Wooden CNC carving features Conway's Game of Life
Conway's Game of Life has been an object of fascination for computer enthusiasts for decades. Watching the generations go by is fascinating to watch, but programming the data structure and implementing the rules is also a rewarding experience, especially if you're just getting started with a new computing platform. It can be just as rewarding to create nice hardware to run the game on, like [SandwichRising] just did: check out its beautiful wooden Game of Life implementation.
The main part of his game is a piece of poplar lumber that has been CNC routed to produce an ornate 8x8 screen with neat chain-like shapes. The display is made up of standard 5mm green LEDs, but those aren't the elements you see sticking out of the front of the wooden frame. Instead, you see 64 epoxy lenses. [SandwichRising] first covered the holes with tape, then poured green epoxy into each one and waited for it to harden. He then removed the tape and applied a drop of UV-cured epoxy over it to create a lens.
All the LEDs are mounted on PCB strips connected to a central bus going to the main ATmega328P microcontroller located on a separate piece of PCB. Each time the system is turned on, the game is set to a noise-determined random state, after which the simulation begins. On such a small plot, it's quite common for the game to end up in a steady state or in a regular wobble, which is why the ATmega keeps track of the last dozen states to determine if this has happened and , if so, reset the game. again in a random state.
The source code, as well as the .STL files for the PCBs and the frame, are available in the project's GitHub repository. If woodworking isn't your thing, there are plenty of other ways to create neat Game of Life displays, like inside an alarm clock, with lots of LEDs under a coffee table, or even with a giant flip. -display of points.
Conway's Game of Life has been an object of fascination for computer enthusiasts for decades. Watching the generations go by is fascinating to watch, but programming the data structure and implementing the rules is also a rewarding experience, especially if you're just getting started with a new computing platform. It can be just as rewarding to create nice hardware to run the game on, like [SandwichRising] just did: check out its beautiful wooden Game of Life implementation.
The main part of his game is a piece of poplar lumber that has been CNC routed to produce an ornate 8x8 screen with neat chain-like shapes. The display is made up of standard 5mm green LEDs, but those aren't the elements you see sticking out of the front of the wooden frame. Instead, you see 64 epoxy lenses. [SandwichRising] first covered the holes with tape, then poured green epoxy into each one and waited for it to harden. He then removed the tape and applied a drop of UV-cured epoxy over it to create a lens.
All the LEDs are mounted on PCB strips connected to a central bus going to the main ATmega328P microcontroller located on a separate piece of PCB. Each time the system is turned on, the game is set to a noise-determined random state, after which the simulation begins. On such a small plot, it's quite common for the game to end up in a steady state or in a regular wobble, which is why the ATmega keeps track of the last dozen states to determine if this has happened and , if so, reset the game. again in a random state.
The source code, as well as the .STL files for the PCBs and the frame, are available in the project's GitHub repository. If woodworking isn't your thing, there are plenty of other ways to create neat Game of Life displays, like inside an alarm clock, with lots of LEDs under a coffee table, or even with a giant flip. -display of points.
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