![]() ![]() With these lights, you simply give them power, and a one-wire data signal can tell them what color or brightness to run at. Lixies are controlled by the amazing WS2812B LEDs, which each have their own microcontroller built in to control power and color. Because of this, they’re safe for beginners to tinker with and eliminate the possibility of an unexpected nasty shock for children and pets that may happen to meddle with it. Lixies run at 5V, instead of the neon tube’s 170 volts. There are huge benefits these displays over their vintage Nixie counterparts. To show a “6,” the Lixie lights the “6” pane with its LEDs underneath. My displays consist of 10 clear panes, each etched with a numeral 0 through 9, held against an array of LEDs to individually light each layer. The “Lixie” name is short for “LED Nixie.” The name is derived from their intentional similarities to vintage Nixie tubes, a high voltage neon tube containing 10 filaments to show (typographically beautiful) numerals. ![]() What are you currently making with Ponoko?Ĭonnor: I make and sell edge-lit numeric displays called Lixies. I have the schematic symbol for my old friend the LED proudly tattooed into my forearm and spend my days assembling my Lixie Displays, hanging out with my cat and trying to push common microcontrollers to their absolute limits for some really cool features. So I took up a job with RadioShack to get some “cheap” parts and learn a lot more as I went.įast-forward seven years, and I now work from home as a software/hardware developer, electronics assembler…and an extremely lucky couch potato. “Instead of money, I can pay you in the exposure you’d get!” Do it again with the hot-rod flames I mentioned.” “I like it, but lets make it pink and orange.” I loved graphic design, but… hated clients. Neither were ever finished, but my love for hardware design was growing. I started to learn the simplified C++ to program it and followed my love for lights with two main projects that year: A motion detecting staircase lighting system and a lighted bike vest that can have both brake lights and turn signals to help keep riders safe. It must have been less than a week before I’d purchased my first Arduino from Adafruit, one that I still use today. My crappy code just influenced the real world in a small, but somehow immeasurably huge way. I just gained control on the atomic level of this little light bulb, and LEDs have been my sidekick ever since. That day I typed in two lines that changed everything:Īn LED lit up on my desk. I’d done a little JavaScript programming before and dabbled in basic game design, but up until this point my code only existed behind the screen. ![]() What on earth? A tiny Linux computer cheaper than date night? I had to borrow it, so I pestered him for days until he gave in and let me take his new toy home. One day, he started talking about this fascinating new “credit-card-sized” computer he got for only $35. I really loved to create and share my work with others, including my colleague Andrew Neal. Here’s what he had to say: How and when did you get into ‘making?’Ĭonnor: In 2011, I entered college with an interest in web and graphic design. We had a chance to chat with Connor on how he started making, the evolution of the Lixie and what it’s like to work with Ponoko. The result is an LED Nixie clock-the Lixie-that incorporates edge lighting acrylic with a wooden base for a fresh take on modern time telling.Ĭonnor prides himself in building “some of the best damn numeric displays a hobbyist can buy.” (You can see the video on it here.) And here’s the remarkable part: Through Ponoko’s laser cutting services, he has been able quit his day job and work full time building these displays and selling them worldwide. So he began researching how to make a Nixie tube clock, knowing there had to be a DIY digital clock project out there he could customize and make his own. He loves the style and functionality of the Nixie tube clock and wanted to build one of his own, but the price point in today’s market is a deal-breaker. As an engineer, his passion is to solve problems, most of which he confesses are his own. Or if it did exist, the price point wasn’t budget friendly. Why did you start making? If you’re like many makers, the reason is typically because the item you wanted didn’t exist in the form you needed. By Developing The Lixie, Engineer And Maker Connor Nishijima Was Able To Quit His Day Job ![]()
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