When will we see a P60 style headlight?

[kevinm]

Right on all counts! The square hole is for the wiring and making machining cheap. I'm hoping the pricing will be great too... Still waiting for the quote from the machine shop. My hope is $200ish .

I argued with myself about the parallel versus perpendicular thing with the fins. Flow would be faster parallel, but vortices would be greater perpendicular, particularly if it is pointed down a little. I don't know. The Navier-Stokes equation is hard to solve...

Kevin

 

[psychbeat]

A bare neutral XM-L running @ .5 A
one mode always on when the switch is on would be an awesome option for the switch area.

Kinda like a running light. If u were using a multiple mode dropin u could just set it on low while the flood would provide close in light.

Then there wouldn't b any weird UI clashes- and it could be an add on option for customers (like me) who need A LOT of lumens.

Ill mostly be using a neutral quad XP-G drop-in with mine. Simple 2 mode hi/low. All of my modules are 3modes or less.

 

[kevinm]

Funny you should mention that... It just dawned on me that I have a small pile of single mode 7135 based driver boards lying around. You could choose 350mA, 700mA, 1050mA, 1400mA,...I might even be able to stack them.

I also found a driver for 30mA. I was thinking about modding mine so that as long as the battery is connected, a flood LED would see that. It should be 15ish lumens. That way, if things go really wrong caving, I should have light for 111 hours.

XP-G neutral's a good choice for throw!

 

[psychbeat]

Yah single xpg throws ok but the quads r floody. I've got a 1.4 XR-E direct copper module I could pop in for real throw

That would be a cool combo with a bare emitter flood.

I'll mostly be using the quad xpg probably for bike rides and trail building. I went conservative and got the 4.2 A one since I'll be using it for more than 10min on high before switching it down to low.

Also got the aluminum heatsink to save $ and weight. The copper is probably pretty hefty.

New can of Plasti-dip arrived today- I'm ready to party!

 

[kevinm]

Time for a pre-order...

 

[RCantor]

Time for a pre-order...

You're missing a link with that. Although if 200 is the reasonable price it's over my head. I'll just have to gaze longingly

I can't imagine having a light on all the time. Couldn't there be a small switch for the flood?

 

[kevinm]

Hi RCantor,

I haven't put it up yet; need to take some photos. I know $200 is steep, but the switch alone is $30ish, there is a lot of custom machining, and anodizing costs $110 minimum per batch. Making stuff is expensive!

The light on all the time would be an add-on if someone wanted one. Waterproof switches are big!

 

[RCantor]

I'm 100% certain that this is a reasonable price. Would it be possible to have 2 P60s in there? ! (that's a capital 1) spot, 1 flood? (and a multi position switch for all off/1 on/other on/both on?)

 

[kevinm]

Thanks; it's more than I wanted it to be.

I'm working on having 2, but the space is kind of small. The new switch is supposed to be a little smaller, and then there might be room. I'm thinking about having that as an add-on to keep the price down as much as possible. Also, it depends on whether the switch has a stable center position.

Kevin

 

[kevinm]

Here's the feeler thread!

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...dlamp-(with-prototype!)&p=3766397#post3766397

 

[Therrin]

Alright, I'll throw out some solidworks snapshots just to keep appetites whetted. This *actual* model in this screenshot has been severely reconfigured, but it's the basic idea that I'm putting out here, just a simplistic design to show the scope.
Spent quite a while refining down the switching system and internals, as well as the current project which is creating highly durable battery belt packs and tubing-run wiring between the two which is not only waterproof, but fuels/oils resistant and does not easily burn.

My systems are being designed for mining and mine rescue workers; though I'm working on a couple other models which are a little simpler in scope as well.

With head-finned heads attached.

It is a true dual p60 drop in modular system with screw-on heads. One is intended for throw and one for flood. The flood is likely going to be reflector-less, mated inside an internal sleeve for proper placement inside the unit.

I just recieved (qty) 67 18650H batteries from a friend. They are in excellent condition, so I've put things on hold temporarily to look into buying an excellent charger/reconditioner for them. I'll be using them in my prototype battery packs (and other projects, of course)

What would YOU do with 67 x 18650H's? :nana:

 

[goose2283]

I like it, Therrin. Good work!

 

[Therrin]

I've been asking for this very thing for about 2 years and so far nobody will take up the job.
A couple different people have played with the idea and made a prototype but at this point it's all vapor, old vapor at that.

This is a big market just floating around with nobody to take advantage of. You want flood, 15 seconds later you have you M60F beaming. You need some real distance? You just toss in your Deerelight R2 XR-E with smooth reflector and you're good.
The flexibility ensures that the product stays viable for years and yet there is no one with the gumption to give it a go and make some money.

It's really not as easy as that. Nor will most people just want to "swap" dropins for a different need on the go.
This is why my design incorporates TWO dropin sockets on the headlamp frame.

But seriously, yes, I realize there's a market for it. However, I've been teaching myself Solidworks from the ground up for the last 6 months, going through one design iteration after another, researching materials, plastics, wiring, waterproofness, switches, battery pack options, etc.
It's by no means a "simple" process. It's not "easy". It's not "fast".

There's so much that goes into it. Especially if you don't already happen to be an engineer of some kind and you're learning every single bit of it from the ground up. Half the trouble is not knowing all the things you don't know that you need to learn.

So... I can't speak for the other's who might be working on this, but for me.... it has not been an easy road. I AM making constant progress though.
I mean, I'm doing all this on the side of working 72hr weeks of night shifts and sleeping most all day, working all night. If I had the time to just put fully towards this without having to work or eat or sleep, I'm sure it'd go a lot faster

Also, anyone can just "make something", but making something that is marketable is more difficult. Creating the process to make more of them is time-consuming. Putting in the design time to say "does this look hokey, or does this look professional" adds up quite a bit.
I have several factors that I'm trying to fit in, and when I fall too far outside my lines on one or several of those factors, I revamp entirely. I don't want some bulky monstrosity that sticks really far out and weighs a ton and isn't efficient and looks like it was built in a garage. It takes time!

 

[RCantor]

Looks great! I'm afraid to ask how much they'll be.

 

[Therrin]

Haven't a clue at this point. =P

Depends on final cost of materials and number manufactured per run. No idea. Depending on how it all turns out, it'd definitely be cheaper if you supply your own dropins and/or battery pack. I'll post more as I know more.

 

[kevinm]

Nice work, Therrin! And I feel your pain; it's a difficult thing to do. :sick2:

I was lucky to have worked in a physics lab that paid me to learn to do some machining for them.

 

[psychbeat]

one of my best friends n bandmates works at SLAC

hes not into flashlights tho....

daylight savings is almost over!
time to go nocturnal-ish

wondering if I should leave the tabs on these 2 NCR18650a
for a plasti-pack or is the box looking probable?

 

[Therrin]

I'm not even sure how to translate that... but I have about 90 18650H's with tabs on them and I've been thinking over the same question. The other 10 I already pulled the tabs off of.

Now I'm trying to figure on building battery packs with them, with a protection circuit based on the entire pack, or if I should be protecting some of them individually and re-shrink-wrapping them. =P

At the moment I don't have a laptop, so during my 12 hour shifts at work I found I can kinda "run Solidworks" in my head and refine down my design parameters on my lights. It takes quite a bit of concentration though, also kinda hard to "save" it to a file. I need to buy a laptop.

 

[Bolster]

Hi RCantor,

I haven't put it up yet; need to take some photos. I know $200 is steep, but the switch alone is $30ish, there is a lot of custom machining, and anodizing costs $110 minimum per batch. Making stuff is expensive!

Guys, $200 for custom machining like this is a bargain. I have a mill and I could not get this job done for $200 if I paid myself $40 per hour (below market), let alone anodizing, the switch, and whatever else comes with it. This job would take me all day, figure $40 x 8 = $320 for just the cutting of the metal. Of course I'm talking a manual one-off, not a small CNC production run, but still...custom machining takes time and expensive machinery to do it, no way around it.

 

[kevinm]

Thanks, Bolster.

I'm not making much on these, but I get the caving headlamp I've been wanting!