Synkoda: Custom MIDI Controller/Synth

Instructions

This is quite an involved project and took me 4 months to design, revise and build with no prior experience of electronics, CAD or woodwork, and does require a few parts and tools to complete. These instructions are written from memory so it may require some research or prior knowledge to iron out the details- sorry! Electronics: 1) Solder the teensy to the audio shield, and then solder both of those to a permaboard so the connectors hang off one end. I trimmed the permaboard with a saw to ensure the usb and audio jack were flush with the end. 2) Potential dividers are required to convert the 5v signal from the encoders down to the 3.3v the Teensy pins can handle. Solder the wires for the encoder power, push buttons and data signal 3) The LED rings should be powered by 5V, but I found I could get away with 3.3V. I directly connected each ring to the power and ground. The control signal for the LEDs is daisy-chained to a single pin on the Teensy. 4) Test the circuit. I used the WS2812Serial library by PaulStoffregen, there are some examples through the arduino IDE for it that are very easy to get working (just set the pin you used and number of LEDs to 80). Woodwork: 1) Start by cutting the top panel with the 80 holes for the LED lights, and the 5 holes for the encoders using TopHoles_v6.svg. I used offsets on shaper to create a lip in each of the 80 holes for the acrylic to rest on at 3mm depth (approximately matching the depth of the acrylic) 2) Then cut out the top panel so we can flip it over and re-secure it. Now you need to make a Shaper grid to align the TopHoles_v6.svg onto the reverse. Now we can cut the mortices for the disc-holds that will keep the LED rings in place. Cut these to 5mm depth. You will also need to cut a pocket for the encoder to sit snugly in the panel- as 11mm is too deep for the encoder shaft. 3) Cut the base, the back (with a pocket for your permaboard to sit in), and the sides. One side has holes for the usb and audio jack. You'll notice that a) There is no joinery- this was my first project and already overwhelmed by the angles! b) The pieces don't sit together once cut. You need to measure them up and cut/sand at an angle to create the wedge shape. 4) Then cut 5 of the disc holds using Hold_v6_1.svg. These need a hole in the centre and a 5 mm pocket around the 4 tenons. Note these are not completely symmetrical due to the shape of the encoders. Because the shaper will refuse to cut between the tenons and the outer-edge (your bit will typically be too big), you need to use a grid to align Hold_v6_Tenons.svg directly on top. Use this line to get access to where shaper refused to go. Finish 1) I glued together the back, sides and top panel and sanded flush. 2) I used double-sided tape to attach the base to the top, and sanded approximately flush. 3) I then removed the tape, and inset magnets to affix the base to the top, and sanded flush. 4) I used some reclaimed Teak wood, and I chose a danish oil finish which I applied now. I wonder if I should have done this at the end. 5) Cut out 80 Diffuser_v6.svg to inset into the LED holes. Make sure you find good doubke-sided tape for this or they will be sucked into the vacuum! You can either cut them to a press fit and glue or create a tight-fit and hammer them in. I started with glue but it created some mess on the acrylic surface which was hard to remove and was visible as a shadow. 6) Mine did not sit flush in the wood, so I placed them all in and sanded flat. Then I used acrylic polish to get back the original shiny look. 7) Fit the breadboard into the slot on the back, and fit all the disc-holds into the LED rings. I sanded down the disc-holds until they were a tight fit. Then you can simply press everything together. I didn't use glue here because everythign was a tight fit and might be helpful to be able to remove the electronics for maintenance. I'm not sure I've been detailed enough that anyone would give this a go, but maybe you can learn something. The code I use for this project can be found at https://github.com/SuuBro/Synkoda. Please drop me a line there if you found this guide useful to encourage me to do more (and do better!).