Blueprint

Block of Light

A minecraft Lantern but IRL

Created by adr adr πŸš€

Tier 4

14 views

1 follower

samliu samliu βš‘πŸš€ requested changes for Block of Light ago

This is a really expensive project that isn't very original. I see you have a microcontroller, what are you planning to use it for, were's the firmware. You need to have those in the readme & repo!

adr adr πŸš€ submitted Block of Light for ship review ago

Souptik Samanta Souptik Samanta πŸš€ requested changes for Block of Light ago

Really cool project, but I don’t see how it will glow properly since there’s no diffuser material in your assembly.

Anay Anay πŸš€ gave kudos to Block of Light ago

not gonna lie this looks really cool, looks like i'm in minecraft lol

adr adr πŸš€ submitted Block of Light for ship review ago

adr adr πŸš€ added to the journal ago

FInal assmebly

Assembled everything. Here's how it looks!
full

With the PCB, it is looking absolutely gorgeous!.
https://cdn.hackclub.com/019cf1d2-d521-7a3f-876b-bba77045118a/full.png

adr adr πŸš€ added to the journal ago

FInal look

Final look!
Looks quite beautiful and splendid. It made me remember my Minecraft days!
Ah, what beauty those days had! I love this project very much. Credits to Anay for helping me.
image

adr adr πŸš€ added to the journal ago

Extruded Top case

Extruded the top of the case. Here, it is quite clearly visible that the bottom of this extrude has some groves to stablise and hold the panes so that they dont move or fall off
image

adr adr πŸš€ added to the journal ago

Top case done

Made the top cover. The cover and base are different parts so that they can be detached to place the PCB or remove it :). I added groves for the stabilisation of panes also

image

adr adr πŸš€ added to the journal ago

Extruded the base accordingly with gap for the panes

Extruded the base with the legs differently. The gap for the 3d printed translucent walls is approximately 2 to 3 mm. The gap is 2 mm for this but could be changed in future according to the pane size
image

adr adr πŸš€ added to the journal ago

Started the base

Started the base sketch in Fusion 360. I made four pillars for the walls, and the base had a hole for the XIAO ESP32 C3 to connect. As I had made the PCB 60x60mm, the gap for the PCB was also 60x60mm :)
image

adr adr πŸš€ added to the journal ago

Started and finished pcb making :)

I started the pcb and arranged everything as the rough image i had made. The LEDs were in a 3x3 matrix and each had its own resistor. Added some silkscreen also
image

adr adr πŸš€ added to the journal ago

Filled the footprints

Filled all the footprints after importing more and more libraries. The library for the xiao was hard to find, but i got it with some help for my friends and google
image

adr adr πŸš€ added to the journal ago

Microcontroller comparisons and schematic making

I had a lot of problems importing libraries for the Xiao ESP32 C3 dip. I had several comparisons with the Xiao ESP32 S3, but decided to use the Xiao ESP32 S3 as it already had BT pins where I could solder the battery's wires
image

I also completed the schematic
image

adr adr πŸš€ added to the journal ago

Exploring component for the Project

In this, I explored which component to use, which LED could withstand an hour or two without overheating, which microcontroller to use, which lithium battery to use, and whether to use acrylic panels for the walls or 3D-printed transparent panes. Also made a rough figure of my project. Don't mind the figure, I drew it with a touchpad

image

adr adr πŸš€ started Block of Light ago

3/13/2026 - Exploring component for the Project

In this, I explored which component to use, which LED could withstand an hour or two without overheating, which microcontroller to use, which lithium battery to use, and whether to use acrylic panels for the walls or 3D-printed transparent panes. Also made a rough figure of my project. Don't mind the figure, I drew it with a touchpad

image

3/15/2026 6:48 PM - Microcontroller comparisons and schematic making

I had a lot of problems importing libraries for the Xiao ESP32 C3 dip. I had several comparisons with the Xiao ESP32 S3, but decided to use the Xiao ESP32 S3 as it already had BT pins where I could solder the battery's wires
image

I also completed the schematic
image

3/15/2026 6:50 PM - Filled the footprints

Filled all the footprints after importing more and more libraries. The library for the xiao was hard to find, but i got it with some help for my friends and google
image

3/15/2026 6:53 PM - Started and finished pcb making :)

I started the pcb and arranged everything as the rough image i had made. The LEDs were in a 3x3 matrix and each had its own resistor. Added some silkscreen also
image

3/15/2026 7:00 PM - Started the base

Started the base sketch in Fusion 360. I made four pillars for the walls, and the base had a hole for the XIAO ESP32 C3 to connect. As I had made the PCB 60x60mm, the gap for the PCB was also 60x60mm :)
image

3/15/2026 7:08 PM - Extruded the base accordingly with gap for the panes

Extruded the base with the legs differently. The gap for the 3d printed translucent walls is approximately 2 to 3 mm. The gap is 2 mm for this but could be changed in future according to the pane size
image

3/15/2026 7:15 PM - Top case done

Made the top cover. The cover and base are different parts so that they can be detached to place the PCB or remove it :). I added groves for the stabilisation of panes also

image

3/15/2026 7:17 PM - Extruded Top case

Extruded the top of the case. Here, it is quite clearly visible that the bottom of this extrude has some groves to stablise and hold the panes so that they dont move or fall off
image

3/15/2026 7:20 PM - FInal look

Final look!
Looks quite beautiful and splendid. It made me remember my Minecraft days!
Ah, what beauty those days had! I love this project very much. Credits to Anay for helping me.
image

3/15/2026 7:48 PM - FInal assmebly

Assembled everything. Here's how it looks!
full

With the PCB, it is looking absolutely gorgeous!.
https://cdn.hackclub.com/019cf1d2-d521-7a3f-876b-bba77045118a/full.png