18650 CF Twisty

[riflemanuno]

A little background. I'm an ME, working for NASA. I've been wanting to hone my machining skills a bit, and since I love lights, I figured what better way to do it than to design/build one of my own.

This is my second design. (decided first one was a bit ambitious to start out with) it is a twisty, bezel tight being on. The black is a carbon fiber sleeve. my prototype will most likely not include that and will be plane aluminum. Four pieces will need to be machined:
Body
Head
Pill
tailcap

still looking for a good belt clip to use.

Specs
1x18650 battery
3 mode driver w/ memory
ledil lxp-rs TIR optic (assuming I can find a vendor, let me know if you know of one!)
XPG R5 LED

I've scheduled next wednesday to start practicing on the lathe, and pretty soon start working on threading. My plan is to practice threading until I am somewhat competent and then make a master male and female out of steel that I can use to check/clean up my aluminum threads.

Comments or advice are always welcome. I'm selfishly trying to draw y'all in so that I feel pressure to follow through and make this happen.

By riflemanuno at 2010-07-21

By riflemanuno at 2010-07-21


Rich

 

[riflemanuno]

Found LXP optics on digikey, will place order for all internal parts probably tonight.

Planning to change over to plane aluminum for the time being, and add some character to it. simple grooves, nothing crazy. still looking for a belt clip.

 

[LukeA]

I like this design. It has the capacity to add a clicky tailcap at some point in the future. I'd definitely consider adding a glass lens over the plastic optic for better abrasion resistance. I know that the Malkoff lights don't, but I still think it's a good idea.

You will probably have to cut the optic holder to fit wires through.

I guess you will be epoxying the board in?

Springs on both ends is good, especially for a multimode driver.

The rear end is probably heftier than it needs to be.

 

[riflemanuno]

good thought on the lens...I'll have to consider it. I will be epoxying the board in. Never done that before...any tips on exactly how to proceed would be helpful.

I wanted to leave enough material to allow screws to hold on a belt clip. (once I find a source for them) I only left .2" of thickness on the end, which maybe I could cut down to .15ish. but I didn't see the point until I know what hardware I'll be using.

definitely wanted the option to add a clicky later, which this allows.

Thanks for the input.

In other news, digikey only carries the xpe optics...so I'll be getting them from

http://www.cutter.com.au/proddetail.php?prod=cut948

which sucks cause they cost 3x as much. such is life.

gonna get an 11degree and a 15degree to experiment with.

 

[riflemanuno]

well shoot, they're based in australia...the search continues...

 

[riflemanuno]

Updated design. Aluminum only body. removed a little excess room in the tail area. body and head will have to be match machined to ensure good fit at the shoulder while still making contact when twisted tight.

 

[LukeA]

well shoot, they're based in australia...the search continues...

They still ship to the U.S. just fine. All their prices are in Australian dollars as well, which was really nice when $1US was $1.42AUS.

As for XP-E v. XP-G, the packages are the same and the die heights are the same. The only difference in beam divergence angle will come from the difference in die size. XP-E optics function with XP-Gs, but they do obey the laws of physics, so the beam divergence will be bigger.

 

[riflemanuno]

Does anyone have info on how the XPG will act if used with the XPE LXP optic? I searched the forums. all I got was a guess that it would be a bit more floody, which is ok cause the XPE LXP optic is 6Degrees FWHM, which is really tight. 10 or so wouldn't hurt. I'm thinking I may give it a go and see what happens.

 

[riflemanuno]

Here's updated pics. Added o-ring grooves, proper thread engagement.

I'm kinda bummed that it will look so much like dozens of other lights that have been made, but with access to only a manual lathe and simple tooling there's only so much I can do to make it unique. I'm trying to make the lines simple but pleasing. I think it'll look pretty good, especially once I get a clip on there.

Overall length is just over 4". diameter just a hair over 1" at the head. could have squeezed it down, but didn't want to push wall thicknesses that thin. Min wall thickness is at the o-ring grooves, .037". thin, but I think doable. If someone disagrees, please let me know, as I'm not an expert on that.

simple rendering...

xsection

 

[LukeA]

Copper and aluminum are better choices than brass for the pill.

 

[riflemanuno]

I was actually aiming for a copper color there...but it'll probly be aluminum regardless.

 

[riflemanuno]

I have a question about the seal at the lens. generally there is an o-ring on the outside of the lens. Is there a groove cut into the head of the flashlight there, or is it simply flat on flat? I'm not sure how I'd cut a groove there, though I'm sure it could be done. Anyone know?

Thanks!

 

[riflemanuno]

kinda bummed...just looking around the forum found this Mac's

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=271314

style is really similar...cept is his is a lot prettier than mine will be. ;-) oh well, guess I'll keep plugging on. totally jealous of the belt clips he has going there.

 

[saltytri]

I have a question about the seal at the lens. generally there is an o-ring on the outside of the lens. Is there a groove cut into the head of the flashlight there, or is it simply flat on flat? I'm not sure how I'd cut a groove there, though I'm sure it could be done. Anyone know?

Thanks!

Here's a stainless steel bezel in progress,



Note how the compound is set at about 3 degrees.

When the compound is pulled back toward the operator with the boring bar cutting the internal flange, the result is a beveled surface like this (the angles are exaggerated in the drawing):

This isn't a groove but it does have the advantage of keeping the o-ring in place by tending to force it to the outside.

 

[riflemanuno]

awesome. that's what I figured, but wasn't sure. I'm to order some tools here shortly to get me started on the lathe. yay! I can't wait. shopping list

boring bar set (gonna get the cheap ones for the time being)
carbide insert boring bar
carbide insert right handed tool
carbide full profile threading inserts (internal/external)
high speed steel tool blanks (grind them myself)

don't think I forgot anything. should cover the basics.

 

[jirik_cz]

Looks like a nice light, could be a nice brother to my Burkett. Are you going to sell a DIY kit too? (flashlight without LED, driver and optic)

 

[riflemanuno]

really not sure, it's going to depend on how well my prototypes come out. keep watching, and you'll see. ;-)

 

[riflemanuno]

BTW, totally jealous of the lathe setup. :-D

 

[saltytri]

It's worked out well for me. Now, if I were only an ME....

Your project is well-conceived and well-planned. I'm looking forward to seeing the final product.

 

[riflemanuno]

Thanks, I'm looking forward to it as well. I'm moving, and getting married in the next two weeks, so I'm not sure whether it'll get touched.

Where are you located, if you don't mind me asking. I'd love to find some likeminded people in my neck of the woods. (Alabama)

how much did that set up run you, if you don't mind me asking?