component

Prof Brothers LED Nameplate

Public Made by Adom

by adom

136x24mm USB-C desk nameplate with 117 white LEDs spelling PROF BROTHERS in a 3x5 pixel font. Georgia Tech. Plug in any iPhone charger and it lights up.

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Overview

A white LED desk nameplate that spells PROF BROTHERS in a 3x5 bitmap pixel font. Designed as an Adom molecule (136 x 24 mm, 4-pin machine contact) so it can be manufactured on the InstaPCB workcell. Built for Prof Tim Brothers at Georgia Institute of Technology.

How it works

  • 117 white LEDs (0603) arranged in 13 letters: P-R-O-F B-R-O-T-H-E-R-S
  • Each LED has its own 220 ohm current-limiting resistor (0402)
  • All LED+resistor pairs wired in parallel from VBUS to GND
  • USB-C connector on the east edge with 5.1k ohm CC pull-downs
  • 100nF bypass cap on VBUS for decoupling
  • Total draw: ~1W at 5V, any phone charger handles it

How to use it

  1. Grab any USB-C cable (iPhone charger works)
  2. Plug one end into the board's east edge
  3. Plug the other end into a 5V USB-C power source
  4. PROF BROTHERS lights up white

Hardware summary

Component Value Package Qty
LED white 0603 117
R 220 ohm 0402 117
R_CC1, R_CC2 5.1k ohm 0402 2
C_BYP 100nF 0402 1
J1 TYPE-C-31-M-12 USB-C 1

Design details

  • Board: 136 x 24 mm, 2-layer, 1.6mm FR4, round edges
  • Molecule type: 4-pin with MachinePinMediumStandard
  • 4 corner machine contacts: MC_VCC1/MC_VCC2 (north), MC_GND1/MC_GND2 (south)
  • Pixel pitch: 3mm LED-to-LED, 3mm letter gap, 5mm word gap
  • White LED Vf ~3.0V, so 220 ohm at 5V gives ~9mA per LED
  • USB-C on east edge using UsbCReceptacle wrapper (TYPE-C-31-M-12, JLCPCB C165948)
  • InstaPCB quote: $13.04/board (fab $2 + assembly $11.04)

Build commands

cd ~/project/adom-tsci/examples/ProfBrothers-Nameplate
bun install
bunx tsci build lib/index.tsx --glbs --svgs --3d-png --pcb-png
adom-tsci start .

Files attached

Source (recreate the molecule)

  • plan.md - Original design brief and hardware decisions
  • profbrothers-led-nameplate-source.tar.gz - Full tscircuit project (lib/, package.json, walkthrough.json). Untar and bun install && bunx tsci build to recreate.

Build outputs

  • 3d.glb - Full 3D model, opens in any glTF viewer
  • pcb.svg / schematic.svg - Vector PCB layout and schematic
  • 3d.png / pcb.png - Raster previews

Fabrication files

  • ProfBrothers-Nameplate-3d.kicad_pcb - KiCad PCB with all 226 3D model references injected and the USB-C footprint replaced with chip-fetcher's validated TYPE-C-31-M-12 pair. Open in KiCad, run DRC, export gerbers, or send directly to fab.
  • gerbers.zip - Fab-ready gerber package: F_Cu, B_Cu, F_Mask, B_Mask, F_SilkScreen, B_SilkScreen, F_Paste, B_Paste, Edge_Cuts, drill files, BOM, and pick-and-place CSV. Upload directly to JLCPCB or hand to InstaPCB.

Built with

Authored in tscircuit (TSX), previewed with adom-tsci, validated in KiCad 3D viewer, published to the Adom Wiki. Georgia Institute of Technology.