to make a Zeus lightning bolt, but it didn't work because the parts didn't fit, so I used a light bulb as a template.
Gradually I started sketching and I could start creating!
mavory
started "THE IDEA." Bulb ago
2/8/2026 6:23 PM - THE IDEA.
When I was thinking about what my next project would be, I wanted to choose something easier so I could take a break. I chose the Blinky board, but I was thinking about the shape...
First I wanted to make a Zeus lightning bolt, but it didn't work because the parts didn't fit, so I used a light bulb as a template.
Gradually I started sketching and I could start creating!
2/8/2026 6:27 PM - KiCad diagram
According to the manual, I imported everything into the KiCad program and also downloaded the N16 footprint.
Then I started to connect everything step by step to make it work! It probably took me the most time to position it all well and connect the LEDs correctly. Otherwise, it went well and here is the diagram:
2/8/2026 6:31 PM - PCB start!
I ran the check and I had about 1-2 problems there, because I numbered the potentiometer wrong, but I quickly solved that and was able to go to the PCB!!
So, at first I took the bulb image, converted it to .dxf format and inserted it into KiCad... Sometimes it was too small, sometimes too large, so I had to choose the right size so that everything was within 100x100mm.
Then I traced the image in the edges layer and I had the base ready.
2/8/2026 6:37 PM - PCB making and one big problem
I started to assemble the bulb with all the components and thought about where I would put everything...
I had no idea what would go where, but I started with the N16 and then it went quickly! (thank goodness)
But I ran into a big problem. I had to figure out how I would place the LEDs so that they were at least somewhat symmetrically placed. So I measured each LED about 20 times and wondered why it didn't fit me... And then I noticed that I had the lines different the whole time (each one had a different angle and length).
So I redid it and then it was quick to put it together.
2/8/2026 6:50 PM - Finishing things in KiCad
Next, I continued with connecting all the components to the PCB and I have to say that it didn't turn out so badly! The most time-consuming part was probably editing the paths so that they were well-aligned and not scattered everywhere. I also copied the values on the PCB so that I knew what would go where and so that I wouldn't get it mixed up.
I noticed that I hadn't finished the bottom part of the border either, so I quickly finished it and also added the text!
I also took the inside of the light bulb and converted it to a .dxf file again and inserted it into the silkscreen layer. I played around with it a bit and was able to continue with minor adjustments like centering and other things...
2/8/2026 10:27 PM - Exporting
So when I had everything ready, we started exporting all the stuff and putting it on GitHub. We also found out the price of the PCB, which costs 2 USD.
2/8/2026 10:44 PM - "THE IDEA." Bulb
My project in the shape of a bulb with 10 LEDs that are placed around it!
Why did I do this?
I wanted to take a break and create a project that wouldn't take so long... So I created this project!
KiCad things:
Here are pictures of the schematic and PCB I created in KiCad!
PCB:
Schematic:
BOM
| Reference | Value / Type | Qty | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| U1 | NE555P | 1 | Timer |
| U2 | 4017 | 1 | Coun |
| D1 - D10 | LED | 10 | Standard LED |
| C1 | 1 µF | 1 | Electrolytic Capacitor |
| C2 | 0.01 µF | 1 | Ceramic Capacitor |
| R1 | 470 Ω | 1 | Resistor |
| R2 | 1 kΩ | 1 | Resistor |
| RV1 | 50 kΩ | 1 | Potentiometer (Speed control) |
| J1 | Power | 1 | Power Header (2-pin) |
| J2 | Debug / Signal | 1 | Signal Output Pin |
| PCB | Black | With shipping | 3.50 USD |
3/14/2026 5 PM - Soldering!!!
The package arrived very quickly and I was able to start soldering. Unfortunately I had to pay about 13 dollars in customs :(
I continued unpacking both packages and arranging the components and I must say that it took me a while to choose the color of the LEDs.
I prepared all the things for soldering and it was time to start! First I started with the components such as chips, capacitors and lastly I chose the orange LEDs which I thought would go best with my design.
3/14/2026 6 PM - Completion :)
When I had these things ready, I just put the LEDs on the PCB and soldered them... I continued cleaning the board and trimming the wires.
I also decided to make a second one and for it I chose white LEDs again and it went very well and most importantly quickly. So within half an hour I had the second PCB installed.
TEST
I said to myself that I had it all done and cleaned, so I'd at least try it out and connected a 9V battery and everything went pretty well! I just accidentally blew a capacitor on one of them, so I replaced it with a 100uF one and everything works fine!!!