Market research

Who else is building this?

Hobby builds and products that join display or LED tiles with magnets, pogo pins or linkers. Collected from Hackaday, Hackster, Instructables, GitHub and a few shops.

11projects
7hobby builds
4commercial
6use magnetic connectors
View
magnetic pogo-style connectormagnets as contactsrigid linker

bitluni · Modular Magnetic LED Matrix

Hackaday · 2024Magnetic connector
Join
Off-the-shelf 4-pin magnetic connectors (power + data)
Power
Magnetic battery module (cell not specified in repo)
Display
6×6 tile of WS2812D 8 mm through-hole LEDs; ATtiny1604; WLED shown in video

For Tyler The reference build. Tiles snap together and the animation re-fits itself when tiles are added or removed. Magnet connectors are hard to solder. Repo has no licence or BOM.

Hackaday article ↗GitHub repo ↗Video ↗

mertarduino · Creative Pogo LED Lighting

Hackster · 2024Magnetic connector
Join
3-pin 2.54 mm magnetic pogo + 8× 8×1.5 mm extra magnets
Power
5 V 2.5 A adapter into the main box
Display
WS2812B strips in 3D-printed square boxes (22 LEDs per side box); ESP8266 + WLED

For Tyler Closest in spirit to Pixie: magnetic pogo for power + data, extra magnets for hold. One data pin limits how far it scales. GPL3+.

Hackster project ↗Instructables copy ↗

FlawedDesign · Magnetic LED Hexagons

Instructables · 2019Magnets as contacts
Join
3 neodymium magnets per side act as alignment and electrical contacts
Power
One master hexagon; about 0.75 A per hexagon (per Hackster)
Display
WS2812B LEDs; ATtiny85 in each sub-hexagon gates the data line

For Tyler Cheapest join: magnets are the contacts. The cost is power budget and a master tile. Low cost per tile is the whole pitch.

Instructables ↗Hackster write-up ↗

Colin Iuliano · Electronic Catan LCD Tiles

Personal siteMagnetic connector
Join
Custom bidirectional magnetic pogo on each edge: 2×3 pins (power outer, data next, ground centre)
Power
Host device injects power into the mesh
Display
2.1″ 480×480 round RGB LCD (ST7701S); RP2040 streams scanlines

For Tyler The only hobby build here with a real LCD in every tile. Per-edge data lines let the host learn the layout. Symmetric pins mean no master/slave side.

Project page ↗

Zach Hipps · Interactive LED Game Tiles

DigiKey Maker · 2025Magnetic connector
Join
Magnetic connectors in mating pairs: one spring-pogo half, one flat-pad half
Power
Not stated in the article excerpt
Display
Hex PCB tiles, ATtiny3217, three addressable RGB LED paths

For Tyler Pogo-and-pad pairs force orientation, which rules out triangles. Squares need a plan for which edge gets which half.

DigiKey Maker article ↗

eutectic6337 · SAO-display

GitHub · 2025Magnetic connector
Join
Magnetic pogo pins for power distribution, six edges
Power
12 V in; buck converter on every module to cut pogo losses
Display
Hex modules that show Shitty Add-Ons (blinky badges), 3D-printed surrounds

For Tyler A power lesson: polarity alternates per edge and a diode + zener + resistor guard the buck converter, after a reversed join released magic smoke.

GitHub repo ↗

DurableSteer · Gif Tiles

GitHub · 2024Magnets as contacts
Join
Magnetic connection; tiles share one USB power source
Power
One USB cable for the whole group
Display
Small TFT via TFT_eSPI (driver varies); ESP8266 plays GIFs, upload over Wi-Fi

For Tyler Tiles each play their own GIF and are managed from a desktop app. Shows the “one cable for many tiles” goal. Build guide lives on Printables.

GitHub repo ↗

Glowrune

Product · pre-launchMagnetic connector
Join
Pogo-pin magnetic connector on every edge, N52 magnets; spring pins bridge small gaps
Power
12 V DC into a controller tile; up to 30 tiles on a 12 V / 5 A adapter
Display
25 SK6812 RGBW LEDs per tile behind an opal diffuser; swappable UV-printed art layers; Bluetooth LE app

For Tyler The closest product to Tyler/Pixie: pogo + magnet, daisy-chained power and data, branching layouts. Tabletop-gaming niche; Kickstarter not launched when we looked.

How it works ↗

Nanoleaf Shapes

ProductRigid linkers
Join
Rigid linkers snap into slots; panels sit edge to edge (no magnets)
Power
Central PSU: a 42 W unit runs about 21–22 hexagons
Display
RGB light panels (hexagons, triangles, mini triangles); one controller up to 500 panels

For Tyler Mass-market benchmark for modular wall panels: one controller, one PSU, wall-mount plates. Joins are mechanical linkers, not magnets.

Product page ↗Mounting guide ↗

brightMESH

ProductNot stated
Join
“Tiles and connectors”; tiles self-network (connector type not stated)
Power
Power added once at the array
Display
LED array on top, power and processing underneath; each tile has its own processor

For Tyler Every tile carries its own processor, so no host computer. Worth noting for how Tyler tiles find each other.

brightme.sh ↗

Pixel Plane Tiles

Kickstarter-era product · ended 2016Not stated
Join
Not stated in the sources found
Power
Optional Ethernet controller
Display
Modular square tiles with individually addressable RGB LEDs; open-source software

For Tyler A square modular LED tile that was discontinued in 2016. Its maker says it was proprietary and not compatible with existing standards, so it stayed hard to adapt.

Maker write-up ↗pixelplane.org ↗

Side by side

ProjectSourceTileJoinPowerDisplay
Modular Magnetic LED MatrixHackadaySquareMagnetic connectorMagnetic battery module (cell not specified in repo)36 LEDs / tile
Creative Pogo LED LightingHacksterSquareMagnetic connector5 V 2.5 A adapter into the main box~38 LEDs total
Magnetic LED HexagonsInstructablesHexMagnets as contactsOne master hexagon; about 0.75 A per hexagon (per Hackster)LED strings
Electronic Catan LCD TilesPersonal siteHexMagnetic connectorHost device injects power into the mesh480×480 / tile
Interactive LED Game TilesDigiKey MakerHexMagnetic connectorNot stated in the article excerptLED paths
SAO-displayGitHubHexMagnetic connector12 V in; buck converter on every module to cut pogo lossesn/a
Gif TilesGitHubSquareMagnets as contactsOne USB cable for the whole groupsmall TFT
GlowruneProductHexMagnetic connector12 V DC into a controller tile; up to 30 tiles on a 12 V / 5 A adapter25 LEDs / tile
Nanoleaf ShapesProductHexRigid linkersCentral PSU: a 42 W unit runs about 21–22 hexagonslighting, not a screen
brightMESHProductSquareNot statedPower added once at the arrayLED array
Pixel Plane TilesKickstarter-era productSquareNot statedOptional Ethernet controlleraddressable RGB

What this means for Tyler

Open ground at 10″In this sample the biggest tile display is Colin Iuliano’s 2.1″ round LCD. The rest are LEDs. Nobody here joins 10″ screens.
Magnetic connectors are the normMost builds use pogo-style magnetic connectors, and Glowrune ships them. Tyler’s magnets plus pogo pins fit the pattern.
Plan the connector pairingMating pogo-and-pad halves force orientation (Zach Hipps). Colin’s symmetric pins avoid it. Square tiles can use either.
Protect the power pathSAO-display lost a buck converter to a reversed join. Alternating polarity and reverse protection are cheap. Check pogo current rating against a 10″ panel’s draw.
Let tiles know their placePer-edge data lines (Colin) and bitluni’s auto-refit animation both come from tiles sensing neighbours.
Pixie can follow the maker pathWLED on an ESP plus WS2812 is what makers already use. Keep Pixie compatible and skip bitluni’s unlicensed files.

Details come from the linked pages and were checked on 31 Oct 2026. “For Tyler” lines are our own read, not claims from the projects. Nanoleaf, brightMESH and Pixel Plane were added in this pass to give commercial context. pixelplane.org did not load from our check machine, so the maker write-up is the main source for Pixel Plane. The DigiKey page blocks automated fetches, so it was read through search results.