Potted led light - what exactly does this mean?

[swxb12]

In my search for more reliable flashlights, I have come across the term "potted" quite often from people commenting about the robustness of this model or that. Can anyone please explain to me (in simple terms, heh) what the potting of an led light-build typically means? Thanks in advance.

 

[Youfoundnemo]

IIRC, it is when a module is filled with thermal compound (generally white hard substance) to fill in any nooks or crannies in the elecrtonics, this improves their shock resistance as well as their ability to transfer heat away from the led and to the flashlight body

 

[HarryN]

The "potting material" can also be other colors, black and red being common. Many of these materials are not particularly thermally conductive, but are great for shock resistance enhancement. The most common are epoxy materials that start off very thin (to get into all the cracks) and then cure, bonding it all together and sealing out dirt / water.

Assuming that the potting material and installation were at all thought through, this has a massive positive effect on electronics reliability, especially in rugged applications. The downside, is that it makes the product pretty hard to modify, as scraping away the epoxy is slow and tedious.