My first "ground up" build...

[chelboed]

Alright...so I did the MTE P7 hack job, but I'm on to bigger and better things. Actually...smaller and much better!!

I have been posting about this idea for a while now...but finally got the gumption up to try it. Bear with me if you've read this already at a different forum.


Well...I have been talking about it for a while now, but I've made quite a bit of progress this week.

I'm building a very small triple XP-G R5 helmet mount light with Carlco optics. The driver, emitters, and optics are all integrated for a super-compact setup. Basically just provide your own custom housing and go.

I started with a piece of 1" hex bar cut to 2":

I don't have any machine tools, so I had to be creative. I had a machine shop bore the flat-bottom hole to mount the PCB to. I needed a 20mm x 11mm hole. This was the only "precision" thing that I couldn't do with my wobbly drill press and dremel:lol:
PCB with optics - 8mm
20mm lens from flashlightlens.com - 1.84mm
GITD O-Ring - 1.5mm uncompressed

I then cut a face cap out of a sheet of aluminum "freehand" with a 19mm hole to fit on top and hold it all together. I now have a lip to retain the guts. It will compress the O-ring down and should in theory seal everything off.

Here's the project pic's so far:

 

[chelboed]

Thanks to a "genius" IMO who is designing a triple XP-G on a driver with optics:
(Pic's of triple's coming soon)

Go Quazzle!!

 

[chelboed]

I rounded three of the edges. I think I'm going to leave it this way instead of doing all 6. I like this.

 

[chelboed]

Got my wire exit out the back drilled per my perception of the schematics. Got my strain relief figured out. Kinda like jMitchell's (_TBR)...but smaller and metal. It's really a "Tim Taylor" strain relief. I got a 1/4 - 20 socket head machine screw, drilled a hole down the axis, and put a grommet on it. When I get the wire run through it...I'll put a tiny bit of HS tubing in front of it (inside) and then a larger piece of HS tubing that wraps around the head of the socket head screw and down the exit wire a bit. Then I'll butt the grommet up to the shrunk tubing and tighten it down. Water tight and completely serviceable!


Over the top again. I know I could have just gone with some silicone, but I wanted to do it the "hard way".

 

[chelboed]

Now I'm just waiting on my 2mm end mill so I can get started finning and I'll be ready for electronics.


Still pondering power source. I may just do a Luminousdiy.com 2cell holder for now....until I plunk down the coin for a couple of AW 2600mAh cells, some plasti-dip, and a 7.4v charger.

 

[BrianMc]

Nice summary of the posts on MTBR. Very appropriate here.:thumbsup:

I built a number of 'plug in the bulb' sort of lights. I wanted to use recent LEDs last fall. I looked at my tools and opted out of a ground up build this time. Which was wise and worked out very well for me. I am now thinking of doing a ground up for my next build.

You said the drill press you have isn't as good as you'd like, precision wise, and now are awaiting an endmill. So if someone was contemplating beefing up their workshop with similar tools of the quality you'd like to have, what sort of budget (within $100, $250?) would be needed, if you will excuse the chutzpah of asking? Fortunately, the drill press will be very handy, as I have had to work around not having one for so long that it can be justified in its own right. Bench top mills are about the price of a good HT or an entry FS bike, and a CNC version, twice that. A bit hard to justify for making a couple of lights a year. Not an issue for Troutie, though.

 

[chelboed]

Man...I'm really not the dude to ask about machine tools. Heck man...I had a factory 10w halogen bike light as of last November and knew nothing about voltage, current, drivers, optics, LED's...until the last few months.

I learn quickly and can be crafty. I've used hand tools and some power tools since I was a kid...but I've really never even used a lathe or a mill. I'm confident that I will be able to learn adequately though.





If you just wanna do some "hack" machine stuff like me...get yourself a drill press and a cross slide milling vice. My drill press was a gift from my parents. Some $50 job from Harbor Freight. It is definitely adequate, but the vertical stop is nylon. (gotta be careful with it) And the chuck has about 1-2mm of vertical movement. Not a prob. when drilling, but milling could prove to be fun.

When you're looking at presses...grab the chuck and wiggle it back and forth. Make sure the bearings are good and tight. It's best to have a taller "free-standing" version with an adjustable table. Mine is not...so when I need to move my milling vice up and down...I have to add / subtract blocks to it and re-attach it to the table. (such a pain)



The base of mine only accepts a 4" vice too which is tough. The 5" cross slide milling vice is pretty nice. A little more freedom than my 4".


That being said...my 4" cross slide "machinist vice" from Harbor Freight is very "tight" with regards to wiggle tolerance. It should be excellent for milling b/c it won't move around when taking strokes of aluminum off.

I also did some shaping (rounding) on a Ryobi drum sander. I thing a disc / belt sander would be better for this, but it's all I've got. I put a reciprocating hand sander upside down in my vice and ran the light body across it to smooth everything down a bit.



Basically get a good, tight free-standing (if you can) drill press....and a cross slide vice.

 

[BrianMc]

Man...I'm really not the dude ...
...but I've really never even used a lathe or a mill. I'm confident that I will be able to learn adequately though.

Grew up fixing stuff, like you. Designed & built furniture. Built electronic kits. Do my own bike repairs, including rebuilding wheels. My first foray into build you own lights that was more than a MR16 LED in a landscape light housing is also in the last few months. So many skilled machinists, with fancy tools, your setup looked better for a handy person with few $$. Your results look great without the expensive mills.

If you just wanna do some "hack" machine stuff like me...Basically get a good, tight free-standing (if you can) drill press....and a cross slide vice.

Yeah, your 'hack' will do nicely. I have always wanted a drill press and was told floor standing was better, but could not justify getting one. Cost is reasonable, especially as I will get a lot of other use out of a Drill Press & vise.

Please post pics of your end mill when it arrives and the fin cutting.

Thanks for the tips.

 

[chelboed]

Thx for the props.

When I get my end mill...I'll snap some pic's.

 

[saltytri]

Very interesting build!

One point about milling with a drill press: BE CAREFUL! Many such machines have chucks that attach to the spindle with a tapered shank. This is fine for drilling but the side force of milling can loosen the taper joint and the chuck can pop off. This can mess up both the work and the worker. Not that I haven't done some sketchy things myself but please be safe.

 

[chelboed]

Yeah...it's a tapered shank. I plan on going about 0.5 - 1mm per stroke. (slowly) I'm sure it will take me all night.:mecry:

I'll probably check it after every fin too.

 

[saltytri]

Good, I'm glad that you are aware of the issue.

Also, while high spindle speed is usually preferable for milling AL, keep your speed down because that's what will make things go really haywire if the chuck comes off. This isn't just theoretical, by the way. Before getting a mill, I did exactly what you are doing with a bench top drill press and a two-axis table. Sure enough, the chuck popped off. But I survived. :naughty:

Another machining tip: use WD-40 to lube the bit as you cut.

 

[chelboed]

Good, I'm glad that you are aware of the issue.

Also, while high spindle speed is usually preferable for milling AL, keep your speed down because that's what will make things go really haywire if the chuck comes off. This isn't just theoretical, by the way. Before getting a mill, I did exactly what you are doing with a bench top drill press and a two-axis table. Sure enough, the chuck popped off. But I survived. :naughty:

Another machining tip: use WD-40 to lube the bit as you cut.

Thanks!!


How did your "hack" milling projects fair? Straight?

 

[chelboed]

Here's the light engine from LuxRC

Triple XP-G optimized for 2s LiIon power source.

 

[BrianMc]

Very interesting build!

One point about milling with a drill press: BE CAREFUL! Many such machines have chucks that attach to the spindle with a tapered shank. .... Not that I haven't done some sketchy things myself but please be safe.

To you or chelboed: For those of us thinking of following in the OP's footsteps to varying degrees and possibly currently drillpress-less, are there freestanding or bench top drillpressses that have a different and safer shank design, or are those called mills?

chelboed: Nit picky, point but meant to keep the high quality of your thread intact: I think the module is a Triple, and not a Quad XP-G.

 

[chelboed]

To you or chelboed: For those of us thinking of following in the OP's footsteps to varying degrees and possibly currently drillpress-less, are there freestanding or bench top drillpressses that have a different and safer shank design, or are those called mills?

chelboed: Nit picky, point but meant to keep the high quality of your thread intact: I think the module is a Triple, and not a Quad XP-G.

Thanks man. Not "nit picky" at all. I hate giving out false info...especially when it's as obvious as that. Starts flame wars, hahaha. Fixed it!


I should get this dadgum end mill in the mail today or tomorrow. Will report back.

 

[Slickseth]

Where did you get the xp-g triple? More importantly... Where can I get one???

 

[chelboed]

Where did you get the xp-g triple? More importantly... Where can I get one???

They're still in the prototype stage. I'll post when they are available. You can (in theory) just get a triple mcpcb from cutter and run an external driver, but I'm not going to go that route. It shouldn't be too much longer for the integrated unit to be available.

It's quazzle's unit over on MTBR.

 

[BrianMc]

Where did you get the xp-g triple? More importantly... Where can I get one???

That is actually worth a new thread to notify anyone not visiting that forum. I'll start it.

 

[greenLED]

Where did you get the xp-g triple? More importantly... Where can I get one???

You talking about the finished light or the triple XP-G PCB show in the pictures. If the latter, look here:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=265294

Cutter also's been selling them for a while.