Infinity Mirror

mixed

This project is the second project of two from the EE333X class at Iowa State where we went through the entire engineering process of requirements and constraints, design, evaluation, build, and verification. The first project was an analog audio amplifier.

We started by determining the output that we would need, which were WS2812 light strips, which determined that we would need a 12V power line, and since the project required using an ATMEGA 328 microprocessor, we also needed a 5V line, so we added a buck converter to step down from 12V to the 5V.

The final board schematic was relatively simple, consisting primarily of the ATMEGA circuit and the power/buck converter circuit.

We then tested the circuit and program using an Arduino Uno, which uses an identical microprocessor.

After confirming that the circuit works, we set off to construct the PCB in KiCAD and 3D printing the case

While waiting for the boards to come back from Oshpark, we built the mirrors themselves out of scrap wood, black spray paint, $5 mirrors from Walmart, plexiglass, and one-way mirror film.

Eventually, we got the boards back, and wired everything together, for some reason, the diode on the silkscreen was reversed, so our initial testing didn't work, but after flipping the diode around to face the proper way as shown in the schematic, it worked perfectly.

We had a group of two, and made two mirrors, so we each took one. Mine is a centerpiece of my living room and stand for some speakers and a plant. I also added some wood blocks in between the mirrors to provide some extra support since the plexiglass had broken.