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A Custom Built Light from A to Z

PhotonFanatic

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 17, 2003
Messages
2,337
Location
western Massachusetts
I while back, Alex contacted me about having a stainless steel AA flashlight made. And then he also started a thread about his dream AA light.

While I hadn't worked in SS before, I like the idea of doing one-off lights, so I agreed to consider Alex's request. He had some pretty strong convictions as to his needs:

stainless steel
1aa format
80+ torch lumens
flawless smooth threads
minimum wall thickness in any area 1mm (even in valley of threads or in o-ring groove - this part is very important!
ideally 2mm or more wall thickness in many areas
max weight without batteries 170g
min weight without batteries 100g
minimum overall diameter in fattest part of body 20mm
minimum overall diameter in thinnest part of body 17.5mm
max overall diameter (can be less than this) 25mm

ok the rest would be in the hands of the artist

design
finish
twisty / clicky
driver
reflector / optic
etc
After a little hesitation once he got my price, Alex decided to go ahead with the project and send me a deposit, so I started working up a design. Damn if Alex isn't into CAD stuff, so my designs got double checked with an ultra fine tooth comb. :devil:

That resulted in quite a few revisions, but this is what he finally approved:

ajaa_light.jpg


ajaa_light2.jpg


As you can see, it is a twisty, will have a Seoul P4 emitter, 20mm Khatod reflector, and run on primary AAs. The converter module will be copper. It certainly isn't the smallest AA light out there, but it is what Alex wants.

I thought it might be fun to post the work that I do on this, just so people can see how someone goes about making a light.

Certainly for me, the design and drafting in Solidworks is the first step. That points out a lot of potential fit problems, which are easier to deal with in electronic form than in metal.

Next, I was trying a couple new lathe techniques (new to me, that is), so I like to try things out first in aluminum. The tapers were of concern to me as I needed to learn how to do them, and hopefully get them in the right positions, too.

Here is the trial battery tube piece:

BatteryTubeStyled2.jpg


Originally, Alex wanted both tapers to be the same, but while making the test piece, I goofed and ended up having to make one of the tapers short and steeper. Turns out that we both liked it better, so it is now part of the design. If you look at the ends of the test piece, you will see two stubs--these are what get inserted into my collets while lathing. I have stubs at each end because I need to flip the piece to cut the two tapers.

The thin grooves provide great grip along the axis of the light, while the dimples provide some purchase while twisting the head. Interestingly, the grooves give the optical illusion that the dimples section are raised, when in fact they are on the same plane.

I will post some pics of the prototype head piece later.
 
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karlthev

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 19, 2004
Messages
5,206
Location
Pennsylvania
Well, if I remember correctly, I doubted the commitment of Alex on this one. The actual light was (at least in part) to be realized through some anticipated profits via e-Bay. I was skeptical but, it appears I may have been hasty in my judgement! Good show and, nice light! Good luck with the final product, a real looker (and probably performer!) that should make the designer and the builder happy!



Karl
 

PhotonFanatic

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 17, 2003
Messages
2,337
Location
western Massachusetts
Prototype of the head, also in aluminum:

VerticalHeadTestPiece.jpg


DimpleUpClose.jpg


Interesting, isn't it, how different aluminum can look; the first photo is under a halogen light with no flash, the second with the flash on.

I wanted to test this design, although it is fairly simple, mainly because I wasn't sure how well the dimple and the line would look where they intersect. In Solidworks it looked OK, and in real life, it looks OK, too:

TwoDimplesUpClose.jpg


If anyone wants more info on how this stuff is being done on the lathe, feel free to ask--I'm either assuming it is obvious or would take too much space to explain, but I'm more than willing to share.
 

PhotonFanatic

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 17, 2003
Messages
2,337
Location
western Massachusetts
great work from start to finish!

i'm a little confused though, why the "sigh" emoticon in the title?

Damned if I know! I must have been searching for a smilie and accidentally put that in there.

Changed! Thanks for pointing that out, and thanks for the kind words, also.
 
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jeffb

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 17, 2004
Messages
1,251
Location
Indiana
:thumbsup: Very Nice!

It is also good to see that a "one of" CAN be made and that you two are able to work on the details together.

AM very impressed :)

jeffb
 

aljsk8

Enlightened
Joined
Sep 7, 2006
Messages
435
Location
Wigan, UK
Hi all

nice to see a thread about my light - lets make sure my wife dosn't see this page!

Fred is an awesome guy - hes put up with my changes, my moaning, my emails
i really am a tough customer! (but the customer is always right!)

Fred the grooves to dimples in the head arnt just OK they are stunning!

some of you might be wondering - why stainless steel, why so thick and heavy etc

well simply put im not a huge fan of aluminum its soft and bendy and feels to light weight unless its really thick and while its a proven material for flashlights its just not for me

then theres titanium harder and stronger but expensive and then theres gritty threads better than aluminum but still not brilliant for me

i like the properties of brass - apart from the colour!

so theres not much left!

stainless steel is not ideal but i think its on a level with titanium - hefty strong resistant to elements

i wouldn't want a led pushed hard in one because of the thermal issues
so for an efficient but useful light it was ideal

another issue is that i only want lights that run on nimh rechargables
so that put most premium small lights out of the picture - theres hardly any premium aa lights - the choice is... maxlite, TNC, fenix L1+, ss civictor and i think thats it.

next i didn't like that all aa lights (in fact most lights) have thin walls - even if the battery tube is thick they always have thin walled heads - then there threaded so they get even thinner - i hate this - dont ask me why - i just do!

another point i wanted to cover was addiction - if early in my flashaholic life i got something 95% what i wanted i could bypass spending a lot of money on lights. i figure all i need is this aa light a bright aa light a rop and a multi led then appart from a few bits here and there ill be set (i know im kidding myself!)

sorry for the long post!

Alex
 

luminata

Enlightened
Joined
Jun 6, 2006
Messages
335
This is exactly why I frequent CPF . I love these projects and following their progress. Please don't hesiitate to post as much detail and pics as you want/have time to , Photon!! The more the better. I cant speak for everyone , but I for one am very interested and impressed with your work.
This will be a great endeavor. I am envious and look forward to reading more!!!
 

aljsk8

Enlightened
Joined
Sep 7, 2006
Messages
435
Location
Wigan, UK
i was on CPF just to catch the last of the "good old days"

i really miss those interesting threads
so im glad i helped form one!

i cant wait to see it all unfold!

Alex
 

DM51

Flashaholic
Joined
Oct 31, 2006
Messages
13,338
Location
Borg cube #51
Fascinating - what a great project!

I'm delighted to see it is going ahead, and much look forward to seeing the finished light. Well done!
 

jmw19

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jan 26, 2006
Messages
107
Location
State College, PA
That looks great, Fred - I really like the tapers, in particular. Too many AA lights are just cylinders, and while I understand the desire for a slim profile, they lose something in the execution.

This thread makes me want a lathe even more - can't wait to see the finished light.
:popcorn:
 

PhotonFanatic

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 17, 2003
Messages
2,337
Location
western Massachusetts
I'd like more info! It looks great, it also looks like a pain in the butt to machine! (e.g. getting the groove to the same exact max depth as the dimple.)

Well, if you have a DRO, it really isn't that hard to do. I just touch the tool to the workpiece, set the reading to zero, and then measure the radial distance that the tool covers as it enters the piece. The DRO shows your depth as you progress, so I just stop at .5mm.

On a lathe without a DRO, the procedure would be similar, touch the tool to the workpiece, zero the setting on the dial (if your dial allows for that, otherwise just note the setting), and then proceed to make the cut to the desired depth. Each lathe's cross slide will advance a certain distance for each turn of the dial, so once you know that number, you just have to know how many turns, or ticks, you need for the depth that you want.

It helps to write those numbers down on a piece of paper before you start the cut. Know your starting number and where you want to stop.

A similar procedure is used to move the tool along the axis of the light to cut multiple grooves. What I do is zero out the reading after each cut, then move the set distance, make the cut, zero the reading again, etc., etc.

HTH
 

aljsk8

Enlightened
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Sep 7, 2006
Messages
435
Location
Wigan, UK
regarding the shape - i am also one who feels all aa lights are just tubes with little origionality - it was cool in fenix's early days but now its just very repetitive and un-origional. the tapers was definatly something i wanted in this light - even tho its made it a bit fat
 

PhotonFanatic

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 17, 2003
Messages
2,337
Location
western Massachusetts
Some light reading material in case you get bored with eating turkey and listening to your drunk relatives all day. :devil:

Picking up from the last photos, we had the head and the battery tube that had been grooved and dimpled externally. Next they needed to be completed internally, mainly by drilling out most of the interior and then boring to size and threading.

Here's the head after it was drilled out:

DrillingHead.jpg


Nice pile of swarf there. :D That was then bored out and threaded.

The battery tube was next, and due to its length, i.e., 62mm, vs the diameter of the battery bore, i.e., 15.25mm, that meant that chatter might be a problem. Here's the long drill that I mounted in my tailstock, which has a Morse taper for holding the drill. First, though, I had to cut off the stub that was used for holding the piece while it had been tapered, grooved and dimpled:

PartingOffStub.jpg


Next, I faced off the end:

FacingOffEnd.jpg


Then I spot drilled for the longer drill to follow:

SpotDrill.jpg


Finally, the battery tube was drilled out:

DrillingBatteryTube.jpg


When drilling this deep, one often has to back out the drill and remove the chips, especially if you don't have a coolant system, or compressed air to help. These work pretty well, too:

RemovingSwarf.jpg


Since my DRO doesn't work on the tailstock, I used the tailstock's built in ruler to roughly drill the proper depth, but then I'd take everything apart and check the depth with my caliper, too:

CheckBoreDepth.jpg


Once the drilling is done, then the boring takes place. Here's the small bar with a carbide insert that I used:

BoringBarShowingDepth.jpg


Only problem with the boring bar is that it can give you a nice flat bottom, like this:

BoredBatteryTube.jpg


But what was still needed was a raised button on the bottom of the bore for the negative end of the battery to sit on. For that I use a special tool, a face grooving tool on a long carbide bar to make the button. Here's the tool:

FaceGrooveToolforButton.jpg


And here's the end result:

CompletedButton.jpg


To cut down on chatter, I dropped the RPMs from my normal 1050 to about 400, and entered the piece with the tool very gently, so as to not break the carbide bit.

Finally, I threaded the end of the battery tube.

Tomorrow I will make the copper converter module which these two parts screw onto. In the meantime, here's what they look like for now:

CompletedPiecesWithBattery.jpg


or

CompletedWithMarbles.jpg


Enjoy that turkey, or whatever you wish to gorge on. :D
 
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