A good idea for a focusing light w/no voids.

I have had this idea for a while now, and I got around to visualizing it.
I either see it as having slip-rings on the underside to supply current to the Luxeons, and the pentagonal disc being fixed to the head, or having the pentagonal disc fixed to the body, with a groove inside the head for it to move in. In the latter, wires could just be run to the Luxeons.

This comes from frustration with the voids in focusing lights.

I also see it in a 4+ D cell Mag, with (1) 5 Watt HD in the center, and (5) 1 Watts around the center. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/buttrock.gif

Opinions? Critiques? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Luxeons spread their light pretty wide, with nothing to focus the lights, it would still all just be flood.

Interesting idea, but I suspect the physics are against you? That is convergance close in will be short in range, and 'muddy' further out. It should be easy enough to cobble up, I'd suggest just the 5 outside LS emitters each on some sort of 'tunable mount', you already know what the 5 Watter looks like alone.

Doug Owen

wow! that is clever!

the luxeons by themselves are, as nerd pointed out, very wide. some sort of optics or individual reflectors would need to be used.

the tighter the better...i'm not sure what would fit...you may have to do a custom optics job.

another problem is hetainking...

Hello shankus,

I have noticed that I can do that a little with my Inretech TriLight. If I screw the lens bezel down tight, the LED's are spread out a little and I get 3 distinct beam patterns on the wall. If I loosen up the bezel a little, the beams converge to one (3 lobed) beam. I have noticed that it does make a little difference in beam throw.

Tom

shankus,
I think that is really cool! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif Just for constructive thought I'll through a couple cents in, what the heck.
You might be able to use a magnifying lens as well to smooth the multiple LED effect but then again it may not need it or may not benefit from it either.
This idea may make some artifacts but some small acrylic balls with a divot the same shape as the dome of the LEDs over the LED could be an idea as well and maybe with the magnifying lens as well. Okay time for everybody to give me the old /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/twak.gif but I figure if it works shankus gets the last laugh.
I don't think I would try to run those L/Ss too much over spec amp, it looks to be about an $80 poof of smoke in L/Ss along if that one goes aerie. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif That five watt in the center may just drown out the one watts around the outside.
Rock on skankus! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/buttrock.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowdown.gif

Thanks for the input guys. It's not something that I have either the equipment or expertise in machining to build, I was just brainstorming. And for good effect, already some improvements.

I think it would certainly benefit from a reflector on the center LS. Aren't the HDs a much tighter beam than the LDs? The only LSs I have are a madmax (collimated), and a Megaclops (reflector).

I didn't really expect the idea to have the kind of long distance throw, like the spot type incandescents, or the Megaclops or Space needle, but to be very bright, with no voids. Of course, it would be a very expensive light to make.

The individual beams of each LS could each have a reflector, collimator or magnifying lens, though. Because of the lighting elements themselves changing angles, shouldn't the beams blend well with no voids? I expect they would.

I must say I was impressed with the lens on the Brinkmann Rebel. That one LED has a long throw, with just a tiny magnifying lens.
There is this brown...thing...hanging on the wall in my kitchen. It is almost the whole length of the house away from the bedroom. Of all the LED lights I have, the only ones that will show detail when illuminated from the bedroom, are the Megaclops, and (wow) the Rebel. The collimated Madmax comes close, but not quite there. Everything else just shows a...brown...blob...on the wall.

I haven't seen a focusing light yet that doesn't have that center void. And really, what good is area illumination, with 70% of the center of the beam being a black hole? It is more like, "ring illumination".

shankus -

I opened up a thread that was a question about the possibility of a very small, focusable optic. I did this so I could get specific feed back on the idea and I didn't want to step on your thread. As others have pointed out, it's possible your design could use some miniature optics.

[ QUOTE ]
Icebreak said:

Inspired by reading posts in this forum about focusing, most recently shankus'; I was wondering if any of you have tried this optically based idea.

A two piece, long thread, telescoping cylinder incapsulating the led and coming into contact with the sink. Dim around 15mm to 25mm tall and about 9mm ID. Mount an acrylic laser led collimator in the top. I believe this is similar to how some laser driven fiber optic applications are focused.



Viable?

[/ QUOTE ]

Here is some info I sent to another member:

"I was Googling around and found www.roithner-laser.com

I haven't done business with them but thier site looks straight. I found the prices on their Adobe list at http://www.roithner-laser.com/All_Datasheets/Pricelists/pricelist-c-030325.pdf

As I recall a comma is a dot in Europe.

I think my search criteria was laser led lens optical fiber."

Yes, that is interesting, and simple. I wonder how well movement of the lens would work. I wasn't able to try that with the Rebel. Damn, you know, a convex lens in the head of a mag might work for that, with minimal modification. (If the mag head has enough travel to provide the spot-to-flood focusing.)

I wonder as well, how an LS, in a collimator would work, with a movable lens in front.

Wow, you guys are getting me thinking. Thanks for the input. I thought I had reached a dead-end in the process of considering this flummox. It just goes to show me, I never know as much as I think I do. And a forum is a great place for brainstorming these kinds of ideas.

Oh man your not going to do this. I just realized I meant an acromatic magnifier and had to sign in real quick to let you know but it doesn't sound as though you are going to go through with this so it really doesn't matter now. The Acromatic lenses will take care of a lot of the artifacts and will also help to smooth odd shapes. Well if you didn't know that already anyways.
Rock on!

I know that the idea of movable focusable lenses has been thought of by many...AFAIK just not yet built the way my head sees it.

I can see them for all size bezels or becoming the bezel itself.

It has been suggested by many helpful members that by just playing with magnifying glasses, binoculars, telescopes and acrylic balls one can learn the basics. So, I did that to obtain my minute understanding.

I still think your "Angular Focus" device theory is elegant. Get an "A" in geometry did we? I've seen where several of the Master Modders have used small optics. For your "Angular Focus" device I was thinking that if the correct lens or series of lenses could be used with the correct distance or distances pre-determined you could install the lens or lenses in six small tubes and mount these over the top and incapsulating of each of your LSs. Sounds ugly but it could turn out very cool and very effective. I can see it! PayPal ready.

Again, I'm not a Modder but this forum is my favorite reading. Thanks for letting me particpate in your idea.

- Jeff

I have imagined a similar mechanical arraingement but had in mind where the reflective surface was a flexible surface or membrane. A reflective bellows if you will. In your model, I fear overcoming the thermal issues of a thin and flexible heatsink may be very difficult if not impossible with available materials.

I have had some success with a moveable single element lens. Success in terms of varying the beam angle with reasonable beams resulting. Since I used a half ball in front of a luxeon, the light loss is very significant, unfortunately. I have both an L1 that was so modified as well as a Mag AA/ badboy. The mag bezel threads worked real well mechanically in providing a good range of displacement of the lens from the LED. The projected beam itself is very acceptable at all stages of beam angle and there are no significant nulls or holes. However way too many photons aren't with the program. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

- Don

Dern kaotic photons...tell them to go through a telescope and they seem to prefer photon heaven.

Since a 30mm collimator manages light fairly well and I see a great range of focus in my Blaster VI; I wonder if a 30mm that was designed and molded to have a convex surface would be a solution.

Icebreak,

A plano-convex lens (half ball for us techno impaired), doesn't seem to be of any aid when placed in front of any of the collimator lenses, 30 mm or the NX05. By the time the photons exit these lenses (those that do), they seem to be somewhat in agreement on a course to take and additional lenses would likely need to be rather large in diameter and set off a significant displacement to have a desired effect.

- Don

McGizmo -

Please don't build a lens or collimator that is as clear as my descriptions, opaque as they are.

On this idea I was meaning a one piece collimator with a convex surface as opposed to a flat surface. No lens.

- Jeff

Icebreak,

I understood your meaning of convex surface on exit side of plano collimator. I do believe you can simulate the effect by placing an acrylic convex-plano right against the surface of the collimator's flat surface. This I have done to no good effect. The NX01 does have a convex element above the ball and the result is a wider beam from that portion of the lens. This is also the result you get from what I described above.

- Don

How significantly could losses in the lens be reduced, if it were manufactured of a high quality glass, instead of acrylic?

Thanks for all of your input, good ideas and improvements.

I have designed some Optics from Quartz, Sapphire would be better, but an anti-reflective coating on any material makes the most difference in transmittance characteristics of the lens. Refer to Oriel of Edmund for charts.