Hexo
Hexo, a play on hexa- as in the prefix for "having six", is a circuit that uses a 555 and CD4017 to randomly illuminate select one of six LEDs, similar to a die. By using a capacitor and transistor, the circuit will toggle through the six LEDs, flashing them in sequence, and then slowly reduce the frequency until only one is left on.

Motivation
Hexo is a project designed to help me understand the steps of circuit design, prototyping, schematic capture, simulation, PCB layout, PCB manufacture, ordering, and assembly. This is my first analog PCB project and was inspired by Contextual Electronics' Getting to Blinky 5.0. I was very excited to have my first project use the 555, a ubiquitous stable of hobby electronics, but I wanted the circuit to do a bit more than blink.
Stages
Circuit Design | For this project, the circuit design comes by way of 555 Timer Circuits' roulette and dice circuits. |
Proto-typing | The final board will use SMD components, but prototyping will be down with a breadboard and THT components. |
Schematic Capture | For schematic capture, I love using KiCAD's EESchema. |
Simulation | Simulation is done using LTspice and various libraries, notably the CD4000 library from Linear linked within this project. Because I don't own an oscilloscope, simulation helps me to understand the behavior and demands of the circuit. |
PCB Layout | PCB Layout is designed using Inkscape for the cuts layer and KiCAD's PCBNew for component and trace arrangement. |
Manu-facture | For PCB manufacturing, I'm trying JLPCB for the first time. |
Ordering | Parts ordering is through JLPCB's component warehouse, LCSC. |
Assembly | Finally, assembly of the SMD components is done by hand using a Pinecil soldering iron. |
If that's your real name in your profile, it's evidence of nominative determinism. 😉 Nice project BTW. 👍 Back in the day a dice project of mine filled a cigar box and was mains powered.