A wooden cube that controls lighting [OBSOLETE]

This is an amazing idea. Sure to send my SAF through the roof. Do you mind sharing your plans?Also, is the box openable (e.g. for adjustments, battery changes)?

@GuyInATie great work! Glad to see the community bouncing ideas of each other.

How’s the weight? A little heft makes it feel nice. You could maybe put something inside to weight it down.

Happy to share the CAD files. They’re available to download here:


(To anyone in the future that reads this and finds the links have expired – just drop me a note and I’ll update the URLs).

@Pete The cube’s heft is decent enough – it hasn’t been inadvertently knocked over by any cats or people. Being hollow, it’s obviously not too heavy, but I don’t find that to be a problem. One thing that helps – the cube has one particular face that’s up /most/ of the time. The multisensor is on the opposite face so the weight is on the bottom of the cube most of the time.

@ggbjr I ended up solidly gluing 5 of the sides together with Krazy Glue’s wood glue (basically crazy glue optimized for wood), and then used a piece of duct tape on the inside to make the 6th side kind of like a flap. To keep it closed I used a tiny dob of glue to hold the last side on. So far, it hasn’t accidently opened up, and in tests it was easy to open the flap up and get access to the multisensor.

FWIW, I have 2 more multisensors and a water sensor that aren’t currently in use. I’m trying to come up with additional creative ideas like the cube… For example, I saw someone in the forums connect a water sensor to a floor pressure mat and generate a signal when someone stands on it. I tested the water sensor I have here (it’s a different brand) and it functions basically the same – when the two metal terminals make electrical contact, it sends a signal. I’m thinking about things like running a bunch of wire through the inside of our dresser so when any drawer opens up it sends a signal… Just not sure what I’d have the house do in response yet… Another idea is to stick the multisensor underneath my office swivel chair to monitor whether I’m facing the desk or not. Again, not sure what I’d have the house do in response, but it’s these types of unconventional projects I’m thinking about…

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Many thanks @GuyInATie!

Forgive the n00b question, but is the the ST multisensor the only one that works with this app?

The key feature used by the SmartApp is its orientation sensors. I think other companies make and sell these types of devices, but I don’t know any specific ones off the top of my head. So, short answer: Yes, to the best of my knowledge the ST multisensor is the only device for this app (but my knowledge is limited!).

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Any device with an accelerometer that shows up as three axis orientation should work. These are typically described as a “tilt sensor.” Just make sure it has three axis reporting, not just two.

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Hey pete! Ive been MIA for a while. Thanks a ton for posting the pics!

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Hi Community
I have been inspired to make a cube also. Thank you… Pete & GuyInATie.
I use the multipurpose sensor to turn off the light as I exit the room we use to watch television. ( den )

wait, back up a minute… I use a smart things motion sensor as I enter the room (also connected to Amazon Echo) for on & off purpose located in yet another room more centrally located.

So, as i exit the room I was approaching echo & say turn off den lights. PITA… So the idea for a cube makes perfect sense. Doesn’t hurt that I saw one demoed in Somerville, MA.

My cube is set to just pickup and the movement will shut off the lights. AWESOME …But, what i have discovered is that as I move the cube & head for the door… the motion sensor picks up the movement & damn it works and turns the lights back on. I have considered moving the cube just past the door and then I have moved beyond the sensor’s view. It would be nice if there was a time delay of the motion sensor upon exit to “forgive the movement” and then I can place the cube in the room where we watch TV.

As i write this I may try a different placement of the motion sensor that picks up entry movement.

Thank you again to the Community

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I made one to control dimming.



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So cool to see everyone’s ideas and interpretations. Here’s a link to another cube project from @CyrilPeponnet

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2663552/Github/Smartthings/theCube/IMG_0758.jpg

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I’m waiting for someone to post a 3D printed version (and the design file). Then I’ll just take it to our local library and print it out! (Yep, I’m that lazy these days :slight_smile: )

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I was actually thinking of printing one. Maybe Ill do that this weekend.

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I just finished creating an .STL file for my version of the mood cube. Just started printing it. We’ll see how it comes out. The idea is the two parts will snap together and then I can print different side covers with different text and/or in different colors that will snap into the main cube. The multipurpose sensor slides into the the part on the left.

On the left are the two halves and on the right is the two parts paired together. The ‘Off’ tile has extruded text and will be all one color. The ‘On’ tile is negatively extruded and will be printed in two different colors. The blank tile will just be printed in the color it represents.

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Nice! Eventually I plan on making a off,on,stop,low,med,high cube for my fans with lights. Will be cool to see how yours turns out.

Here is the initial print. It was printed at fast speed so it is a little rough. This was also done in ABS instead of PLA and I haven’t ‘sweated’ it yet. I"ll do the final print with PLA so it will be smoother. Since each color prints a little differently and requires minor tweaks to the extrusion settings to get a perfect print I am going to change the design. When I get time I will make the panels slide into the sides opposed to snapping in so my tolerances won’t have to be so tight.

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THIS IS AMAZING! What sensor is this? Will this work on Apple iPhone iOS SmartThings app? I NEED TO make one? Do you happen to have a build video? Thanks!

You just need a sensor with an accelerometer so you get X, Y, and Z axis reports. So you can tell that it turned in three-dimensional space and Where it ended up.

Most people use the SmartThings multisensor for this. The mood cube smartapp works in the official SmartThings app regardless of the phone version, I believe, but you only need that during initial set up.

First pair the sensor to SmartThings. Then build your cube and install the sensor. (Make sure you can get it out again to change the battery.)

Now you are ready to install the mood cube smart app.

  1. Open the official SmartThings mobile app

Two) choose marketplace

  1. choose smart apps

Four) choose lights and switches

  1. choose mood cube and follow the directions

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THIS IS AWESOME! Currently building my Cube! Ill post pics and any issues I run into. Im hoping the “Save Current Light State” will work for me as I have read it hasn’t for so many. I have 5 lights I will be building into this idea. Wish me Luck! @JDRoberts @Pete

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HI guys,

I have a few questions/comments about the Mood Cube set up. Here’s where I am:

I secured both parts of the ST multi sensor inside the cube (because only one part throws my SHM off when in Arm (Stay) or Arm (Away) as it reads open. I was able to “Record Current Light Status” only once. After that it wasn’t able to record one scene after another. It kept recording the SAME SCENE (the first scene recorded). However, I used the following process to get the “Record Current Light Status” to work again.

  1. Change lights to the scene you wish to record (I used Hue app, as I have my scenes already planned)
  2. Turn lights off using ST (NOT Hue)
  3. Quit all APPS
  4. Shut phone Down for 30 seconds (I use iPhone 6s)
  5. Turn phone ON
  6. Using ST, Turn on all lights (This should load the last setting of each light)
  7. Go to Mood Cube Smart App, choose Scene number, choose “Record Current Light Status” and save.

This worked for me 4 times in a row. Not sure if it was this illustrated process, or not. But it’s certainly worth a try if you’re having trouble recording scenes.

Now the questions

  1. Id like to have ONLY half of the sensor inside the cube, but it will continually read as OPEN. Does the sensor always have to read as open? Right now I have both parts in the cube touching so it reads as closed. But is there a way to bypass this?
  2. If the cube is upright in the ON position it can randomly select the scene if the table the cube is on is moved. Has anyone else noticed this? my dog is clumsy and has moved the table accidentally and then the light change during the day. To bypass this I placed the cube in the “off” position before leaving the house. But is there another way?
  3. Is there a grid/map/graph/chart of the Hue and Saturation numbers that can be manually inputted? I tried to mess around with the numbers randomly and I can not for the life of me figure out in which direction the colors change according the manually inputted numbers.
  4. I’m attempting to design my own cube that I bought from Michael’s Craft Store. But I would love to know what other ideas people have used for their cube. I am particularly interested in a Wood Design.

Thank you to anyone who’s reading/responding to this.

Best Wishes All

Hey everyone, I just finished my own take on a Mood Cube. Total cost - $14.xx plus 20 minutes of work.

Here are some pictures:





Here’s what I purchased to make it:

Baseball Display Case from Amazon
Vinyl Decals from Amazon

Mine looks a little rough because I eyeballed the vinyl cuts, and because the bottom face of the cube (the blue face on my build) has some plastic risers that I could have, but was way too lazy to dremel or sand off. With a straight-edge cutter and some fine grit sandpaper, one could build one that looks even better than mine! Best of all, I used up very little of the vinyl decals, so I have extra of those to refurbish my cube or use on other projects.

Enjoy!

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