I was trying to build a DD XML dropin on my own recently & was trying to squeeze as much metal into the dropin as possible.
I got a spare
17mm to 17mm ring brass ring & I used it to increase the height of the pill on the driver side.
I also bought some cheapo
16mm copper stars from FastTech some time ago but decide not to use them since the build quality was quite bad.
I filed off the top layer of all the copper stars, so it is just left with the bare copper on both sides.
I applied solder on each layer of the star so that there is maximum heat transfer.
After all 3 layers are nicely seated in the pill, I applied a layer of Fujik thermal compound over the top layer to prevent any unnecessary contact with the driver PCB.
And because of the shape of the copper stars, the wire can thread through from the driver to the emitter easily.
This method is alot easier than solder filling because the solder tend to cover the holes in the pill & they are hard to form into a nice shape.
I am sure alu stars will perform as well, at least better than no filling.
This dropin is significantly heavier than my regular solder filled dropin because of extra 3 pieces of copper.
I have no ways of testing the dropin's capability, both thermal & light output.
So far i have tested it with a NiteCore 18650 2600mAh & a Ultrafire 18350, no issues whatsoever.
I'll probably try to run it on a longer duration to see how long before it gets uncomfortable to hold.
From this photo, u can see that the pill on the driver side is slightly longer than regular pills.
Sorry, other than the finished product, i don have other photos to share.
Got too excited when i was building it & forgot to take more photos.
- JonK