I modded a McClicky! (pics)

archer6817j

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So check this out. I've been working with Smalley Steel Ring to find a wave spring that will fit the McClicky. This one is 17-7PH stainless so before you get too excited, stainless is a miserable conductor of electricity. In my ideal world they'll custom make springs out of beryllium copper. The only drawback is the massive cost. It would likely double the price of a McClicky. That said, awesome right?

The main reason I like these springs is they have very large contact area: better for conductivity and less potential to dent the battery. But the real reason is the short current path. In a coil spring the current has to go around and around like the spring was one long piece of wire. With the wave spring each coil touches the next so the path is nearly straight. I'm guesstimating but the difference is 3/8" vs. something like 2 inches. Did I mention they look awesome? I think wave springs should universally replace coil springs in "power" flashlight applications.

Did I mention they look cool? If you want more blabber you can check out my blog post :)

2springs-800.jpg
 

The_Driver

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This seems like a really great idea. When I still had my modded maglite with a mcclicky I had problems with the stock spring too (it put a dent in all my batteries).

Maybe you should talk to mcgizmo about this? Isn't he the one that makes these (or has them made)?
 

archer6817j

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Wow only one reply? I'm surprised. I guess you folks need a little more in order to be impressed....

mc-gold-800.jpg


24K gold plate?! I actually disassembled the entire switch AND gold plated all of the internals as well. I bought a gold plating kit from Caswell because I'd been wanting...some gold plated stuff. I also gold plated the nickel plated retaining ring just to show off :)
 

archer6817j

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This is NOT a functional mod and will NOT be offered as an upgrade to the Alpha.

The springs I've been using for prototypes are stainless steel and stainless is an incredibly poor conductor of electricity...much worse than carbon steel...which normal battery springs are made from.

Unfortunately Smalley only stocks this size spring in stainless, not even carbon steel, and you don't even want to know how much it would cost to have some custom made out of beryllium copper. Something to the effect of each spring will cost as much as a complete McClicky. Still interested? Better raise your hand :)
 

dlmorgan999

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That's really beautiful! :) Too bad it's not a better conductor. Of course you can't see it during normal use, but the owner would know and that's what counts. ;)
 

Raze

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Well, they told me aftermarket drop-in air filter from K&N would help for the quest for more horsepower. They also told me that it would be very expensive.

So I bit the bullet and bought one set for my car. I felt a perceived 1% increase, maybe..if I'm lucky it won't damage my MAF sensor. But it gave me something to brag about. This is like your Prometheus Spring.

When you eventually offer one for sale to upgrade the Alpha, Consider my PayPal sent. When the spring is made from super-conductive unobtainium even, I'll buy it.

Why? I don't know. Upgrades are upgrades. They're cool to have. Necessary, maybe not. Will I want it?

Hell yeah!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk, please pardon typos.
 

Tofty

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If you did sell an uprated mcclicky switch i know i would struggle not to buy one, or more likely several considering all the lights i have which use them (including an alpha).

Did you ask what kind of minimum order the spring makers would need to justify doing a run of them in beryllium copper in that size?
I can also see them being a good replacement for driver interface springs.
 
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archer6817j

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If you did sell an uprated mcclicky switch i know i would struggle not to buy one, or more likely several considering all the lights i have which use them (including an alpha).

Did you ask what kind of minimum order the spring makers would need to justify doing a run of them in beryllium copper in that size?
I can also see them being a good replacement for driver interface springs.

Technically there is no minimum on the springs...but they are priced accordingly. The real limitation is the minimum order on new McClicky switches...which is an official boat load. I won't say how many switches that would be but I'll tell you it's about $9,000 in springs :)

You are also reading my mind on the driver springs. That's what got this whole thing started. Then I wanted to make the McClicky spring and the driver spring at least "similar" spring rates to balance out the force and help eliminate dented batteries. Of course now we are taking a $6.00 driver and turning it into a $15 driver without any real performance increase...besides mechanical. Of course I still want to do it :)

I'd suggest that if anyone wants the remotest chance of seeing an upgraded McClicky they should tell all of their friends to post here...and maybe their friends and relative too :) Of course I'd love to hear from any retailers or flashlight manufacturers that would want to use these...if you resemble this remark please feel free to PM or email me directly.
 
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lightsolo

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Stainless...Nice
Gold Plated...Very Nice indeed.
Any chance of just upgrading the switch w/ carbon steel type spring for the time being?
Lightsolo
 

archer6817j

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Hi folks, I think I've found a way to reliably remove the stock spring and install a wave spring...as opposed to having thousands manufactured from scratch. Right now it looks like the price for a McClicky with a Be-CU gold plated wave spring will be about $17.50. Would anyone be interested at this price?
 

Bigmac_79

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Hi folks, I think I've found a way to reliably remove the stock spring and install a wave spring...as opposed to having thousands manufactured from scratch. Right now it looks like the price for a McClicky with a Be-CU gold plated wave spring will be about $17.50. Would anyone be interested at this price?

I think in order for me to feel justified in that, I'd want to first hear some about the benefits of the new spring style. I really like the idea of it, but I want to know how it will perform. Any extra minutes on low mode, due to decreased resistance? Less likely to dent my battery? Longer switch life? I just need to know what I'd be paying for, then I'd know if it us worth an extra $9. ;)

Sent from my mobile device. Please excuse brevity and typos.
 

nfetterly

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Hi folks, I think I've found a way to reliably remove the stock spring and install a wave spring...as opposed to having thousands manufactured from scratch. Right now it looks like the price for a McClicky with a Be-CU gold plated wave spring will be about $17.50. Would anyone be interested at this price?

yep at least one...
 

fyrstormer

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It strikes me as a sub-optimal design, actually. With a coil spring, conductivity is continuous along the length of the spring wire, from tip to base. The only mechanical interface points are at the ends of the spring. With a wave spring, however, there is a mechanical interface point where each wave-ring contacts the next, so you have many more interface points. Anyone who works with electronics knows that mechanical interfaces introduce significant electrical resistance, especially if the interface points have small surface area like these springs have, which is why the best electrical connections are welded and the second-best are soldered. Just having two pieces of metal touching each other is quite inefficient electrically, especially when shoving multiple amps through each interface point, which probably has a lot to do with the poor conductivity you're seeing.

Also, electrical conductivity of wire is affected by the cross-sectional area of the wire as well as the length of the wire. The flat wire those wave springs are assembled from has an incredibly small cross-sectional area. Even though there are 4 separate zig-zag paths the electricity can take simultaneously, the total cross-sectional area of those paths added together looks to be only slightly larger than the original coil spring wire. Also the total distance traveled by the electricity is not going to be substantially different from the original coil spring, because the electricity will still have to zig-zag between interface points as it moves from one ring to the next. Given the number of rings in that wave spring, I'm going to guesstimate that all the zig-zags added together will equal a longer distance than with the original coil spring.

If you want to mod a McClicky switch so it's less likely to dent batteries, it would probably be simpler to sand-down the end of the stock spring to produce a flat surface, and then solder a copper disc on the end to increase the contact area with the battery, similar to the design of the springs in the Ra Clicky. It would also be easier to procure small copper discs rather than whole new springs, and easier to perform the mod since nothing would need to be disassembled.
 
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archer6817j

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Now if only you can make the McClicky handle more than 5A of current...

To be honest, I don't think the McClicky can really handle more than 3 amps of current. Even at that level the spring gets really hot to the touch. I know people have used it up to 5A but I can't imagine (long term) it would stand up to extended use without melting all of the plastic inside the switch. If the spring is getting hot, I don't know what that says for the tiny pieces inside. Maybe they are small enough that the current path is really short and the resistance isn't that high, or at least it makes the bottleneck the spring. Reducing the resistance in the spring would certainly increase run times and brightness...but who knows how much.

I measured the resistance at .5 ohms with the spring. Measuring directly from the next point of contact .2 ohms...so the spring itself is around .3 ohms. So, you are wasting almost a watt in the spring. If anyone is curious, I tested the 17-7 stainless spring...2.5 ohms of resistance...so no chance that will work :( I put it on the sphere just for fun and the output is about half of normal.

The FETtie is a great idea...if you want to spend $48 on a switch that requires you to change it's batteries. I think if you want to run >5 amps of current then it's totally worth it...because there is no other way to do it. Even though that once cell lasts "forever" I still don't want to be worrying about what situation I'll be in when it actually goes dead. It's also a reverse clicky, which is not my personal preference.

My original idea was to completely re-manufacture the McClicky with all copper internals and a copper wave spring. I think that could handle (guessing) maybe up to 10 amps without putting up much complaint. Then if you want to go over that, the FETie is a great choice. However, the realitiy of manufacturing rears it's ugly head. I'm guessing it would be at least a 5,000 pc minimum and they will be magnitudes more expensive than the original McClicky. Which is a really smart design for a mechanical clicky by the way...if you've never opened one up. Anyway, if I was Surefire I'd be collaborating with Don on that project in a heartbeat. Then there would be copper McClicky's for all :) Even getting the wave spring in copper at a volume of 3000 pcs is going to be like $6 just for the spring.

Okay, here is my ask: I need a patron that will fund bringing more awesomeness to the flashlight world, cost be damned :) I have a laundry list of stuff I want to do and not the money nor the time...the former being able to compensate for the latter. Who's up for buying something like 5,000 McClicky switches? I'll have them made and give them away just to make the world a brighter place :)
 

fyrstormer

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Might want to talk to TnC, Mac, and Oveready. They all make high-power lights using McClickies. Oveready is also a common destination for people who are searching for high-end parts. The Sandwich Shoppe and LightHound also seem like vendors to talk to.
 
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