has anyone tried smoothing LED beams?

[r2]

Specifically by roughing up the LED casing itself? For whites it isn't really an issue, but colored emitters display rings and other artifacts in the beam. Instead of trying for some kind of textured reflector or filter (like a beamshaper or write-right) would attacking the dome with some rough sandpaper or something similar have any useful effect? Effectively you'd be using the existing LED casing as the filter.

I'm thinking mainly of 5mm LEDs, but colored Luxeons or even the HD whites might be candidates, too.

I don't have any bare emitters to experiment with and I'm hesitent to attack a Photon or Arc AAA EV.

- Russ

 

[Termac]

Yes, I transformed my blue/Green Infinity into an area flood by scratching it with a 3M green abrasive pad, like what you might be cleaning pots with. I did this following the tedious process of polishing the "reflector" with fine sandpaper.

 

[Lux Luthor]

I've also sanded them down, but you won't get as much throw. I've heard of people sand blasting them, and grinding them down and poishing them, but I've never tried it.

As for Luxeons, you might try using the colored high domes or side emitters with reflectors. Then they're pretty smooth.

 

[Darell]

I'm an LED grinder from way back.

I typicall don't do it to just smooth the beam - I do it to make it a non-directional light source. Works like a champ. I take the entire domed portion down flat. Probably best if you stop before the die.

 

[txwest]

I've only used the WriteRight for this & it works great. TX

 

[EMPOWERTORCH]

You can buy "milky" cased LED's from places like Maplin or RS which are ready made as non-directional light sources. They have a comparitively low mcd rating compared with thier water clear counterparts. The die is putting out thv same number of photons as the direcional ones, but the milky casing spreads out that light in all directions a bit like a "pearl" filament bulb does. The frosting on the inside of pearl bulbs was brought about to soften and even out the glow.
TheLedLight.com makes pearlised versions of its mains powered LED bulbs, I believe.
The milky LED's will probably find applications in my converted multitorch as a replacement for the filament bulb in the softlight section. I intend to have an array of 10 blue milkycased LED's to provide a nice even column of light from the softlight.
The same type of LED will work well in the planned "emergency lights" which are those 4 AA powered push lights you can attach to a wall, or in a closet.

 

[INRETECH]

I think you would do better by slightly pointing the LEDs away from center in a multiple LED application, instead of "roughing" them up

Mike
www.inretech.com