CNC XPE bike light

[Darell]

Jeez. I was watching the "interest" thread and not this one. Now I'm on the proper page! So great to see this coming together after all your work! And I LOVE the STI switch plan, of course!

 

[ktronik]

Thanks, answers it all very well. 20mm- a seriously tiny powerhouse. This would be great for helmet-mounted lights.
How many lumens are you getting at 1000ma?, with good cooling airflow?

On paper you would have 750lm before it comes out the optic...or 1035lm when you get the XP-G board. you guys get a discount off cutter for this, with the purchase of a k-light.

K

 

[ktronik]

Jeez. I was watching the "interest" thread and not this one. Now I'm on the proper page! So great to see this coming together after all your work! And I LOVE the STI switch plan, of course!

As the STI switch is a little tricky its a special order only... :twothumbs

K

 

[ktronik]

email question

LED in switch sounds interesting - would this be integrated into the switch unit or is there a special glowing switch we can get?


Yes built into the current switch unit, but if you wanted to use a plug on the remote, you would need a 3 pin plug rather than the 2 pin supplied...

 

[fevans]

email question

LED in switch sounds interesting - would this be integrated into the switch unit or is there a special glowing switch we can get?


Yes built into the current switch unit, but if you wanted to use a plug on the remote, you would need a 3 pin plug rather than the 2 pin supplied...

Great looking light. Another switch question for you: Is there any way to have a switch that is attached to the light body? For me, that is a better option than a remote switch.

Thanks.

 

[ktronik]

Great looking light. Another switch question for you: Is there any way to have a switch that is attached to the light body? For me, that is a better option than a remote switch.

Thanks.

Welcome Fevans!! :welcome: I hope you enjoy your stay...

I have thought a little ahead about what you guys would want to change & this was one aspect we worked on...

So by replacing the rear lens for a non drilled one & by removing the cable gland & using a grommet instead, you would then have room on the back lens to mount a small switch. You would have a 24.5mm DIA space to work with to mount your switch & cable exit & would have a 16mm drop behind the lens for the back for the switch, before it comes anywhere near the driver...

I have not done this as I am trying to get this light dive rated & a grommet & extra switch hole is not used for diving as the grommet cable exit may not waterproof @ depth

You could also do what the CPF pros do, & run some red LEDs out the back lens for a rear red helmet light (for K-light helmet mounting of course)


Ktronik

 

[Andres]

Just putting an order through with Cutter for the kit - but not terribly sure on which optic is the best? Will probably get two, the Frosted Medium and Narrow Lens Front. Will be handlebar mounted and used as the main source of light for MTB.

Just tossing up whether to bother with the Narrow as well as the medium?

Any thoughts?

 

[ktronik]

Just putting an order through with Cutter for the kit - but not terribly sure on which optic is the best? Will probably get two, the Frosted Medium and Narrow Lens Front. Will be handlebar mounted and used as the main source of light for MTB.

Just tossing up whether to bother with the Narrow as well as the medium?

Any thoughts?

10507 Narrow lens front
10511 Frosted narrow

These are my FAV's, but the frosted has such a smooth beam, it win's over the non frosted, but still give a good punch. works great with punchy helmet light.

K

 

[Andres]

Mine's apparently shipping today from cutter, so should be well and truly up and running by this weekend.

Can't wait!

Did a pricing comparison to the popular Ayup lights available in Aus, and while the K-Light / Turboferret Holder / DX 18650 combo light works out to be about $50 more expensive, you do get a better driver / control, more output, upgradability, easily replaceable (cheap 18650) batteries. Ayups are lighter / simpler though. I think it will be worth it -especially for the 'tinkerer' type.

 

[Andres]

Got 90% through putting it together tonight - couple of things I noticed:

Make sure to use very small wires for the LED wiring - I tried using slightly larger guage wiring, and it was quite difficult to assemble. I broke one of my solders once trying to squish it in. Not a fault of the design, jsut need to be aware of using smaller wiring.

I had my bflex pre-wired and noticed that in the drawings its shown that the yellow and white wires are used for switching whereas in my case it was yellow and green were wired for switching. This threw me off a little as I didn't want to pull it all apart to check which wire was which once I had it all assembled.

Also, make sure there are no burrs on the lexan lenses, or the LED PCB as the machining is to such a high tolerance that it will have an impact on the fitting. It's much easier to file off these burrs before you do the soldering or remove the protective plastic from the lexan lenses.

Must say I'm very impressed with the smoothness of the 22 degree frosted lens. Its very very nice.

Looking forward to test riding.

Will finish off on the weekend. Have a 7.30am meeting tomorrow at work and need my beauty sleep haha.

 

[ktronik]

Got 90% through putting it together tonight - couple of things I noticed:

Make sure to use very small wires for the LED wiring - I tried using slightly larger guage wiring, and it was quite difficult to assemble. I broke one of my solders once trying to squish it in. Not a fault of the design, jsut need to be aware of using smaller wiring.

I had my bflex pre-wired and noticed that in the drawings its shown that the yellow and white wires are used for switching whereas in my case it was yellow and green were wired for switching. This threw me off a little as I didn't want to pull it all apart to check which wire was which once I had it all assembled.

Also, make sure there are no burrs on the lexan lenses, or the LED PCB as the machining is to such a high tolerance that it will have an impact on the fitting. It's much easier to file off these burrs before you do the soldering or remove the protective plastic from the lexan lenses.

Must say I'm very impressed with the smoothness of the 22 degree frosted lens. Its very very nice.

Looking forward to test riding.

Will finish off on the weekend. Have a 7.30am meeting tomorrow at work and need my beauty sleep haha.

HI,

Please use the wires supplied in the kit, as they are the correct size gauge.

Colour of the 2 switch input wire does not matter, as the 2 switch input wires are not polarised.

Yes lexan / bflex may need to be trimmed as housing has very tight tolerances. I have only needed to do the bflex so far.

Narrow frosted is my fav...totaly smooth beam!!

Have fun riding, & please post pics of it on your bike

K

 

[ktronik]

Still air test, 20 min till trip in still air on FULL power

Moving air test, pretty happy with that...

As you can see a nice 600lm light soon turns into a 450lm light if it get too hot.... if we could have a liquid nitrogen core we would have more light for the same power... say your housing is at absolute zero (-273.15 deg C) unlikely I know, but Lm/W @700mA would incress from 83.2 to 121.2 Lm/W

So if you want the best Lm output for your Watt input, buy a well designed light or move to a polar region, for me that counts out any 'plastic' wrapped LED housings... (most of the bike light market)


K

 

[Andres]

HI,

Please use the wires supplied in the kit, as they are the correct size gauge.

Colour of the 2 switch input wire does not matter, as the 2 switch input wires are not polarised.

Yes lexan / bflex may need to be trimmed as housing has very tight tolerances. I have only needed to do the bflex so far.

Narrow frosted is my fav...totaly smooth beam!!

Have fun riding, & please post pics of it on your bike

K

I didn't get any wires for wiring from the bflex to the LED or else I would have used them. Not a big deal in the end though.

I understand the switch wires were not polarised, but in the loom there is also a spare pair of wires that aren't connected to the board. I assumed these are included for if you want to remotely mount the driver 'stat' LED outside the housing. Just need to take note which wires are connected to the driver and which are 'spares' before closing the housing up. As in my case the wiring colours did not match the instructions. Again, not a big deal in the end.

Haven't had a chance to test run it on my bike yet. Been too busy. :scowl:

 

[ktronik]

I didn't get any wires for wiring from the bflex to the LED or else I would have used them. Not a big deal in the end though.

I understand the switch wires were not polarised, but in the loom there is also a spare pair of wires that aren't connected to the board. I assumed these are included for if you want to remotely mount the driver 'stat' LED outside the housing. Just need to take note which wires are connected to the driver and which are 'spares' before closing the housing up. As in my case the wiring colours did not match the instructions. Again, not a big deal in the end.

Haven't had a chance to test run it on my bike yet. Been too busy. :scowl:

really no wire for LED??? I made up the kits & shipped to cutter, with these wires...thanks for the heads up, I will have a chat to Mark.

K

 

[sosemot728]

I assembled and used the K-Light I ordered off you a while ago, I would like to let you know a major design flaw.

The inner body assembly has a hole drilled through into the inside, to mount the handlebar assembly.

This is disastrous as, it makes the a great light, unable to keep the water out... The first trip out in the rain and the internal body section of my light, filled with moisture and destroyed the circuit boards inside. Even though it had the screw in place to prevent this!

Is there any chance of getting a body that does not have a huge hole right through it!? I have been very disappointed, with what has happened. I now have a broken light...

 

[ktronik]

I assembled and used the K-Light I ordered off you a while ago, I would like to let you know a major design flaw.

The inner body assembly has a hole drilled through into the inside, to mount the handlebar assembly.

This is disastrous as, it makes the a great light, unable to keep the water out... The first trip out in the rain and the internal body section of my light, filled with moisture and destroyed the circuit boards inside. Even though it had the screw in place to prevent this!

Is there any chance of getting a body that does not have a huge hole right through it!? I have been very disappointed, with what has happened. I now have a broken light...

HI Matt,

No good to hear that you are having troubles, but it is quite simple to seal the hole with waterpoof grease or teflon tape so that it passes the 'dunk test', I have had mine @ 1M for 30min with no probs...& have had many a rain ride with it to boot. I am sorry I could not build it for you & do this. & am sorry you did not know to do this or tested your light before you powered it up. You also might want to check the build order of the o-rings in the back as even with no waterproof grease or teflon tape, it is very hard for the water to travel up hill, against gravity into the light, through the bolt hole, I would be happy to re-build your light for you no charge, if you sent it to me, but you would have to pay for new parts if needed.

I would have been happy to supply you with free/ new parts, if I had of build it up & then if failed, but as you have build it, I will not warranty your parts back, but happy to build it up for free...if you are unhappy with this I will happily refund your money for the housing kit.

hope this helps

Best

Kerry

 

[Darell]

I'm trying to figure out how water has destroyed the circuit. I've used this circuit in many hundreds of devices, and after I solder to them, I clean them with... water. They are completely saturated. They don't work reliably when wet. But once dry, they're of course perfect. If water was the problem, then dryness is the fix.

 

[znomit]

I'm trying to figure out how water has destroyed the circuit. I've used this circuit in many hundreds of devices, and after I solder to them, I clean them with... water. They are completely saturated. They don't work reliably when wet. But once dry, they're of course perfect. If water was the problem, then dryness is the fix.

Yeah should be ok even after being dunked, but you'll need to dry the bflex first. One of my light head filled with mud once, was ok after running it under the tap. It even ran while filled with water.
:thinking:

 

[Leow]

Ktronic,

Re - using Cutters current kit with a dynamo.

How much room is there at the back of the housing where the bflex is?

Could I just get 4 diodes in there or would there be room for a worthwhile smoothing capacitor too ?

Cheers,
Leo

Or should I be waiting for your OEM version !

 

[ktronik]

Ktronic,

Re - using Cutters current kit with a dynamo.

How much room is there at the back of the housing where the bflex is?

Could I just get 4 diodes in there or would there be room for a worthwhile smoothing capacitor too ?

Cheers,
Leo

Or should I be waiting for your OEM version !

HI Leow,

Currently i am prototyping the circuit for the dynamo version, I use in the light 3/ 5.5v 0.047 supercaps in series as a standlite & outside I run the diodes / tuning circuit with a extra 2200uF smoothing cap, as it can be run 'in-line' on the cable... works well so far...

my OEM version is still a few weeks away...

K