I Designed My LED Matrix PCB with Code Instead of Traditional EDA Tools

Summary

Building a 3x5 LED MatrixOverview​ This tutorial will walk you through building a 3x5 LED matrix controlled by a Raspberry Pi Pico using tscircuit. Objectives of Building an LED Matrix​ Some practical applications of building an LED Matrix include: Signage - Building signs for events, products, etc. Data Visualization Tool - Displaying real-time data metrics like GitHub contributions, website traffic, or temperature readings through color intensity Interactive Notification System - Creating a physical notification system for emails, social media, or calendar events with customizable brightness levels LED Matrix Requirements​ The LED matrix must be WiFi-controllable The matrix layout pattern must be grid-based Each LED should be individually controllable for brightness and color System Diagram​ The matrix connects to the Pico microcontroller via a data chain. The Pico connects to WiFi through the PICO_W module. The components and connections between them are shown in the diagram below: Schematic Capture​ Let's import the Pico microcontroller and LED components by following the steps in the Importing from JLCPCB section. We will follow the following steps to build the circuit step by step: Import the Pico microcontroller Schematic Import the LED Schematic Chain two LEDs together Chain many LEDs together Connect the Pico to the LED matrix Pico Schematic​ Schematic of the Pico microcontroller imported from JLCPCB is shown below: LED Schematic​ We are using IC LEDs (specifically WS2812B), which have an RGB LED and control chip integrated into the same package. These IC LEDs offer several advantages over traditional RGB LEDs: Simplified Wiring - Only 4 pins needed (VDD, GND, Data In, Data Out) compared to 4+ pins for traditional RGB LEDs Serial Communication - LEDs can be daisy-chained together, requiring only one data pin from the microcontroller Individual Control - Each LED in the chain can be controlled independently for color and brightness Chaining Two LEDs together...