Finding small aspherics?

[Th232]

Hopefully this is in the right place (or is there an optics section I haven't seen?).

Does anyone have any recommendations on small aspherical lenses, and where to get them? If possible, under 20 mm dia, for a Cree XRE. So far I've seen these ones at DX, but not much else.

Unfortunately for my project, space is a real limitation, hence the size restriction.

On the other hand, if there's something inherently stupid or impossible with aspherics that small, please say!

 

[Packhorse]

I cant really answer your question but I use those DX aspherics.
I glue them to PVC pipe then cut down the OD on the lathe to about 18mm. Then cut the PVC to length and mount it above the XR-E's.

Works well for me. But if you dont have access to a lathe then you could file down the edges of the aspherics to fit. They have a 1mm lip on them.

 

[Teego]

Edmund Optics has a 15mm for about $30.

http://www.edmundoptics.com/onlinecatalog/displayproduct.cfm?productid=2454

 

[Th232]

Thanks for the info guys, if worst comes to worst I'll try your suggestion Packhorse. Any other recommendations out there?

 

[sami_voodoo]

Hi TH232,

I've bought 4 of these recently to use in an RC-N3 Q5 from shiningbeam.com.

http://www.surplusshed.com/pages/item/l10085.html

They're plano-convex. I've found that they disperse the beam a little more than your typical Q5 Mag aspheric even when focused to a die shaped projection.

hope this helps!

Cheers!
Sami

Edit: Sorry, I just noted you said "below" 20 mm, for that, I may suggest the following:

http://www.surplusshed.com/pages/item/l10017.html
http://www.surplusshed.com/pages/item/l10141.html

Although to be fair, I think there is a point of diminishing returns with these type of optics. A very small lens may not be able to capture all the light emitted by an LED emitter.

 

[Th232]

Thanks for the links Sami! Cheap enough for me to buy both those and the DX ones for some experimentation, too.