Proposal for Bomb-proof host owners.

[Barbarin]

Hello,

Great to know that.

Yes, the lens is resting over the reflector. At -200 m (20 ATM) the flexion in the axis is less than 0,5 mm.

Javier

 

[ICUDoc]

From your earlier description I suspected that to be the case. Is there any chance you can post some pictures, please?

Will

Hi Will
Well I have the pics but am struggling with my website to get them up- do you want me to PM them to you?

 

[wquiles]

Hi Will
Well I have the pics but am struggling with my website to get them up- do you want me to PM them to you?

Better to send by email:
(snip)

Thanks,
Will

 

[ICUDoc]

I had a lot of fun with this host in the pool last night (it's hot as in Sydney lately!). Although I had trouble getting the lens in place (had to use a drill press and plastic block to push the lens in to allow the second o-ring placement) it truly is waterproof and so we had a good time testing it out. I have sent wquiles some pics, meanwhile there are some on icudoc.com also.

 

[wquiles]

Here are the pics David - thanks again:

Will

 

[wquiles]

OK folks, I started cutting chips on this project ...

Here are the basic parts - for now, I am planning on using a P7 heatsink from Britelumens (Jo):

Initial cutting to enlarge the hole in the head so that the reflector can actually sit below the glass/window:

The reflectors that Javier sent are too wide, so those have to be forcefully "convinced" to fit:

Another group photo - by now the reflector fits inside the head, diameter-wise, but the angle in the hole I made in the head prevents the reflector for sitting fully in place:

Here I am cutting the angle relief inside the head:

and after I am done, the reflector now fits below the glass/window level. The reflector now "floats" a little, but I already have a couple of ideas on how to keep it "in place" so that it does not rattle:

Next step is to work on the heatsink side of the project:

Right now, for the heatsink/"pill", I am still looking at whether to use a pressure-fit part, vs. a set screw, vs. having the heatsink threaded to the inside of the battery compartment, etc.. At all times I am trying to minimize the number of "fitted" parts (to minimize the cost of the project to you guys) vs. the need for this P7 solution to be aligned with the whole concept of this host, which is to end up with a truly bomb-proof solution (I mean, no use in having a bomb-proof external shell if the inner solution is somewhat fragile!)

More to come ...

Will

 

[donn_]

:twothumbs

 

[zoran]

Fantastic!! Thanks for the update Will.

 

[shuter]

Thanks for the pictures Will This is getting exciting

 

[ICUDoc]

Thanks Will- looking very professional!
What is the blue tape you use- anything special?
I adore that Bison 6-jaw!
What battery solution are you considering?
Does your drill have the same taper as your tailstock- I see you use a chuck?
And I look forward to your reflector rattle solution- mine just fits snugly- I hate the torches with lens required to keep the reflector in place.

 

[wquiles]

Thanks Will- looking very professional!

Thank you

Thanks Will- looking very professional!
What is the blue tape you use- anything special?

Two layers of 2" wide, Painter's blue tape

I adore that Bison 6-jaw!

It makes two of us - it makes work on the lathe so much easier :thumbsup:

What battery solution are you considering?

To start with I am considering a DD solution for the P7, using a single LiIon cell. Given the space and the ID of the main tube, with the proper adapter/sleeve, it should work with an A123 cell, 18650, or "C" LiIOn.

Does your drill have the same taper as your tailstock- I see you use a chuck?

I am using an adapter for the drill chuck that then mates with the MT3 in the tailstock.

And I look forward to your reflector rattle solution- mine just fits snugly- I hate the torches with lens required to keep the reflector in place.

Like most folks who work on projects as a hobby here in the forums, I charge a low/reasonable rate directly proportional to the time it takes me to do the job/projects/etc., so on a project like this I am not only finding how to do the first one, but I am always looking for ways to minimize custom and/or fitted parts (also why I am trying to start with an over-the-counter P7 heatsink, which happens to be a very high quality part to start with).

If folks like my implementation, I could end up doing a good number of these, so although I have to fit the OD of the reflector to each head (to ensure concentric alignment with the LED), I am trying to not fit the curved part of the reflector to the small hole in the head that faces the LED. This means that in order to keep dimensional stability I would have to use the back of the lens as the reference plane.

Now, to keep the reflector in place against the lens, I am looking at:
- foam like Surefire uses on the KT4 heads to keep the reflector floating in place to handle recoil) - the lens would keep the reflector in place
- high-temp silicon, used from the back of the head facing the battery, which would keep the reflector in place.

So far I like the high-temp silicon better, as it provides a nice firm fit for the reflector with very little movement, it is not as permanent as using epoxy, and it remains somewhat pliable which is good for this application, although Javier said that the lens under pressure moves very little, so either solution should work well in our application.

If you or other have other ideas or suggestions, please go ahead and post here - I am always looking at other ways to do things

Will

 

[wquiles]

Well, I had a pretty stupid accident while machining the threads on the heatsink, so my fancy chuck got some damaged, but I got the heatsink to be threaded and fit into the newly threaded body.

First remove the edge from the heatsink:

Then turn around to start the threading after getting the OD and thread relief ready:

thread the part:

Thread the inside of the body:

Here you can see the damage to my chuck while I was touching up threads on the heatsink:

Here the finalized piece fits the host:

I need to mount and LED, work out the right spacing, work on the electrical contacts for the LED (and possibly using a spring for the "+" contact), etc.. Still lots of little details to figure out ...

So except for damaging my fancy chuck, it was a productive night.

Will

 

[PhotonFanatic]

Will,

As a consolation, it looks as though only the jaws were gouged a bit. Still a bummer, but those are replaceable, without too much cost.

 

[Daylight]

WOW it's a fantastic job by now !!

 

[wquiles]

Thank you Fred - it is definitely a humbling experience

Will

 

[wquiles]

Guys, as an update:

- I am waiting for A123 cells from a forum member so that I can decide on the final dimensions of the heatsink/pill.
- I will likely not use the P7 heatsink from Britelumens and I will be making my own, slightly larger heatsink for this project. I am hoping to be able to work on a prototype once I get the A123 cells.
- The initial variant of this will have a Direct Drive P7, but versions with an MC-E, and/or a driver of some kind might be possible as well, specially if I go the custom heatsink route.

Right now the operations to do the mod look like:
- separate the head from the body (sounds sinister, doesn't???) which is tough due to the epoxy used
- mill the head for the reflector - two operations
- mill the reflector - one operation
- mill custom heatsink - many operations
- thread inside of tube - one operation
- build/assemble heatsink with P7 and do electrical contacts (both positive and negagive) and possibly use a spring for the positive contact - many operations
- create some sort of battery sleeve - many operations - work depends on actual battery used
- some other step(s) that I haven't figured out yet

I can't price it yet, since I don't know all what will be involved yet, but I wanted to give you an idea of the work I see in getting this to a completion. If folks would like to see a non-binding estimate, please let me know and I will come up with my best estimate possible knowing what I know today

Will

 

[04orgZx6r]

Thanks for the Update!

 

[wquiles]

OK, I am done with the "first one". It is a LOT more time consuming than I initially expected, but it works great!!!

Photos later tonight

OK, OK, teaser photo:

Will

 

[wquiles]

Here it is. I consolidated all of the pictures in a single thread so that you get a better idea of how to do it on your own:
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/2827302#post2827302


I need to hear from Javier on how/where to get more reflectors (he only sent a few), in case some of you don't want to do your own and rather have me build you one of these. The only problem with building these is the time it takes to make - lots and lots of time, in fact much more than I anticipated. Only the tailcap I can use "as is" - everything else has to be fitted/modified/created:

- separate the head from the body which is tough due to the epoxy used
- mill the head for the reflector - two operations
- mill the reflector - one operation
- mill custom heatsink - many operations (by far the most time consuming)
- thread inside of tube - one operation
- build/assemble heatsink with P7 and do electrical contacts (both positive and negative) and possibly use a spring for the positive contact - many operations
- create some sort of battery sleeve - many operations - work depends on actual battery used

As a good estimate, if I start with the end user providing the host, P7, and reflector, we are still looking at about $250-$300 for the labor/fitting/threading to create one of these. I am working on some fixtures to try to lower the many hours it took me to do this one, so I might be able to bring this estimate down somewhat. If you are interested, please let me know and I will start creating a separate post.

If nobody is interested in me making one for you, I also understand - no problem. I will continue to help and offer advice based on what I have learned doing this one

Will

 

[zoran]

Will, PM incoming. Definitely interested.

Thanks.