Don't Laugh

[N162E]

Re: Beam Shots

[ QUOTE ]
Rothrandir said:
thanks...a marine shop is somthing that i will never see in iowa /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif

if you are interested in getting rid of some, maybe we could work out a deal?

btw...this works well for plastics also correct?

[/ QUOTE ]

This stuff can be found at gun and knife shows also. I know you have those going on out there. Or you can go to Flitz order and by it by the barrel if you want. P.S. a little goes a long way. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[McGizmo]

Re: Beam Shots

When I was first introduced to Flitz by a factory rep, I was told an interesting story. I believed it and the Flitz has always seemed to perform as if the story were true.

I was told that Flitz was developed by some German engineers who were looking for a replacement for rouge as a final polish for precious metals. The idea was to have fine grit polishing particles that would break down during buffing into even finer and finer grits; essentially taking you through a range of polishing compounds in one step. The fact and results I have obtained from using Flitz on various fresh cut metals (not oxidized) as well as plastics makes me think that this is still the case. I wonder if the marketing statement "no abrasives" is there to ward off concern for scratches. One could argue that polishing compounds (fine abrasives) are not the same as abrasive compounds?

It would be nice if Flitz and Wenol (suggested by Tomas) would be more specific in their literature as to just how their product works. "Chemically cleans without abrasives" might just as well be replaced with "works by magic" for all the information that is conveyed.

Bottom line is I still think of Flitz as having a fine abrasive compound that does break down and I use it accordingly; in some cases, multiple applications and I continue to rub it in (hold it against the turning part) with the sense that it is becoming a finer and finer polishing compound. It seems to work well for me and if this is magic, so be it.

Roth,

Yes it does work well on acrylic like the optics. Fine grades of wet and dry paper used wet first with the Flitz used last can bring the acrylic back to original surface finish. I sent an acrylic ball that I had turned and polished shoulders on to a friend and he though the part was store bought. When working with acrylic, the heat generated can work with or against you and the low melting point must be kept in mind. I have sometimes found that a damp cloth with Flitz will allow longer contact with the acrylic than a dry cloth.



- Don

 

[Otokoyama]

Re: Beam Shots

snakebite: Now that is funny!

McGizmo: I used many applications of Flitz. The marks look like tool chatter. Every new application of Flitz did seem to reduce the marks slightly more, but I eventually became impatient. I have a whole range of polishing compounds, and Flitz always seem to do better than all others. Oddly, it always seemed to do better both with the initial "rough" removal and with the final polishing. Now I know why. Thanks.

Very fine grades of sandpaper are available in auto stores and in Michael's craft stores ... where I'll be headed today. I've got a 4000 grit block used to detail paint finishes that I use for lapping emitter bottoms, especially when pulled off stars.

 

[McGizmo]

Re: Beam Shots

Otokoyama,

I have some 3M abrasive cloth thatis like the scotch bright pads but much thinner. I got a sample spool from 3M when I was with a Marine Distributor of 3M product. This stuff was designed as an abrasive for metal and I have found that it is often enough for removal of tool marks and can be followed with the Flitz. I will sometines use an emory cloth prior to the 3M. The 3M stuff will put a nice satin finish on the metal. In soft metals like Al and brass, the Flitz will remove the satin finish. If you are interested, I can se if I can find the package label on the 3M material. I am finally getting low and will need to find more myself.

- Don

 

[Otokoyama]

SE Beam Shots

Here are three beam shots of an SE driven at 350ma. (The LD and HD were at 400ma.) Same camera setting and distance as the other pictures, though in a dark hallway against a white target and door.

The middle appears to be the tighest focus, showing a square in a donut. The left is defocused in one direction to provide the smoothest beam, not tight but with an apparent central hotspot. The right is defocused in the other direction, diffusing the square into more of a circle and with a wider donut.

I've never been able to get a smooth beam with an SE unless using a stochastic reflector, in which case the throw is diminished.

 

[Rothrandir]

Re: SE Beam Shots

thanks for the se shots...you're right, they're not that good /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

lambda...the misses is actually over 2hours from where i live. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[IsaacHayes]

Re: SE Beam Shots

If when you make a reflector, I will assume that the space around the luxeon will be much smaller than this reflector. how much will that affect the beams? It should make it more efficeint though right?

 

[cannon50]

Re: SE Beam Shots

Ok, it's not an EDC but with long throw and lots of spill - put a clear lens on it and it would be great on the trail. The spill is not as bright as a true flood but I bet it is surprisingly good for navigating.

 

[Otokoyama]

Re: SE Beam Shots

McGizmo: I have various grades of an artificial steel wool, though I'm not sure it's 3M. I'd be interested in the product designation of the 3M stuff. Thanks. Mainly, I was more interested in seeing how the reflector worked overall than in getting a mirror polish. I'll be interested in mirror polish on the reflector that I make.

IsaacHayes: I described the reflector that I intend to make here: Custom Reflector. It will spill from 0 to 20 degrees off axis, collimate from 20 to 60 degrees, then reflect from 60 to 90 degrees into the 0 to 20 degrees zone as enhanced spill. I believe this will produce a nice hotspot evenly fading out to the spill area. It will be more efficient since I'll mirror polish it.

cannon50: Due to how well this reflector worked out, I've designed a 2C light with reflector from Custom Reflector ** that should last quite a bit longer and be comfortable to hold. Hopefully I'll have it done by next Sunday.

** By the way, Carley's quote was quite a bit higher than a hobbyist would prefer. Now that I have some practice with the lathe, I believe I can make one that's fair to middlin'.

 

[lemlux]

Re: SE Beam Shots

My Carley 3" reflector has the same pronounced tool chatter marks on the inside. (It's curious that the 2", 1 3/8", and 1" reflectors don't exhibit this problem.) I haven't yet polished it. I expect it back from some buddies next week with a centered 3/4" ream hole with the set screw hole and thread still functional.

Carley sold 3" parabolic set screw reflectors for $14.67 @ roughly 12 months ago when I bought mine.

I'd love to see a picture with a 5 W HD LS. I can imagine mounting a 5W LS on a 3/4 " aluminum or copper cylindrical heat sink, slathering heat conductive grease on the cylinder, sliding the cylinder into the ream hole, focusing the 5W and locking the set screw.

 

[McGizmo]

Re: SE Beam Shots

Otokoyama,

The stuff I have been using:

3M Scotch-Brite Multi-Flex Abrasive sheets. It is a roll of 60 sheets and the PN: 051131-07521

I suspect that this like all other similar 3m product comes in various grits. The grade on this roll is VFN which I take to be very fine.

Now on to more important comments... You titled this thread "Don't laugh" I believe. Well I assure you that I didn't laugh. In fact looking at your picture and seeing the open access you have to the reflector was an inspiration to me. Lack of easy access to the turbo heads I have has kept me from visiting an idea that has been surfacing from time to time and after looking at your pics, I gave my idea some more thought and finally came up with a solution to the other hurdle I hadn't been able to to solve with satisfaction in the past. I need to get something to eat and then I will take some pics and share this idea with you guys. It's not a new or unique idea at all but it's not something I recall seeing here on the forum either. I figured out a way to float an optic in front of the LED within the reflector so you can have control over the light that would normally spill without re direction. Frankly, it opens the door to all kinds of possibilities and can put the onus on the modder as to just what do you want to do with your photons today. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

- Don

 

[Otokoyama]

Re: SE Beam Shots

lemlux: The Carley 3" parabolic with set screw is the one I started with. I'm having Carley make some 2" reflectors that are metallized (so I don't have to polish them) and lightly stippled, but it has already taken them 3 months due to quality control issues.

I think/hope you don't need a large reflector, just something that collimates the large majority of emitter output.

If my 1W 2C light works okay (the main unknown being the self-made reflector), I'll eventually try a 5W 6AA with scaled up emitter module.

McGizmo: Thanks for the 3M abrasive info. I'll look for this. I'll be very, very interested in seeing how you float optics in front of an emitter without sacrificing reflector efficiency or introducing beam artifacts.

Some Carley and Mag incandescent lamps have a built-in lens, but they never seem to project directly to axis centerline, and you end up with an off center image of the filament. A perfectly machined, ultra thin UCL tube with a condenser lens on top? The suspense is killing me!

As a design basis I'm attempting to create interchangeable battery tubes, emitter modules, and reflector/optics modules.

 

[lemlux]

Re: SE Beam Shots

Otokoyama:

I refer to the off center projection of an in-bulb lens as the grinning sausage or "grin wurst".

This phenomena is very apparent with certain W/A bulbs and 2" Carley reflectors.

The grin is the zizag shadow of the filament in a sausage shaped secondary hot spot.

 

[Doug S]

Re: SE Beam Shots

[ QUOTE ]
lemlux said:
I'd love to see a picture with a 5 W HD LS. I can imagine mounting a 5W LS on a 3/4 " aluminum or copper cylindrical heat sink, slathering heat conductive grease on the cylinder, sliding the cylinder into the ream hole, focusing the 5W and locking the set screw.


[/ QUOTE ]

Lem, from a thermal standpoint I really like this idea too. I once thought about some of the smaller Carley reflectors with the 3/8" hole and setscrew with the Luxeon mounted on a 3/8" piece of Al barstock. I didn't follow though as I suspected that a small order of Carley reflectors would be outside my limited budget.

 

[Otokoyama]

Re: SE Beam Shots

"Grin wurst" is quite appropriate. I've never seen this as a feature.

By the way, this may be obvious, but the optimal focal points for an LD and HD seem to be about 0.02" different, corresponding to the difference in size of their respective optical elements. I haven't seen any Lumileds documentation that attempts to identify this precise point, which is critical for reflector use.

 

[McGizmo]

Re: SE Beam Shots

Otokoyama,

I have been setting my 1W SE's back about .025" from the position I would use for the HD or batwing's. With the 5W SE, you seem to have a few choices but I think I have settled on the same position that I would use for the 5W HD. It's interesting that you seem to have come up with a similar measurement. Maybe I should trim .005" from my calculation (Like I can hold tight tollerances /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif )

- Don

 

[Otokoyama]

Re: SE Beam Shots

My earlier testing was done with various reflectors on 3/8" Al rod. Here's a Surefire, Pelican, and Uke (that I didn't like, so turned down to threads only).

I then started using slightly larger rod, with wires routed down grooves in the rod (painful but possible without milling capability), and threading the reflector and emitter rod to fit very tightly, then using thermal grease (for thermal conductivity and to prevent galling). The threads permit very accurate positioning when finding optimal focus.

The next step was to embed the driver (e.g. BB400) into the unit. That's how I arrived at an emitter "module", components below.

Emitters don't emit much beyond 90 degrees off axis and this permits a "gaping hole" at the bottom of most reflectors.

Probably the next step is to come up with a separate driver module, so different drivers can be interchanged.

 

[Doug S]

Re: SE Beam Shots

Otokoyama, great looking work!!

 

[Otokoyama]

Re: SE Beam Shots

My 0.02" difference between LD and HD focal points is purely an eyeballed estimate of the differences in the gap left between the battery tube and the rotating switch when on. It could easily be another 0.005". /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif I wish Lumileds just published this information.

 

[FalconFX]

Re: SE Beam Shots

Two words:

Holy Sh@t!
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif

This thing looks like it's just beggin' for a 5W SE (and here, maybe the SE might actually work better now...)

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif