Build: GlowFlora Home

●Hardware ●Guide In Progress

Step-by-step assembly guide for the GlowFlora Home — a 30-LED ESP32 art piece running WLED, powered by a single 18650 cell.

What You're Building

Your board arrives pre-assembled (all SMT components soldered). This guide covers wiring the LED strip, power switch, and 18650 battery, then flashing and configuring WLED. Estimated time: 2–3 hours.

Battery safety

18650 cells can deliver dangerous short-circuit currents. Never short the terminals. Verify polarity before inserting cells — reverse polarity will damage the board.

Tools

Tool	Notes
Soldering iron	Temperature-controlled — 320–360°C for 63/37 solder
Solder	63/37 or 60/40, 0.5mm diameter
Flux pen	Apply to pads before soldering — makes a big difference
Fine-tip tweezers	ESD-safe
Wire strippers	For stripping 24–26 AWG wire
Multimeter	Continuity mode for polarity checks and short detection
PCB holder / helping hands	Keeps the board stable while soldering
USB-C cable	Data-capable (many cables are charge-only — test yours)
IPA 90%+ + swabs	Flux cleanup after soldering

Materials

Item	Notes
GlowFlora Home board	Pre-assembled, shipped
WS2812B LED strip, 30 LEDs	Check BOM for exact spec
1× 18650 cell with spot-welded tabs	High-drain recommended — Samsung 25R, Sony VTC5, or similar
Power switch	SPDT slide switch — see BOM
24–26 AWG wire	Silicone-insulated preferred — flexible and heat-resistant
Heatshrink tubing	3mm and 5mm assortment

Step 1 — Inspect the Board

Before anything else, inspect the assembled board under good light:

• Check for solder bridges between pads (especially near the MCU and USB-C port)
• Confirm the IP5306 power bank IC and MCU are seated flat — no lifted corners
• Check for any visibly missing or misaligned components
• Do a quick continuity check: confirm no short between 5V and GND

If you find bridges, clean with flux + solder wick before proceeding.

Step 2 — Prepare the LED Strip

1. Cut the WS2812B strip to 30 LEDs at the designated cut lines (between pads, not through a pad).
2. At the input end of the strip, expose the three solder pads: 5V, DIN, GND.
3. Cut three short wire leads (~10cm) — use different colors: red (5V), white or yellow (data), black (GND).
4. Strip ~3mm from each end of each wire.
5. Pre-tin each wire end: twist the strands, touch iron + solder to wet them.
6. Pre-tin each pad on the strip with a small blob of solder.
7. Solder wires to pads — hold the tinned wire to the tinned pad, touch the iron briefly until the blobs merge. Remove iron, hold still 2–3 sec.

Heat sensitivity

WS2812B LEDs die from sustained heat above ~260°C. Keep each joint to 2–3 seconds max. If a pad needs more work, let it cool 10 seconds before retrying.

Step 3 — Wire LED Strip to Board

Locate the LED header pads on the board (labeled 5V, DAT, GND):

Board pad  →  Wire  →  LED strip pad
5V         →  Red   →  5V
DAT        →  Data  →  DIN
GND        →  Black →  GND

Data resistor

The board includes a 330Ω resistor on the data line — it's already on the PCB. Do not add another resistor in-line on your wire.

Solder each wire to its board pad using the same pre-tin → join technique from Step 2. Route the wires neatly and secure with a dab of hot glue if needed.

Step 4 — Wire the Power Switch

The slide switch connects between the battery output and the board's main power rail.

1. Cut two leads to length for your enclosure layout (~8–12cm).
2. Pre-tin the wire ends and the switch terminals.
3. Solder one wire to the center terminal (common) and one to either outer terminal (on/off — test which gives you continuity in the ON position with your multimeter).
4. Solder the other ends to the board's SW pads (polarity doesn't matter for a switch).
5. Cover the switch terminals with heatshrink.

Step 5 — Wire the Battery

The 18650 cell has nickel tabs spot-welded directly to its terminals — you solder to these tabs rather than using a battery holder.

No bare cell soldering

Never solder directly to the bare metal ends of an 18650. The heat can damage or rupture the cell. Always solder to the spot-welded nickel tabs.

1. Identify the positive (+) tab (top of cell) and negative (−) tab (bottom/side of cell).
2. Before soldering to the board, verify polarity with your multimeter — measure the tabs against the board's labeled VBAT+ and VBAT− pads.
3. Pre-tin the tabs and the board pads.
4. Solder each tab to its pad. Keep leads short — trim and bend the tabs to fit neatly.
5. Cover the tab-to-pad joints with heatshrink.

Step 6 — Inspect & Continuity Test

Before inserting batteries:

• Visually inspect all solder joints — they should be shiny and volcano-shaped, not dull or blobby
• Clean flux residue with IPA + swab
• Continuity check: confirm no short between VBAT+ and VBAT−
• Continuity check: confirm no short between 5V and GND on the LED strip leads
• Confirm data line connects from DAT pad through to LED strip DIN

Step 7 — First Power-Up

1. Insert the 18650 cell.
2. Flip the power switch ON.
3. The board should enumerate a Wi-Fi access point: WLED-AP (or similar).
4. If nothing happens — switch OFF immediately, recheck wiring.
5. If you smell burning — switch OFF immediately, inspect for shorts.

Step 8 — Flash & Configure WLED

Follow the WLED Setup guide to:

1. Connect to the WLED-AP access point
2. Configure your home Wi-Fi network
3. Set LED count to 30 and LED type to WS2812B
4. Set maximum current to 1000mA (enforces a safe brightness cap for the 18650)
5. Save and reboot

See WLED Custom Config for preset setup and brightness tuning.

Step 9 — Functional Test

With WLED running:

• Trigger a simple effect (e.g. solid white at 20% brightness)
• Confirm all 30 LEDs respond
• Check for any dead LEDs — if LED N and everything after it is dark, the solder joint at LED N's DIN pad is suspect
• Run at moderate brightness for 5 minutes and check that the board and battery don't get hot

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Likely cause
No Wi-Fi AP	Board not booting — check power switch wiring and battery polarity
LEDs 1–N work, rest dead	Bad joint on LED N's DIN or DOUT pad
All LEDs flicker	Loose data wire or missing ground connection
Dim / wrong colors at strip end	Voltage drop — add a 5V power injection wire at LED 15
Board gets very hot	Short or excessive current draw — power off and inspect