# CuteCircuit Twirkle Shirt Teardown ## Inside the Twirkle Shirt http://youtu.be/ib-0Ql6Liy4 CuteCircuit designed the [Twirkle Shirt](http://shop.cutecircuit.com/products/twirkle-disc-t-shirt "Link: http://shop.cutecircuit.com/products/twirkle-disc-t-shirt") so you can get your glow on in a motion-activated twinkling t-shirt. It's the first commercially available ready-to-wear LED shirt we've seen, and we couldn't wait to open it up to see how it works. ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/015/831/medium800/force___flex_twinkle-shirt-teardown-adafruit-04.jpg?1397623304) The "Twirkle Brain" acrylic circuit enclosure plugs in to charge via USB. It's got a laser-cut power button tab and laser-engraved microfiber fabric covering the circuit board. ![force___flex_twinkle-shirt-teardown-adafruit-01.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/015/829/medium640/force___flex_twinkle-shirt-teardown-adafruit-01.jpg?1397622893) ![force___flex_twinkle-shirt-teardown-adafruit-02.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/015/830/medium640/force___flex_twinkle-shirt-teardown-adafruit-02.jpg?1397622984) ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/015/832/medium800/force___flex_twinkle-shirt-teardown-adafruit-00.jpg?1397623375) Once the circuit module is charged, it snaps into a pocket inside the front of the t-shirt. The snaps make the connections from the circuit board to the flex circuit board inside the t-shirt. ![force___flex_twinkle-shirt-teardown-adafruit-03.jpg](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/015/837/medium640/force___flex_twinkle-shirt-teardown-adafruit-03.jpg?1397662791) ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/015/833/medium800/force___flex_twinkle-shirt-teardown-adafruit-05.jpg?1397623672) The enclosure came apart easily-- we removed the nylon screws and nuts with a small flathead screwdriver, and then separated the layers of acrylic and fabric to find the battery and main PCB. ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/015/834/medium800/force___flex_twinkle-shirt-teardown-adafruit-06.jpg?1397623780) In the center of the circuit board is an Atmega168 microcontroller. Just below that is a chip marked 7331, which is a triple axis accelerometer. To the right of the microcontroller is a five-pin chip labeled 33, which is a 3.3v regulator. The small parts between the microcontroller and snaps are transistors, most likely for driving extra current to the LEDs. ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/015/835/medium800/force___flex_twinkle-shirt-teardown-adafruit-07.jpg?1397653965) The back of the board exposes the USB port and rechargeable lipoly battery, as well as the power/reset button. ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/015/839/medium800/force___flex_twinkle-shirt-teardown-adafruit-09.jpg?1397662842) The long flex PCB was bonded very securely between the knit t-shirt and the applique design. We removed it by cutting along the circuit board's path. ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/015/838/medium800/force___flex_twinkle-shirt-teardown-adafruit-08.jpg?1397662819) At each white dot on the shirt there is a corresponding tiny RGB LED with appropriate resistors, most likely multiplexed in this long flex circuit. ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/015/836/medium800/force___flex_twinkle-shirt-teardown-adafruit-10.jpg?1397654150) ## Featured Products ### USB Microscope - 5MP interpolated 220x magnification / 8 LEDs [USB Microscope - 5MP interpolated 220x magnification / 8 LEDs](https://www.adafruit.com/product/636) As electronics get smaller and smaller, you'll need a hand examining PCBs and this little USB microscope is the perfect tool. Its smaller and lighter than a large optical microscope but packs quite a bit of power in its little body. There's a 2 megapixel sensor inside and an optical... 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