DMX is an industry-standard protocol used for controlling stage lighting (and other things). This project is a rudimentary four-channel DMX controller.
When working at an LED lighting company, I got some lamps from scrap and made some of them work enough to be useful. Those lamps are primarily controlled with DMX.
This project was my first time designing a PCB, and my first time doing 3D printing!!!
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- Arduino Nano (not Micro, not Mini)
- Four slide potentiometers
- TTL-to-RS485 transceiver from AliExpress
- A switch to disconnect the Arduino's RX & TX pins from the RS485 transceiver so the Arduino can be programmed over USB
The PCB was designed using KiCad version 6 and fabricated by JLCPCB.
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I used Fusion 360 to design an enclosure to be 3D-printed.
The enclosure is not very good for multiple reasons. It was mostly a test to see if I can make something which fits the board and 3D-prints okay. Happily, my first attempt was successful.
The enclosure was printed on a Creality CR-6 SE using FilaCube PLA 2 filament.
In 2018, I made a prototype DMX controller without a PCB. It was pretty bad but it succeeded as a proof-of-concept.
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The main parts used for the prototype were:
- Arduino Uno
- DMXSerial library by Matthias Hertel
- Prototype shield
- ST1480AC RS-485 transceiver
- 3-gang electrical outlet box
- Wago lever-nuts
- Three-pin Molex KK 254 connector