I know I've focused on making fixtures and tooling for myself and know that I've focused on production of many units. This tooling and fixturing is too expensive for any single individual to purchase to make a single DIY sandwich.
So, I believe it or not I was lying there thinking to myself what if I were a new user and wanted to make a sandwich out of the components. What would I do?
Well, here ya go!
I hope this simple method you can repeat for yourself.
<font class="small">Code:</font><hr /><pre>
Material List:
=============================
1/8" X 3" sheet balsa wood. $2.25
1/16" X 3" sheet balsa wood. $1.39
Glue
Exacto knife
3/16" drill
1/2" drill
Drill press or hand drill that will accomodate the 1/2" drill bit.
Wood clamp or vice.
Self closing tweezers. (wood clothespin or plastic clothespin can be used in place of tweezers)
Other misc tools.
</pre><hr />
1. Here's the wood involved in this project.
The wood will be used to create a spacer to clamp the two board between.
2. Since I got 1/32" balsa sheet I'll use two sheets of the 1/32 instead of the 1/8. Mark and cut the sheets into a 2" X 1" rectangle as shown. The grain should run the length of the rectangle as shown.
3. I applied a thin coat of elmers glue to the pieces and then scraped it to a thin coat and sandwiched the sheets with the clamps as shown. Let the glue dry before proceeding.
After the glue is dried and if you have a set of calipers, measure the thickness of the balsa sandwich. You are looking for 0.175" thick. If it is too thick, lap it down on some 320 grit sandpaper. Hold the balsa flat on the sandpaper and move it in a figure 8 pattern. This motion tends to sand the one side evenly. Moving it straight back and forth or side to side will sandpaper unevenly and the side will not be flat when you are finished. My part started out 0.2" thick and took some 80 figure 8's before I got it down to the desired thickness.
4. Now mark a line down the middle and the mark a spot 1" from the top. This is where we are going to drill the hole. After marking it, drill a pilot hole of 3/16" with a drill press or hand drill. Use a wood backer board so that the drill won't tear the bottom stack of the sheet as the drill exits the balsa wood. After drilling the pilot hole, finish it with the 1/2" drill again using a backer board to prevent tearing of the bottom of the balsa wood.
5. Now with the sharp exacto knife cut the board down the middle to make two halves. Hopefully, you drilled in the middle, otherwise score down the middle of the hole splitting it in half. The two sides do not need to be even, but, the score must split the 1/2" hole symmetrically.
6. Now you are ready to use the fixture. Assemble the converter board and emitter board together with the connectors. The long side of the connectors should be in the converter board side. Carefully wedge in the sides of the sandwich the balsa spacer and then press them together so the balsa is touching each other. Now clamp.
Once you have it clamped, you should do the converter side soldering first. If you have gotten this far, and you have the backside of the converter board facing up, gently push the connectors till they bottom out. This leaves them protruding the emitter side the correct distance and you will solder the LED to these on the emitter board later. So, getting them the correct distance is rather important. Now solder the connectors in place. Flip and solder the emitter board side and you are finished.
Total cost is less than $5.00 in raw material (enough to make dozens of fixtures). Time from start to finish is literally 15 minutes or so.
Here's a final shot of the converter board being clamped and measured with a digital caliper. It may not be that visible but the caliper reads 0.309. Target is 0.3" +/- 0.010. If I solder this one up, it would make the FF2 specifications!
I hope you enjoyed this little write up. Please post any comments or questions you might have.
Wayne
So, I believe it or not I was lying there thinking to myself what if I were a new user and wanted to make a sandwich out of the components. What would I do?
Well, here ya go!
I hope this simple method you can repeat for yourself.
<font class="small">Code:</font><hr /><pre>
Material List:
=============================
1/8" X 3" sheet balsa wood. $2.25
1/16" X 3" sheet balsa wood. $1.39
Glue
Exacto knife
3/16" drill
1/2" drill
Drill press or hand drill that will accomodate the 1/2" drill bit.
Wood clamp or vice.
Self closing tweezers. (wood clothespin or plastic clothespin can be used in place of tweezers)
Other misc tools.
</pre><hr />
1. Here's the wood involved in this project.
The wood will be used to create a spacer to clamp the two board between.
2. Since I got 1/32" balsa sheet I'll use two sheets of the 1/32 instead of the 1/8. Mark and cut the sheets into a 2" X 1" rectangle as shown. The grain should run the length of the rectangle as shown.
3. I applied a thin coat of elmers glue to the pieces and then scraped it to a thin coat and sandwiched the sheets with the clamps as shown. Let the glue dry before proceeding.
After the glue is dried and if you have a set of calipers, measure the thickness of the balsa sandwich. You are looking for 0.175" thick. If it is too thick, lap it down on some 320 grit sandpaper. Hold the balsa flat on the sandpaper and move it in a figure 8 pattern. This motion tends to sand the one side evenly. Moving it straight back and forth or side to side will sandpaper unevenly and the side will not be flat when you are finished. My part started out 0.2" thick and took some 80 figure 8's before I got it down to the desired thickness.
4. Now mark a line down the middle and the mark a spot 1" from the top. This is where we are going to drill the hole. After marking it, drill a pilot hole of 3/16" with a drill press or hand drill. Use a wood backer board so that the drill won't tear the bottom stack of the sheet as the drill exits the balsa wood. After drilling the pilot hole, finish it with the 1/2" drill again using a backer board to prevent tearing of the bottom of the balsa wood.
5. Now with the sharp exacto knife cut the board down the middle to make two halves. Hopefully, you drilled in the middle, otherwise score down the middle of the hole splitting it in half. The two sides do not need to be even, but, the score must split the 1/2" hole symmetrically.
6. Now you are ready to use the fixture. Assemble the converter board and emitter board together with the connectors. The long side of the connectors should be in the converter board side. Carefully wedge in the sides of the sandwich the balsa spacer and then press them together so the balsa is touching each other. Now clamp.
Once you have it clamped, you should do the converter side soldering first. If you have gotten this far, and you have the backside of the converter board facing up, gently push the connectors till they bottom out. This leaves them protruding the emitter side the correct distance and you will solder the LED to these on the emitter board later. So, getting them the correct distance is rather important. Now solder the connectors in place. Flip and solder the emitter board side and you are finished.
Total cost is less than $5.00 in raw material (enough to make dozens of fixtures). Time from start to finish is literally 15 minutes or so.
Here's a final shot of the converter board being clamped and measured with a digital caliper. It may not be that visible but the caliper reads 0.309. Target is 0.3" +/- 0.010. If I solder this one up, it would make the FF2 specifications!
I hope you enjoyed this little write up. Please post any comments or questions you might have.
Wayne
![Pampers Sensitive Baby Wipes, Clinically Proven, Fragrance Free, Unscented, Water Based, Hypoallergenic, Multi-Use, Hand Wipes 336 Wipes Total (6X Flip-Top Packs) [Packaging May Vary]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41KLBHu9CAL._SL500_.jpg)
