Woodwork and first MIDI signal

This week I've tested the dimensions of the wood an the panel. Here at KAOS we have a wood workshop and the guys from Studio Sheldon helped me brainstorm a bit on how to produce the wooden frame. It needs to fit the CNC mill, leaving some space for the fixation bolts, without wasting too much wood. Quite the puzzle.

The first woodwork test was done with cheaper spruce scrapwood to test if the dimensions are ok. It was a perfect fit (not too perfect though, leaving some space for the materials to expand under different conditions) with the PCB and the aluminium panel that Hansen from Hoepner + Hoepner prepared for me as a test (I made the mistake of choosing the wrong aluminium alloy so the panel didn't come out the way I hoped, but as a test it works fine).

I picked up an oak shelf at the wood shop on my way to work and then we'll start the process of cutting and milling them. Hopefully we'll have the woodwork for the prototype done this week! :)

Programming

Meanwhile, I've also taken the first steps in programming the controller. A quick test using Arduino IDE showed that the lights were working ok and I could read some values from the potentiometers and faders. I'm now leaving the Arduino IDE behind in favor of Atmel Studio and will program the device using C++ (programming it as an Arduino had some limitations). Still loads of challenges there but the USB-port is finally working (thanks to LUFA) and I was able to send out my first MIDI signal to my PC! Time for celebration ;)

MIDI signals coming in