Spike Light - V3

[psychbeat]

If yer using a pack 18650 makes more sense than 26650
3100mah 18650s are more energy dense.

[ahorton]

Yeah the good quality 2900 and 3100 cells are hard to go past these days. Even the cheaper Xtar 2600mAh cells come pretty close to their rated capacity. I reckon two 3100 mAh cells would be worth the money. That gives at least 8 hours of (approx) 250 neutral lumens which is a very comfortable walking / running light.

The IMR cells aren't really justified in the V3. The most it can draw is 2.4A which is only 1.2A from each cell in a 2P pack.

[Baddog]

If yer using a pack 18650 makes more sense than 26650
3100mah 18650s are more energy dense.

all this is true, just a bit concerned about safety...I mean what if u slip, fall, and the 18650's take a hit...

[simples]

all this is true, just a bit concerned about safety...I mean what if u slip, fall, and the 18650's take a hit...

Not a lot I would think. You might bust your arm, and why would 26650's be any better?

3100 MAH 18650's ??????????????

[Baddog]

Not a lot I would think. You might bust your arm, and why would 26650's be any better?

3100 MAH 18650's ??????????????

feel free to take a regular 18650 and smack it with a hammer, if u survive that try it with an IMR.

[ifor powell]

Which Avr is it?

[simples]

feel free to take a regular 18650 and smack it with a hammer, if u survive that try it with an IMR.

I pitched one at a wall from 30 foot away. Didnt do a lot other than cease to work.

To be fair, I wouldn't lump one with a hammer for fun, any more than I'd lump the back of my hand with a hammer. I would however chance lumping the 18650 before I lumped my hand.

The thing is that I know, and can admit, that I know naff all about the chemistry etc of li-ion cells.
But you just couldn't make it up

[ahorton]

ifor powell - ATtiny85V.

simples - Have a look at the Panasonic (and re-branded) 3100mAh cells.

Baddog - Please don't smack anyone wearing my headlamps with a hammer.

[simples]

simples - Have a look at the Panasonic (and re-branded) 3100mAh cells.

Thanks Ahorton. Will have a look.
Was aware that Panasonic 'alledgedly' did some 2900 cells, but try getting them. Conveniently kept for there own use, if they did actually deliver on the 2900. Lots of fake stuff around too. Have you got any links for 3100 cells, ebay sellers excluded obviously. I remain to be convinced. Hasn't the smart money been on 2600 Sanyo or Panasonic if you can find genuine ones, and these are unprotected tagged cells for oem pack builders, not hong kong bucket shop flashshite protected cells ? Probably worth checking out what the top end pro lamp builders use. You are no doubt putting a lot of money into machining after all, would be a shame to spoil it. Out of interest, what sort of volume of machinings did you need to commit to ???

[ahorton]

I can't post links, but look up AW and Redilast for the 2900 and 3100 mAh Panasonics cells. These guys add protection circuits and can be found in our very own CPF marketplace.

Personally I use 2600 Sanyo cells, just because they are good value for money. The black/red/flame/hologram trustfires from DX are ok too considering how cheap they are. I wouldn't go any cheaper than them. I've also bought quite a few cells from FJD and they were fine. Similar price and quality to the Sanyo cells (mid-range).

My headlight runs are always small (20-40). So they'll never be mainstream or cheap. That's fine. The initial aim was just to make them for myself and friends, but this was too expensive. So I make enough extras to sell and bring the overall cost down. The profit from the previous batch lets me waste money being a perfectionist during the development. Eg, getting the aspheric lenses made from scratch isn't cheap, but you end up with what you actually want. I consider myself pretty lucky to be able to do this as a hobby and stay afloat.

It might be nice oneday to do a run of 100 units and really bring the cost down, but that kind of quantity would take all the fun out of assembling them.

[simples]

Thanks ahorton. I had heard about people rewrapping sanyo and panasonic cells with protection circuits, but had no idea of the branding. I'll look up AW and Redilast.

Appreciate that machining a handful of lights is not going to be cheap. Credit to you for having a go. Look forward to seeing your efforts.

[Bolster]

Ahorton - if it's not too OT can you tell us about your fabrication shop? I assume you have some sort of CNC capacity for small runs...a lathe, a mill, both?

[ahorton]

Actually I don't have any of the stuff myself. It's all done through commercial machine shops (hence the cost).

I keep telling myself that I should buy a small CNC mill and save money, but I'm worried that it will become a hobby in itself. I already spend too much time with CAD instead of running around the bush. The guys I use also handle the sandblasting and annodising.

In order to keep the costs down, I let them do my jobs whenever it's convenient for them (between the bigger jobs). Sometimes this means a 6 week turn around but that's ok.

One thing I do want to buy is a reasonable 3D printer. Then I can make prototypes quickly and cheaply. With a bit of laser cut aluminium, in the right place, I could even turn the LEDs on and have a functioning prototype in under a day.

[Bolster]

OT again (sorry) - yes, your CNC mill would become its own hobby. But nowadays you don't need your own CNC mill, you just write the code for someone else's CNC mill. But wait, there's more-- many 3D modeling programs write the code for you! So all you have to do (I say "all" as if it's easy--) is learn the 3D modeling software and hit "send" to the machine shop when you're done. Google Sketchup is what our machinist's club promotes. It's free. Maybe your CAD program writes machine code too, or a translator is available. Yes, the 3D printer is a boffo idea. You might be able to hire that out, too. I have a Sieg X3--too bad you're not my neighbor. No, wait, that's probably a good thing.

[Baddog]

ifor powell - ATtiny85V.



Baddog - Please don't smack anyone wearing my headlamps with a hammer.

will try not to mate, mean time i have two redilasts waiting for ur rubber coating...

[ahorton]

Baddog - Sorry I don't do the rubber coating anymore. The stuff was horrible to work with. That's one of the reasons the V3 has a more conventional plastic battery case. I have played around with a few silicone coatings though. Much nicer feel to them and much more durable too. Too much work at this point, but it's on my to-do list to develop some techniques and equipment to speed up the process.

Bolster - OT is fine. This whole thread is really me just wasting time while I have nothing to design and keep my mind busy. My CAD doesn't do machine code but I think my machinist translates it all pretty quickly. Sometimes he steps in and changes a few things manually but not often. I do plan to learn to code oneday and that might change things a bit. An X3 would be a great mill to have in the shed. I've looked at them a few times. It's not the up-front cost that puts me off, it's all the tooling that goes with it and the time. Oneday maybe..

[kevinm]

I keep telling myself that I should buy a small CNC mill and save money, but I'm worried that it will become a hobby in itself. I already spend too much time with CAD instead of running around the bush. The guys I use also handle the sandblasting and annodising.

One thing I do want to buy is a reasonable 3D printer. Then I can make prototypes quickly and cheaply. With a bit of laser cut aluminium, in the right place, I could even turn the LEDs on and have a functioning prototype in under a day.

I wish I could afford a CNC machine; instead I spend all my time in the Physics Department, re-machining stuff. They tell me the goal is to turn big blocks of metal into little blocks of metal.

Have you seen the MakerBot? It's a cheap 3D printer.

And I feel your prototyping pain. I sent went through 10 revisions at least before I decided I had the kinks worked out!

[ahorton]

The funny thing is that I work in the mechanical engeering school of a university and my office is within 20m of the machine labs. It's still quicker and easier for me to use the commercial machine shops.

The Makerbot is fine but I would go a bit further up the market to something that can double as a (slow) CNC router. The prototyping isn't pain though. Designing is the fun bit!

[borrower]

<bump>... Ash, it's been days since a trickle of information... how about you throw us a weight number?

[maddog]

Pictures??

[ahorton]

Teaser number 5: It has a whole new lens which I designed specifically for the V3. Similar material (BK7) and quality to my aspherics, but a new mould was made along with whole batch of funny shaped lenses. The manufacturer thought I was crazy. They said they couldn't imagine how it would be useful for anything.

[kevinm]

Teaser number 5: It has a whole new lens which I designed specifically for the V3. Similar material (BK7) and quality to my aspherics, but a new mould was made along with whole batch of funny shaped lenses. The manufacturer thought I was crazy. They said they couldn't imagine how it would be useful for anything.

It's a Bat Signal!

[ahorton]

Alas no.

[Th232]

Kinda like multi-focals for headlamps, an uneven distribution so that you can still see the ground next to your feet, but still get aspheric-like throw out *there* in the distance?

[kevinm]

Alas no.

Still excited to see it.

[ahorton]

Out of interest, what sort of image does 'Road Train' conjure in your mind? I'm trying to choose a name for the high power (2000+ lumen) variant mentioned earlier.

I suspect that it's more of an Australian term, but that probably won't stop me using it.

[nein166]

Thats the term for hauling 2 trailers behind a semi right, for shipping through the outback correct?

-Something you don't want to stand in the way of
or
-cane toad juice everywhere

[Baddog]

try 'great white pointer' mate

[ahorton]

-cane toad juice everywhere

... ah, you get to be an honorary Aussie now!

try 'great white pointer' mate

A good Aussie name to be sure, but it doesn't have enough throw to really be a pointer, is a bit of a mouthful and I can't help but think of golf (I don't want to think of golf). I'm from Mt Isa, so it's probably in my mind more than others.

[psychbeat]

"map o tazzy?"



Road Train sounds cool.
Those bush trucks usually have crazy light set ups yah?