Prusament CORE Matrix - Fully Addressable LED Hexagonal Display With Over 300 Pixels

Behold the fantastically emissive Prusament CORE Matrix LED array! Built from a NEW Prusament spool and WS2812 LED tape, each and EVERY hex cell is precisely populated and illuminated with a single LED! 

Drive it with ESP32 running WLED, or your make your own LED driver project. Integrate with HomeAssistant, display print progress, give visual ambiance to your lab, react to music, and MORE! The possibilities are endless.

Inspired by the new Prusament spool and the Upcycling NEW Prusament Spools contest. 

BUILD IT! (Easy)

Requires:

• WS2812b or similar LED strip with 60 LEDs per meter, 10mm wide, non-waterproof. Totaling 330 LEDs (two 300 LED spools will give you plenty of extra for later projects).

  • Note: An "alternate setup" that uses only 150 LEDs (3m) is mentioned at the end. 

• 5 volt power supply that can supply at least 3-4 amps.

• ESP32 running WLED.

  • Build-specific WLED LED settings:

    • 4000mA current limit (or equivalent for your power supply)

    • 330 leds

    • 2D matrix map settings: see below

• 22-20AWG (0.25-0.5mm2) wire, zip-ties, and a power jack for a clean build.

• NEW Prusament Spool side wall with the twist locking sides and 6mm hexagons. (Opener tool here: https://www.printables.com/model/1464628-prusament-spool-opener)

Print:

• White or light colored filament gives the best results. (Color swap the last layer if desired.)

• 0.2mm Balanced preset or similar

• No support

• PETG for reliable snap fit and thermal stability.

Build Guide:

(Tip: click any image to zoom in)

1. Pinch two neighboring LEDs and push them close; causing a "cut-here" seam to buckle out like so.

1. Starting from the center of the spool display, place the first "Data In" LED in place. Work the rest of the LEDs in their cells like so. There is no need to use the adhesive!

1. IF you come across a factory-soldered connection:

   1. Desolder it and remove the adhesive on the back.

   2. Tin back-side contacts with solder.

   3. Solder the strip back together back-to-back. 

   4. Test before continuing. (A small insulator usually hides under the factory soldered connections)

   5. Cut the respective cell wall/divider out of the main print before inserting the strip.

1. You can now add an additional segment of 12 LEDs (20cm) to the middle circle. Be sure to attach its Data OUT to Data IN at the beginning of your spiral strip. The first LED in the array starts here.

1. The main strip should be cut in four spots on the left side of the spool where no open hex cells are visible and replaced with segments of the included 3-conductor wire. Two additional pairs of 22-20AWG (0.25-0.5mm2) power wires can be brought in for splicing in additional parallel power.

1. Feed a 3-pin connector wire in from the back of the display and solder it to the first Data IN LED. Also feed your pair of power wires for the mid-strip power splice(s) from the previous step. Holes are available for you to add a zip-tie for strain relief.

1. Route your power wires to a barrel jack or power supply on the back. If you are using WS2812s and an ESP32 module that supports 5v, you can power it in parallel here as well. Configure the correct data pin in WLED (I used D2), and verify that all pixels work. You can install the wall mount spacer now too with a couple zip ties.

Glorious GLORIOUS LEDs! (Showing "Colortwinkles" WLED preset)

1. With tweezers, align each fold in the strip so they are orthogonal to the LEDs. Give special attention to the corners. This will make the strip invisible in the final build. 

1. Grab your Prusament spool side, ensure it is correctly oriented, (observe alignment tabs) and click it into place. To remove, pull the spool from the center.

Mounting: You can attach your new Prusament CORE Matrix to the wall with two screws placed 90mm apart. The optional wall spacer plate can be mounted to the back using two zip-ties and can be used to hide your controller and route wire.

WLED setup: Visit https://install.wled.me/ to install WLED. Visit the controller interface, and have fun selecting effects, connect to HomeAssistant, and more!

2D Matrix Map Setup:

Lets you display images, GIFs, and unlock more 2D effects in WLED.

Instructions:

1. In WLED, navigate to: Settings > 2D Configuration

2. Set Dimensions (WxH): to 25 x 25

3. Browse and upload the ledmap.json file that is attached to this post (rename it by removing .txt).

   1. Alternatively, 

      1. Navigate to http://my-led-device.local/edit 

      2. Paste the contents of ledmap.json.txt and save it as ledmap.json

4.  Save and reboot your ESP  

Alternate Setup With 150 LEDs (3m)

If you don't need full array pixel mapping, but still want a cool ambient light that can be used for indicating things (like print progress) through HomeAssistant and the like:

Simply flip the led tape around so it is facing inwards, and drop it into place like so, starting from the center again.

Have fun!

Pictured next to DIY Machines' GeoLeaf WLED Triangles.

Updates:

20 April 2026: Improved wall mount. Now attachable to core martix using existing zip-tie holes. Added single-point picture frame hook too. 

21 April 2026: Added led map file and instructions for WLED so you can render 2D graphics.