Custom Machined Light Housings + Other Hobby Machinists Bicycle Light Services

[Barry_Scott]

Re: Custom Machined Light Housings

yeah i can do something similar.

2 - 3 hours should be easy.

do you know anything about batteries?

My current battery is about 50mm x 20mm x 150mm but i would suggest that it is sealed in a water. it ways about 200g but with your multiple lights you may need 2 or three to get the run time.
Have a look at my site.

www.revdesign.co.uk

 

[itsmygame]

Re: Custom Machined Light Housings

um very very little.... i know about the basics of chemical make and the benefits of li ion w/ recharge etc

i would like something similar to the ayup design..........

http://www.ayup-lights.com/ (twin lights ...1 either side of stem)

then that way i could get a matching one that would be great for helmet (size wise)

i have looked at alot of how 2s and can get the basics of the circuitry etc (except the thro of the leds) but feel it would be great to have a cnc d case to be the icing on the cake.

ps thanks for sticking with me

 

[devians]

Re: Custom Machined Light Housings

Hey Barry, thanks for the reply!


Essentially i have 2 cree xr-e r2 leds and the optics (a wide and narrow throw)

I'm looking at building a battery pack out of 1 or 2 of these: http://www.hobbyscene.com.au/hobby/...-8v-20c-5000mah-4s1p-lipoly-battery-pack.html

Using the bFlex driver from taskled: http://taskled.com/bflex.html

So the big issue so to speak is the enclosure. Since my parts seem to be so similar to your setup, i would suppose that its a case of getting a better look at your build? I think I'd probably be able to get away with a direct copy of your milled enclosure + switches? I'm not too sure about the battery indicator, but very cool if doable.

 

[Barry_Scott]

Re: Custom Machined Light Housings

Yeah that very do-able.

Battery wise you are also in the right area.

you might want to check out

http://www.giantcod.co.uk/cell-lipo-battery-c-1_115.html

I would consider the battery indicator as once you go bellow 3v per cell the battery is toast and not usable or the capacity is vastly reduced.

You would have to give me some accurate dimensions of the different parts. And see how they would fit together and how they would be packed in.

I would say for a straight copy i would suggest around £80 + P+P for enclosure and end plates.

 

[devians]

Re: Custom Machined Light Housings

Thanks for the heads up on the battery place. I havent checked shipping yet, but they seem like good options. I'll probably mount whatever the final solution is in a pvc tube and mount some waterproof plugs in the end. I just wish the batts werent built to such stocky dimensions. (Ie i obv want something more tube like rather than a brick ). A 50mm diameter tube is a bit much against the size of your normal bike frame. I spose i could always get a few of the smaller capacity units and wire them in series.


I have to arrange the mechanics of getting the drivers too. taskled dont sell to australia directly, but through a reseller who absolutely gouges. It's cheaper for me to buy through a USA postage bouncer with their fees than it is to buy from the reseller. *******s.

If i end up getting the case from you barry, i might ask for the pcb for the indicator as well. I'm quite capable of building it myself, but my pcb fabrication starts and ends at sending it off to one of the online mobs. I understand you did yours on a mini cnc?

as a rough indication, the optics are about 20mm x 25mm or so, the leds are on 20mm stars. Would you be able to post some idea of what the internals of your design look like? At a guess it looks like theres the front panel, some o-rings, two channels for optics, the leds, and then a back chamber for drivers / switches / battery circuit?

I was also thinking that it might be an idea to do the front panel out of acrylic/plexiglass, thoughts?

With the slight heatsinking that you did on yours, was that functional or aesthetic in purpose?

 

[Barry_Scott]

Re: Custom Machined Light Housings

i will go for the easy one first, heatsinking. both functional and aesthetic. that design required the body to be machined from both sides so to hide any miss match in setups the heat sinking gave me a functional and sneaky way of hiding the evidence.

Right my twin shooter was based on the deal extreme drop in unit similar to this one HERE. So the internals are massive. The units are affectively 25mm in diameter for 7mm then 22mm for a further 23 - 24mm this includes the driver. The space in the back is for wiring and the pcb.

The first thing is are you think of using a driver for each light?
Do you want to minimize the light unit and have separate on / off switch remote or encase that on the battery? I am not opposed to develop something completely new as i like a project. i quite like the ayup light but that can be improved. i have taken some pictures of the case so if you want to PM me with your email address i can send them on.

 

[Zero_Enigma]

Re: Custom Machined Light Housings

Oh...me too, me too...I wanna play

1100lm:

1100lm:

700lm:

350lm:

I'm looking for something designed like that blue housing there but slightly larger. I like universal parts when possible so if something breaks I can swap it out easy. My thinking is 3 x MCE 900lm in a housing like that all finned out with the smallest fan built into it with two fan speeds (hi and low). I had a 5v fan before but can't find it right now to measure it's sizing but that would have been something I'd us on the under belly of the light to give it extra cool down if I was pumping max light but not bombing down hills. So I'm looking at something 900lm x 3 = 2700lm x .85 lens effeciency = 2295lm on the head. >

 

[Barry_Scott]

Re: Custom Machined Light Housings

they are all do able but i don't know about the fan

 

[devians]

Re: Custom Machined Light Housings

Hey barry

To answer your question, yes i'd be running each led off a separate driver.

First, i'll just say that to be honest, your design, as is, would work for me so long as there was some sort of 'base' to put the led stars on, since yours is a tube completely through.

I put this together quickly after work, what are your thoughts? I know it is fairly complex, but there are quite a few areas that can be cheapened. The bevel on the outer edge can go happily, and the depressions for seating the stars is optional. The inside edges of the fins are only shaped with the curve for ease of drawing, i imagine machined they'd just get the shape of the toolhead, which is fine.

I havent put the spaces for the leds/switches in the back panel as i figured they'd be apparent. I'd probably keep the switching mechanism on the light for now, but since its modularish, you could really just remachine a back end if you wanted switches elsewhere and less bulk on the light.

If you think this design is too easy (if so, im jealous) then it would be pretty awesome to bring the side fins 5mm forward and back so the panels fit -into- the block rather than sitting on the outside.

I have the sketchup file if you want to have a poke around. I've really only guessed at some measurements. I assumed 3mm bolts to hold it together, and 27mm - 28mm to hold the star and optic. (cant remember optic length, i assumed 25mm). gave 40mm of depth for rear components, didnt mark in the wiring holes for the leds as i would probably do them last minute with a dremel, little 1mm holes in the star gaps. The whole thing is roughly 70x70x27mm.

I also kind of did this in a way that you could machine a long bar of material, cut the sections apart, then take out the internal areas, should you want to build multiple.

 

[Barry_Scott]

Re: Custom Machined Light Housings

I guess you got the photos then.

Look like really good work there. On thing that become immediately obvious is sealing multiple junctions mean multiple points where water can get in. You have inspired me.

I really like the clear front plate but you will get a lot of spill fro the edge of the plastic.

matt

 

[st_burt]

Re: Custom Machined Light Housings

What I'm looking for is some side work. Do you have some ideas for a light housing or any other accessory but don't have the tools to manufacture it?
I can help.

Hi Michael, I'm looking for someone to do a small machining job. I can't seem to use the PM feature in CPF though, maybe because I haven't posted enough? Could you please PM me with your contact info?

Take care,

Stephen

 

[devians]

Re: Custom Machined Light Housings

well, to be honest the middle junction is optional. its mostly there because its a bugger working at the bottom of a tube

In terms of dealing with water ingress, you'd have a few options. depending on how you wanted to handle it. The 'easy' option is to just get happy with gaskets, which are easy enough to cut out of rubber sheet. Gaskets are not super appropriate for the middle joint as you want heat transfer through it. You could also machine lips into each section so the pieces fit into one another, which would also help.

With this build having the mount points in the center, your biggest issue would be with material potentially bowing. Not super likely, but the thinner the end plate material (i assumed 5mm) the more likely it is, especially if you over tighten the bolts. You could redesign it to have mount points in the edges and have less heatsinking without much hassle.

As for light bleed through the front panel, thats a given and theres not a whole lot you can do about it. I personally dont know how you'd protect against water in this design any other way, as you cant trust the optic in that matter, so its gotta be covered. I mean you'll get light bleed across your handlebars, but thats actually somewhat useful.

So what do you think barry, is that a project you'd be interested in having a go at? Or have i inspired a better idea? I'm a do-er, not a talker, so lets get this thing rolling

 

[dickybeau]

Re: Custom Machined Light Housings

You guys might want to look at this

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/258699

I have no connection except as a happy buyer and the light works for me.

I DO like Chelboed's small lights the 1100lumens version works for me and if someone in the uk will make them I would be a buyer at the right price. Even just the shell. I can find the parts

 

[Barry_Scott]

Re: Custom Machined Light Housings

well to avoid the upward spill you could step the front of the light and recess the front window.

As for making it out of multiple parts i would suggest that i would have enough projection to get down into the hole, but need to check the dimensions. The star is 20mm but the optics are 25mm in diameter. If you can check them out that would be usefull.

 

[Darell]

Re: Custom Machined Light Housings

ya know.... you guys are just making my day. Thanks for keeping the spirit of CPF alive and kicking!

 

[Bullzeyebill]

Re: Custom Machined Light Housings

This thread has been revitalized. See post 1.

Bill

 

[brad72]

Re: Custom Machined Light Housings

I am happy to machine up lights using your designs or something I have already made. I can transfer your drawing to cad to make sure everything will fit. I do not have a cnc but use a manual mill and manual lathe. I can also anodize you parts in red, black, blue, orange, green, yellow, violet, gold or raw.

Here's a few of my latest builds.

Triple XML with h6flex driver

Double XML with h6flex (pre Lflex availability)

Triple XML, same as above but smaller and lighter

triple xpg or xpe

Single XML Manual Focus Aspheric helmet lamp with Lflex driver

Single XMl fixed focus Aspheric with LFlex driver

 

[borrower]

Re: Custom Machined Light Housings

Here's my personal thumbs-up for brad72's work. He did a small housing for me earlier this year, and it turned out absolutely great. In addition, he shared some design ideas that made the final result way better. I wouldn't hesitate to work with him again.

I've been meaning to get off my $%# and post a build thread in the lights diy section of mtbr dot com... will post here when that exists.

 

[broadica]

Re: Custom Machined Light Housings

Oh...me too, me too...I wanna play

1100lm:

1100lm:

700lm:

350lm:

very nice built... do you sell them? any website or thread link?
am looking for something small, bright and long batt light for helmet mount

 

[Bullzeyebill]

Re: Custom Machined Light Housings

See first post. You can PM OP with questions, etc.

Bill