Stupid things to do with Luxeons #784

VidPro

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784) dont try to glue an optic on with #16 acrylic cement.

i had always wondered about this, and finnaly tried it.
harry said (one time) he had a liquid in the optic and the light transmission to the optic was better, its logical after all there is less reflective surfaces like that.
so i ALSO wanted to affix a lens to the led, instead of utalizing a holder, to reduce wieght and size.
#16 acrylic cement is a beautifull clear thick acrylic cement that makes perfectally clear thick holdings of 2 acrylic pannels , meaning it doesnt much mess up what it is supposed to be used on.
but i poured it into the base of the optic, and put the led in it, and the results were a total FROSTING of the (formerly clear) parts.

now my only hope for completing the experiment is that moulding plastic for paperweights.
 

VidPro

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ahh finnaly i got it
there is a acrylic epoxy type stuff called "acrylic water kit" "silk flower shoppe" at wally mart. it was the best "paperweight" making stuff i could find at the time.
it is very clear, and takes DAYS, and DAYS to set up. but it does not damage the optic, or the head optic of the luxeon i tested it on. so there ya have it, a possible solution to fill the gap in-between a optics, and a led.
there is still a differnce between the optics, and the solution, so there still seems to be some reflections occuring internally. also i dont have any meter junk to tell if it worked.
the main thing is it is possible to do with that substance, and so people could exsperiment with it. i dont visualize it as a "Glue" per say, even the #16 glued led came apart easily, there was no melding of it to the leds optical cap. i assume the same is true with this.
 

greenLED

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The gap between the Lux's dome and the insides of the optic are probably there for a reason. Besides, you'd have yet one more interface for the light to go through (and get bent, reflected, refracted) as it goes from the die through this epoxy, into the optic and out the top...not good, would be my guess. Optics are very finnnicky and don't like anything touching their outsides, or the beam goes :green:
 

IsaacHayes

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I would think if you remove the air gap and fill with solid material the optic won't focus right as there is a dome that goes in front of the led. If you fill that up solid, then the dome is no longer there.... Just like if you put a bare 5mm led in water, it no longer focuses because the water fills around the dome and negates the properties of it...
 

VidPro

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yes and your both right, and both wrong :) well according to my theory.
ya see i dont understand why they have 2 seperated optics.
and because it is optics and not reflectors, i am trying to turn it into ONE item.
so indeedy there is more there, and there is a direction of light through a similar substance, and if my theory is correct, i will end up with One optic instead of 2. one optic that is at the directionality i desire, instead of being 60* then re-colaminated into 6*.

but i havent tried the last test, i had flood optics extra, to waste, and extra wimpey 1W luxes, my next test will be a tight optic, set for ultimate focus, and a lux3.
if it works then i am done, cause that will be what i wanted.

with the floods it is hard to tell because the front flooding prismatic changes have reflected backlight. but with my next test, i will have a comparison.

the real thing i want to put this in is them cree, and pro-lights that have a huge gap, and a wide dome that spills all over the place, and has much side spill.

analize any other plastic light conduction in clock radios, and lcd screens and stuff, and the plastic is supposed to be like a light tube, if there is a gap between the 2 seperated light tubes, surely that is not as efficient.

the difference between optics and reflectors is always the front light that makes it past the angles of the reflector, form that spill. so although reflectors have better spots, a large majority of the light still goes out un changed.

we shall see.
 
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IsaacHayes

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If you want only one optic direct on the led like a 5mm, well you need a domed shaped optic like the 5mm has.

But optics for luxeons aren't shaped like that because they are a seperate peice, have to be designed differently. The small dome of the optic sits above the luxeon and gathers the light into itself. Take away this dome by making it "one" with the luxeon and you have a solid acrlyic optic that is just a inverted cone. I doubt it will focus as well.

But feel free to experiment.. I won't say I told you so!! :nana: :)
 

greenLED

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I won't say I told you so... but, I'm guessing the results won't be satisfactory. You're trying to build a single optic on top of the Lux, which is great. However, you're trying to do it by joining 3 interfaces together (Lux dome - air gap, which will be filled with epoxy - optic). As mentioned before the air gap between the Lux's dome and the optic is there so the optic focuses properly. Also, anything in contact with the outside of an optic will interfere with its internal reflection property, which is the core of how an optic works. Getting sidetracked here... if you replace the air interface with epoxy and/or adhesive, you're adding one more medium with different reflective/refractive properties which were not taken into account when designing the Lux dome+optic interface.

I'm not saying you'll get a black hole, I'm saying the optic's efficiency is bad enough as it is, that parching the air gap won't improve anything. If anything, the degration will be minimal, and you won't be able to notice (which doesn't mean it's not there; your eyes may not pick it up).

If you really want to have one optic, remove the Lux's dome and build an optic from there on. Glueing together two separate optics won't give you a single one, at least not in the optical sense.

...anyhoo... in McGizmo spirit :stupid: and to quote Isaac :nana:
 

VidPro

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I'm saying the optic's efficiency is bad enough as it is

yup and that is the problem.

this all came about when Harry was cleaning an optic, and got alcohol in it, and discovered it worked better for a WHILE, untill he realized it was the alcohol inbetween the 2 that made the improvement.
i just found a as clear a substance, that would replace the alcohol and do so permanentally.

and sombody else said, that with a micro lift of the optic it actually gets in better focus, albiet a more square like beam, but who says a light shouldnt be square? its not like all targets for the beam are round.

can a decapitated lux still operate the full length of time?
i thought if i rip the top off everything goes bad, but that is only because if the top ever did come off, everything had ALREADY gone bad :)
 

IsaacHayes

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If the dome comes off, then it can rip the bond wires. If it doesn't you have a mess of silicone goo everywhere, and cleaning that off without damaging the bond wires is next to impossible. the bond wires can break if you breathe on them. Seirously.
 

VidPro

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ok, so ripping off the dome, would be for experimental purposes only, on cheap ugly old 1 watters :)
got it.
 
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