Project Lamplighter - my homemade LED keychain fob

[maverick06]

highly interested, been following this for a long time. All depends on the pricepoint, but very interested, likely a buy. (not a 14 year old's "interested" either)

 

[FRITZHID]

one possible problem with that is that as resin cures it produces quite a bit of heat. Whats the word of that wreaking havoc on an SMT LED?

Those cure temps aren't typically high enough to effect the LED in any significant way. There are heated potting compounds that are used every day on all manner of electronics, incl LEDs, both smd and thruhole.
It's a shame that so many of them yellow/discolor over time and plastic injection stands a good chance at overheating the LED.
Another option would be to use Lucite or other optical plastic instead of glass tube. Maybe machine a section to house the LED and then fill small area with loca?

 

[samobaggins]

No can do my friend, the wires are carrying the current to the LED. Soldering them to a disk would cause an electrical short which is why I'm using white Delrin. A think a bit of tape or some caulking would do the trick though!

Why not look at a varnish finish to the wire to stop any shorts?!

 

[calipsoii]

Hey guys, I've been mighty quiet in this thread so I just wanted to pop in and post a quick update. Between a full-time day job and an 8 week old kid I've been pretty darn busy so progress has been a bit slow (as you might imagine!). Currently working on a very small run of Lamplighters and making good headway:

The one on my keychain is still looking great despite being dropped onto concrete a dozen or more times so I'm pretty happy with the design. I don't think the glass is any more likely to break on this fob than it is when I drop any of my glass-lens flashlights. Still glowing nicely on my bedside table too. More updates to come!

 

[KuanR]

Thanks for the update, I'm still committed to buy one when you are ready!

 

[mcmc]

Yes - if my earlier post wasn't clear, I am in for one I think I have a post to that effect maybe a few years ago too

 

[Icarus]

Hey guys, I've been mighty quiet in this thread so I just wanted to pop in and post a quick update. Between a full-time day job and an 8 week old kid I've been pretty darn busy so progress has been a bit slow (as you might imagine!). Currently working on a very small run of Lamplighters and making good headway:

The one on my keychain is still looking great despite being dropped onto concrete a dozen or more times so I'm pretty happy with the design. I don't think the glass is any more likely to break on this fob than it is when I drop any of my glass-lens flashlights. Still glowing nicely on my bedside table too. More updates to come!

Looks good! :twothumbs Can you shine some light :naughty: on the driver in the photo?

 

[cnjl3]

I would like to add my name in the hat. I want/need one lamplighter maybe two?

 

[calipsoii]

Thanks for the interest guys! I'm excited as all heck about this project and trying hard to get Lamplighters into the hands of anyone who wants one. Life is still crazy busy in this household so progress is frustratingly slow - in the last 2 weeks I've found (maybe) 4.5 hours to work on it? The good news is that I don't have any major changes to make to the design so I have my portfolio of drawings ready to take around to the machine shops in town. Hopefully someone will be able to do the metalwork for a fair price and eliminate the largest part of my workload. I'll keep you in the loop!

Icarus: the driver is just a simple PCB with a few components on it. Touched on it here. As Dr. Jones mentioned it's not super efficient and a plain 'ol resistor would probably work equally well. But now I have the boards so I've been putting them to use.

A glassblower in town let me in her little secret - a carbide cutting tool that she swears by for glass snapping. I purchased one and gave it a shot on my Pyrex rod with very good results! I need practice but the cuts are clean enough and within tolerances for use.

The Pyrex makes a really nice flame as you polish it. Please disregard the specks in the video as my iPhone has dust inside the camera lens.


This weekend I completed assembly on #003. It's a gift to my coworker and shares the same serial # as the Spyglass flashlight I made him a few months ago.

Stay tuned guys, the pace may be slow but I assure you they're worth waiting for. I still get a little thrill every night I see it glowing on my bedside table - too cool.

 

[archimedes]

I'm in for a matching serial number, too ...

 

[mcbrat]

if you ever do them in bronze or red brass I'd be in for one of those....

 

[calipsoii]

if you ever do them in bronze or red brass I'd be in for one of those....

The one on the right in the above picture is 660 bronze. I love the metal and was totally excited to see what it looked like but the end result was a little disappointing. On such a small piece the rich bronze color is lost and it just looks faded. Side-by-side the brass looks nicer, which is not something I expected to say. I still think a bronze pocket light would look amazing but for a tiny keychain fob something with more vibrant color like brass or copper would probably look best.

 

[mcbrat]

Copper would actually be my first choice

 

[Icarus]

Brass for me!

 

[calipsoii]

Hey guys! Just a quick update since this thread has been pretty quiet. It's still crazy busy in my household but instead of napping I've been sneaking out to my workbench instead :devil: so we're still pushing forward.

Just a lot of fine tuning going on right now. I learned to snap the Pyrex (which is good) but it has a larger inner diameter (which is bad) so some parts didn't fit quite right:

I'm still trying to work out how to keep the wires straight during assembly. So far every single fob has had slightly bent wires and I'm just not having a lot of luck avoiding it. Will keep trying.

I also learned the hard way to tighten the gibs on my mill once in a while. Luckily nobody was hurt when the brass decided to grab the endmill and just start sucking it in.

That fob was still assembled though and looks pretty nice riding around on my wife's keychain. She's slowly building a collection of all my character pieces.

The next one turned out a lot nicer. Just needs electrical innards and some glass and then we're cooking!

42 days in and the Lamplighter on my keychain is still glowing (about ~65% brightness) so I'm just going to let this runtime test go and I'll chime back in with a final runtime hopefully far in the distant future.

Cheers!

 

[KuanR]

I look forward to your updates on this project. If it hasn't been accounted for, can I call dibs on #6 or #9 ??

 

[calipsoii]

Hi all!

They say haste makes waste... so I guess I should sloooow down while working on the machines?

That's not to say the project is standing still though! For each destroyed one a few nice-looking ones have rolled off the line.

My keychain Lamplighter is picking up a nice pocket-tumbled patina!

And two months onwards we're still going strong on the first set of batteries. :thumbsup:

Now. Who wants to babysit so I can finish a few more? :naughty::mecry:

 

[maverick06]

I have a 3 year old and a 2 year old... its hard, 2 isn't twice as hard, its an exponential function. they get to be fun when they turn 2.... its gets better! haha The first year is the shortest year, made up of the longest days.

 

[gunga]

These are very cool! BTW, what happened to the Spyglass project?

 

[calipsoii]

I have a 3 year old and a 2 year old... its hard, 2 isn't twice as hard, its an exponential function. they get to be fun when they turn 2.... its gets better! haha The first year is the shortest year, made up of the longest days.

Hah, thanks maverick. It's a lot of fun but free time sure evaporates!

These are very cool! BTW, what happened to the Spyglass project?

They take a really long time to make. Time has become a precious commodity lately so I'm focusing on the Lamplighters as I can complete them more quickly. I'll gladly make a Spyglass for anyone who wants one but the price is going to scare a lot of people away so we'll call them "commission" pieces for now.

I have a new circuit & pill design in my head for the light that will reduce the manufacturing time/effort (and increase performance) but a full R&D cycle will take many months that could be spent making sweet keychain fobs instead.

If only there was a way to eliminate the need for sleep? :thinking: