TiNi coated flashlights?

Why doesn't anyone(Peter)put titanium nitride on their flashlights? It comes in
several different colors, and blows hard
anodizing out of the water as far as durability. Please don't mistake me for someone who knows what he is talking about,
i have no experience in plating or flashlight
making, and i was just curious if this would
work.

Durability aside, I really like the way gold TiNi looks.

Anyone got any pictures of things with this sort of coating? Sounds interesting..

Graham

Drill bits are coated in this manner, also firearms. Flat black Titanium Nitride looks nice.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Bigwuss:
Why doesn't anyone(Peter)put titanium nitride on their flashlights? It comes in
several different colors, and blows hard
anodizing out of the water as far as durability. Please don't mistake me for someone who knows what he is talking about,

i have no experience in plating or flashlight
making, and i was just curious if this would
work.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Is it the stuff they now use on mountain bike shocks and they also inlay teflon to make it slick?

I suggested this in an earlier ARC thread- I think it would be great!

PVD ("Physical" or "Plasma" Vapor Deposition) {older term is "sputtering"} of various metal nitrides is a pretty neat process, can be done on aluminum (or any platable surface that doesn't melt at under about 400F). It is actually quite inexpensive to do in quantities, and results in an attractive, "super-durable" surface.

The gold color coating most commonly seen is Titanium Nitride; Zirconium Nitride is also usually somewhat lighter gold color (although I have seen some accidental, really neat, metallic rainbow effects with the ZrN).

The grey or "flat black" color coatings are usually Titaniun Carbo-Nitride or Chromium Nitride, and Aluminum-Titanium nitride is kind of a metallic greyish green, although some companies doing PVD for primarily decorative purposes have been able to come up with some different colors.

I'm sure Peter would be more than happy to make a batch coated in such a manner - all you have to do is send a check to Peter to cover all the R&D and production costs......

Maybie some time in the future when arc flashlight is the size of sure-fire.

I wonder why surefire doesnt TiNi coat some of their stuff?

I have a set of Craftsman Drillbits coated with TiNi. Very tough finish. Lots of use and hardly any wear showing.

Just what a movie bad guy needs. A gold TiNi ARC AAA to go with his gold Desert Eagle.

ya ya ya mee too!

Hypothetical question: So what does everyone think of the TiNi color for the LS?

Peter Gransee

Hey isn`t that Alastair`s customised E1e that he got from PK at the Vegas show?

He said it was HA3, but of course we all know HA3 can`t be made in such a bright colour. It all makes sense now....

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Gransee:
Hypothetical question: So what does everyone think of the TiNi color for the LS?

Peter Gransee<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

The low-key greyish color would be very good but NOT the gold color though. The greyish color will right off be identified with titanium. I mean the shade that resembles the grey color in most stuff made with titanium, like mountain bikes and ..uh....mountain bikes.

Gold color for me. I have way too many black, silvery and grey lights as it is. If I'm spending $100 + on a small flashlight I want it to look a little "prettier".

Too bad real titanium is so expensive to buy and such a "bear" to machine- You could make genuine titanium lights for the folks that want dull looking grey and double or triple the current price.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Silviron:
Gold color for me. I have way too many black, silvery and grey lights as it is. If I'm spending $100 + on a small flashlight I want it to look a little "prettier".<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> And HA olive. I think everyone will reach some point in their life to where they want that flashy, shiny gadget. Rather than the handsome, battleship-grey gadget.

I would buy a gold TiNi LS.

Colors hmmm, classic black....Goes with everything. Natural....for the para-military look and to hide in the grass. Grey, goes with most things and actually hides in the woods better than most things...trees are not brown, they are grey, take a look. Brass, nothing but class for the distinguished professional. Bright colors, good for the hip but I'm not very hip.

Peter - Although I like the idea of a gold Arc LS, you may want to avoid producing a large quantity in that color.

A gold Arc LS may be seen as a "presentation piece" or an extravagant expense as opposed to a utilitarian purchase. I think the customer you are aiming for with the Arc LS is type of person that buys tools at Sears, not Brookstone or The Sharper Image. As a small run it would probably work out OK, but not mass quantities.

There was a thread in the arc forum the
day i posted this thread about Hard anodizing
and its durability. And last weekend i was
looking at my TiNi coated drill bit, and
thought "hey, wouldnt it be neat if they
could make a TiNi coated flashlight", I
wasn't going to start a new thread about it,
but i saw the durability of HA thread, and
thought it was a good time. Anyway, i think
it would be cool if Peter could make a few
grey TiNi coated lights to sell, as a
limited edition light, similar to the AAA le
idea. What do you think Peter? I would certainly buy a TiNi coated light, and i am
sure a lot of people would go for the
Titanium version over the standard. Just my
2 cents.

Well it was a hypothetical question. Were not going to tie up funds on another "specialty" version if I can help it. I was thinking of the TiNi has the full time color. But only if the cost worked out to be about the same. HA on the LS is labor intensive and gives us numerous QC problems. It has taken us over a month to just get some 123 packs plated. Unreal.

TiNi might actually cost less than HA in the grand picture while being harder. Other benefits are that it is conductive so it can take the place of the chemkote as well. This would maintain excellent corrosion resistance inside the battery compartment.

I am getting an estimate on what it costs. If it is too expensive, end of the subject. If it is close in price, we will go from there.

The two factors that would kill it are price and people's feeling on the color.

The whole idea here is to accelerate the LS, not slow it down.

Peter