Cordwood Puzzle 1
Cordwood Puzzle 1
Attention ;)
This project is now available at Pimoroni! Click here to go there.
A modern take on an old assembly method
In the 1950s and 1960s inventive engineers saved space by using the 'cordwood' assembly, where components were sandwiched in between two circuits boards. This construction became less useful with reduced component sizes, PCB manufacturing advancements, more compact integration, and surface mount technology, but is still a lovely piece of history. Combining both old and new, the Cordwood Puzzle is a tribute to this construction and to the engineers who came up with it.
The puzzle is to correctly assemble the circuit with the components at hand. Once completed, all LEDs light up when power is applied. When connected to a controller board each LED can be individually controlled.
Unfortunately(!), all the comprehensive assembly guides were mysteriously missing from the kits.
Cordwood Puzzle 1 was project #3 of the Boldport Club.
What’s included
2x red 10mm LEDs 1168543
2x green 10mm LEDs 1142474
2x yellow 10mm LEDs 1168543
6x nMOS FET, Fairchild, 2N7000
1x 2-pin SMD 2.54mm pitch header
1x 6-pin SMD 2.54mm pitch header
6x 10KΩ 2W resistors, 1602193
6x 150Ω 2W resistors, 9338101
1x 1uF capacitor, 1547799
2x 24.5 mm M3 standoffs
4x 8mm long M3 screws
A bit of 0.84mm diameter 20AWG hookup wire
2x identical PCBs (96.6x16.6 mm each)
Saving space back in the day | source
Assembly
Challenge yourself by assembling the kit without further instruction. Before you do that, however, note the following: When connecting to a board, make sure that the I/Os can tolerate the voltage levels that are applied to the Cordwood! Also, make sure that you do not short power and ground!
Additional information
Community contributions for this project
Open source circuit board design files
