2xAA McClickie Paks?

[gswitter]

Interesting.

Will the inner diameter of these be wide enough to accommodate 3x123 cells?

 

[McGizmo]

No, these paks are not a titanium version of the UBH for those of you who have been around for a while. The bore is designed to fit the AA diameter batteries and the OD of the pak precludes opening it up enough. I figured I owed it to the members to give a heads up in the wave notification prior to launching the introduction wave of these in which I also plan to provide images as well as details.

Since you have initiated a second thread anyway with your question, I'll provide an image which should provide most of the information.

 

[Codeman]

Did you allow extra room for fat AA cells? They seem to vary in diameter, especially NiMh ones, more than 123 cells.

Also, do you know how the Sundrop/Haiku converter will perform on 2xAA NiMh?

 

[gswitter]

Don,

If you'd rather save the discussion for an official thread, please lock this one.

Cheers.

 

[McGizmo]

Ray,
Reasonable questions that I don't have any experience required to answer. Sorry. :shrug:

 

[fyrstormer]

Dammit Don, could you stop making cool stuff I want to buy for a few months?

I bet your machine shop hates you for specifying such a deep and narrow bore. Can it at least be bored from both ends towards the center, since AA batteries are a little narrower than 123s?

 

[Morelite]

I bet your machine shop hates you for specifying such a deep and narrow bore.

I would hate doing all the deep external grooves more than the boring (at least on my manual lathe).

 

[fyrstormer]

I would hate doing all the deep external grooves more than the boring (at least on my manual lathe).

But can you imagine extending a bit that far into a piece of material as hard as titanium, all the while needing to make sure it stays perfectly centered?

 

[Th232]

I'd hate the grooves more. At least with the bore, AAs are nominally 14 mm, the McClicky (assuming that's what Don's using) uses a 11/16" x 20 thread, so you could get a 14 mm drill bit onto the tailstock of your lathe, make a through hole then use a reamer to get the bore to the correct diameter. Drilling titanium actually doesn't take that long, at least not when I did it. Centring wouldn't be so much of an issue since it's a drill bit. Now if you were using a boring bar... ouch!

 

[fyrstormer]

I'll have to take your word for it. The closest I've ever come to lathing something was when I rigged up my Dremel and a ball-bearing to spin a chair leg so I could sand it smooth after it got damaged during a move.

The titanium Don specifies is pretty damn hard, harder than some other titanium bits I've come across. I don't know what you've worked with, but I have to think this is one of the tougher materials a machine shop has to work with, unless someone wants something made from tungsten carbide.

 

[McGizmo]

I am not going to get into the machining of these paks because I wasn't there nor do I consider myself any sort of expert on the process. I do know from personal experience that this is not something I would advise doing yourself at home. Doable, probably. I know I wouldn't want to take on machining one of these and case in point, I didn't! I usually proof out a new design by machining a sample off my drawings before I send them to the professional for a limited run of quality and consistent parts. In the last year or two, I got tired of the extensive time required to proof out a design in titanium as well as the expense in broken cutting tools. :green: I decided I could cut a proto in brass much easier and that was good enough to test function and geometry. With this pak I was willing to wait for a prototype from the machine shop itself and confident enough in the design to proceed without making one myself.

I fully expected to be offering these paks last year and prior to the holiday season. They were ordered in time for this to come to be but the real challenge for the machine shop in identifying the right approach and drills to use ended up with this design remaining in vapor form for quite a while.

This pak is not a trivial part to machine, that much I know and appreciate.

The bore diameter is ~.575 or ~14.5 mm. to the degree this will accept some of the AA batteries some of you guys are using, you know better than I.

 

[Codeman]

...
The bore diameter is ~.575 or ~14.5 mm. to the degree this will accept some of the AA batteries some of you guys are using, you know better than I.

Thanks, Don!

 

[Dog Chaser]

The bore diameter is ~.575 or ~14.5 mm. to the degree this will accept some of the AA batteries some of you guys are using, you know better than I.

I can say with some certainty that I don't know better than you. Can someone that knows better than both of us tell me if this is wide enough to accept AW's cells? Thanks.

 

[Kiessling]

Nice !
Even though it is AA :nana:

 

[Th232]

Got some AW 14500s at home, if no one's checked by the time I get him (in about 10 hours) I'll pull out the calipers and check the diameter.

The titanium Don specifies is pretty damn hard, harder than some other titanium bits I've come across. I don't know what you've worked with, but I have to think this is one of the tougher materials a machine shop has to work with, unless someone wants something made from tungsten carbide.

I've mainly played around with 6Al4V, not that bad unless you go too slow and harden the Ti, then you start getting problems... I personally haven't worked with steel, but my friend's dad noted that it was a fair bit easier than some varieties of steel he'd worked with.

 

[Th232]

I can say with some certainty that I don't know better than you. Can someone that knows better than both of us tell me if this is wide enough to accept AW's cells? Thanks.

Ok, got home and checked. My two AW cells (bought about 3 months ago?) both measure 14.3 mm at their widest.

 

[fyrstormer]

Ok, got home and checked. My two AW cells (bought about 3 months ago?) both measure 14.3 mm at their widest.

A tenth of a millimeter on either side? Man, that's cutting it close. Just the heat expansion from use could stick them in place. You might have to mark your 14500's according to which actually fit and which don't.

 

[tino_ale]

You don't need that much margin to have your cells fit just fine. On the other hand, an excessive ID will make your cells rattle and totally break the quality, "tight" fit of your battery tube.

I do like when my cells fit with minimal rattle.

I quickly measured an eneloop cell. It was over 14.3mm but setting my caliper to 14.5mm it would roll freely between the jaws. I don't think we have a problem here.

Now I need to test the 3S converter and see how it behaves when the voltage drops. I have no idea where my bench supply is though

 

[Codeman]

My 2xAA pak arrived today.

Energizer, Duracell, and Eneloop cells fit great. They rattle just a tiny bit when the pak isn't on a head, but as soon as a head is attached, silence returns unless you bump the pak moderately hard. They will rattle then, but some Post It notes wrapped around the cells will stop that. I usually do this with AA cells in some other lights, so I don't mind. Actually, I'd rather need to do this than have a super snug fit.

I'm running Eneloop cells with the Haiku XP-G head on high to see if expansion will be an issue with them, but I serious doubt that it will be. After 30 minutes, the rear of the head is less than 120°F (ambient is 69°F@44%RH) and the pak (near the o-ring) is still less than 100.

Duracell 2650 mAh NiMH just barely fit. When I dropped the first one in, it somewhat slowly slide down, thanks to some combination of friction and trapped air. They slide out easy enough when cool. I don't plan on using these thick cells, but I had some old ones lying around so I decided to see how they fit.

Due to the thinner walls of the pak, there is no flat surface on the end (next to the boot). Instead, there is a smooth edge. While it's not as comfortable as the flat ends of the standard pak, I wouldn't have wanted the body of the pak to be larger just to provide enough thickness for a flat end.

As usual, I'm happy!

I'd be even happier if I had a delrin cap with a center post to store a pair of batteries in the pak when not in use. Given that such a cap would also fit the standard pak's threads, I really wish that I had such a cap.

Update: The Eneloops were charged on a C9000 @ ½C, without a top off charge, last weekend. They drove the Haiku XP-G on high for about 1.5 hours before the converter dropped to the mid-level setting. That's more than I was hoping for, so this is going to be a great combo. The Eneloop closest to the head was at 95°F and the rear cell was at 88°F - no expansion at all. Medium level was good for another 15 minutes. I can see PWM flickering on low, which I don't usually see, so I suspect the cells are pretty much drained.

One last thought - the 2xAA on an Haiku XP-G is just plain sexy...as far as flashlights go. The narrower body has a really nice feel and anyone who wears pants with deep front pockets should have no trouble carrying this combo.

Thanks for making these, Don! :bow:

 

[fyrstormer]

One last thought - the 2xAA on an Haiku XP-G is just plain sexy...as far as flashlights go. The narrower body has a really nice feel and anyone who wears pants with deep front pockets should have no trouble carrying this combo.

Heh...is that a 2xAA Clicky Pak in your pocket, or...

I do want one of these, but I get the sneaking suspicion I wouldn't like it very much unless I bought a head to go with it. Hmm...