Super-LED light, next stage... (pics? of course!)

OddOne · 03-12-2005, 12:42 PM

The latest in the continuing saga of my l33t L3D l1ghT...

Got the first of two parts of the heatsink - the copper central conductor rod that the LED will be bonded to.

Yep, it's solid, pure copper. Weighs about four pounds. None of that cheap copper-plated shit here, bay-bee!

Unfortunately it was cut to length on a bandsaw, and not exactly cleanly OR accurately, so I had to use a miter saw with a large corborundum blade in it to square the ends and remove most of the cut marks to smooth it out a smidge.

Then I lapped it. By hand. 600 grit followed by 1500 grit followed by a finish run with Brasso.

Turned out pretty nice for totally hand-lapped.

Ooooh, shiney... VERY flat, too.

I tested the LED with my Extech lightmeter adapter and a calibrated Fluke 89-IV DMM. In open space, with no optics, 3,200 lux at 1 foot. Set the reflector on top of the LED so that most of its light would enter the reflector through its bulb hole, and got 13,600 lux at 1'. I'm figuring up over 30,000 lux - at one METER - with the LED mounted onto the copper and positioned into the reflector properly.

That translates to a brightly visible spot at about 200 meters or yards distance.

My next step will involve procuring the use of a small lathe to turn threads into the end of the copper rod, and then aquire and drill/tap an aluminum billet chunk to act as the radiator for the heatsink. Copper rod then gets threaded into aluminum block and voila, 6-lb. heatsink that can handle about 75,000 BTUs of heat.

I'ma run this bitch off eight Ds as a giant traditional stick-style flashlight - it'd be about three feet long, hahahahaha!

oO

Hard_Rocker · 03-12-2005, 12:44 PM

or rather, HOT.

1l[cltizen_0f_reT4rdial · 03-12-2005, 12:45 PM

make it flash at airplanes with green lasers and shit

TheRequiem · 03-12-2005, 12:46 PM

holy carp.

biggest fucker flashlight ever.

nailPuppy · 03-12-2005, 12:47 PM

Good lord.

Yet, wouldn't something else make a better heatsink? Perhaps you could have ordered one of those cheap northbridge heatsinks that are so popular, with their tiny 60mm fans or smaller?

LegendNH · 03-12-2005, 12:47 PM

man... everyones building an LED flashlight but me

IMNobody IV · 03-12-2005, 12:48 PM

Nice, my mom got her free Surefire A2 aviator this week.

?psalus · 03-12-2005, 01:05 PM

Sweet.

OddOne · 03-12-2005, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hard_Rocker

or rather, HOT.

Hopefully not, if I've designed it properly.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Canadian

make it flash at airplanes with green lasers and shit

Oh yeah, there's a good idea.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheRequiem

holy carp.

biggest fucker flashlight ever.

I'm designing it to support exchangeable bodies, so its normal one, a lantern style body, would make its size sane and reasonable for actually using it. But I GOTTA make a stick-style body (8 Ds in a single row) just for the

factor.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nailPuppy

Good lord.

Yet, wouldn't something else make a better heatsink? Perhaps you could have ordered one of those cheap northbridge heatsinks that are so popular, with their tiny 60mm fans or smaller?

Copper conducts heat within itself better than aluminum, but aluminum dissipates heat into its surroundings better than copper. So, the copper core will conduct the LED's heat to a finned-aluminum block that will act as a convective sink and dissipator. This arrangement means a big/bulky/pricey setup, but will allow the LED to run for a LONG time while keeping the diode junction temps down as low as possible.

The LED is overdriveable, too - my power supply board can (with a single resistor change) push 50 watts through the LED. I planned for that in my HS design.

Quote:

Originally Posted by LegendNH

man... everyones building an LED flashlight but me

Then get on the bandwagon and build ya one. You can get an Aleph 3 LED flashlight (or a McLux or a mix-and-match set of Surefire light parts) in the form of component parts and build it to suit, if you don't want to bother with machining a body and all that crap.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Λpsalus

Sweet.

The lapping job turned out better than I expected.

oO

BO2Krocketman · 03-12-2005, 01:23 PM

How much do those LED costs, and what's the power consumption like on them.
edit: I think I have a lathe at work.

OddOne · 03-12-2005, 01:34 PM

$84.10 + shipping from Mouser, and, 560 lumens at 20 watts, respectively.

oO

angrybusdriver · 03-12-2005, 01:42 PM

Build me an LED fleshlight and i'll be impressed.

PhoS · 03-12-2005, 02:03 PM

Shitty update all you did in this thread was polish your rod

xDagger · 03-12-2005, 02:04 PM

Pretty damn cool

greggyboy · 02:14 PM

How about a pic of it working?

EDIT: That is really cool, though. Good work. Where'd you learn how to do this stuff? Solid copper rod=

TheRequiem No titty for me.	holy carp. biggest fucker flashlight ever. __________________ You should turn sigs off.
03-12-2005, 12:46 PM	#4

nailPuppy i piddle on carpets	Good lord. Yet, wouldn't something else make a better heatsink? Perhaps you could have ordered one of those cheap northbridge heatsinks that are so popular, with their tiny 60mm fans or smaller? __________________ lolwords.com
03-12-2005, 12:47 PM	#5

LegendNH Daddy bought me a Corvette but I'm still a fat pathetic loser, please remind me of this whenever you	man... everyones building an LED flashlight but me __________________ A legend disappears before his time
03-12-2005, 12:47 PM	#6

IMNobody IV Mr_Bucket FULL BLOWN WIENER!	Nice, my mom got her free Surefire A2 aviator this week. __________________ Sweet blossom come on under the willow We can have high times if you'll abide We can discover the wonders of nature Rolling in the rushes down by the riverside
03-12-2005, 12:48 PM	#7

BO2Krocketman pass the java	How much do those LED costs, and what's the power consumption like on them. edit: I think I have a lathe at work. __________________ Intarweb mormon married to Drone9of15! <3 "I'm a manwhore"-FluidicSlave Proud Member of the [M] Stoner's Club Founder of [M] A-series club (A75) & member of Digital EOS club (20D) The Green Hornet of Team OWK BANANAPHONE!
03-12-2005, 01:23 PM	#10

Hard_Rocker	or rather, HOT. __________________ I <3 my julie The sun will shine on you again A bell will ring inside your head And all will be brand new
03-12-2005, 12:44 PM	#2

1l[cltizen_0f_reT4rdial Canadian pwned by mod	make it flash at airplanes with green lasers and shit
03-12-2005, 12:45 PM	#3

OddOne LED Gawd <3 t33cael	$84.10 + shipping from Mouser, and, 560 lumens at 20 watts, respectively. oO __________________ Political Correctness is a doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical, liberal minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.
03-12-2005, 01:34 PM	#11

angrybusdriver I love spoonage this much: <-------------------------------------------------------->	Build me an LED fleshlight and i'll be impressed. __________________ http://www.uploderx.net/dphrag/6points635.gif
03-12-2005, 01:42 PM	#12

PhoS	Shitty update all you did in this thread was polish your rod __________________ -Pho! <;D! Quake quake quake all day long , quake quake quake while I sing this song.. Gen[M]ay MR2 Club , Gen[M]ay Guitar Club
03-12-2005, 02:03 PM	#13

xDagger	Pretty damn cool __________________ RIP BS Pegasus 10/20/06 NEVAR FORGET <pr0naLd> haha that guy always has sausage in his pants Boba Fett, Bounty Hunter of the Executor My other Sig is a gun.
03-12-2005, 02:04 PM	#14

greggyboy I <3 crate face and so should you	How about a pic of it working? EDIT: That is really cool, though. Good work. Where'd you learn how to do this stuff? Solid copper rod= Last edited by greggyboy; 03-12-2005 at 02:14 PM..
03-12-2005, 02:10 PM	#15

?psalus Apsalus	Sweet.
03-12-2005, 01:05 PM	#8