R2 sample is TINY, soldering suggestion?

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killforfood

killforfood

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Dec 15, 2006
Messages
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Location
Oregon
Just received my sample R2 led from Cree and man are they tiny!
It's actually about the size of this M.
I'm not sure how successful I'll be soldering leads to it.
I should probably find a star to sweat it onto.

IMG_6939.jpg


Anybody deal with these yet? Any tricks for soldering these tiny devices?

I haven't even decided what to put it in yet, maybe a Princeton Tec Apex or 2D Mag.
 
Aside from reflow soldering it to a star or board, you will need to solder leads like you do for a Rebel. Expose the copper on top, and tack wires to the pads. Work quickly, and use flux.

I can't wait to experiment with some of these!
 
I found some reflow DIY tutorials on the web and it looks doable, if I can find a star. Anybody know where to get stars for this emitter? I did a quick search for stars but didn't come up with anything.

Looking at the topside it appears that there are already two tinned pads that leads could be soldered to. In that case I could just coat the whole bottom with arctic alumina and bond it directly to a heat sink.

IMG_6945.jpg


This is about the best picture I could get with my crude macro lens.

IMG_6950.jpg
 
gillestugan,

Yah, Cutter's got-em but there's just something wrong about paying $12.45 shipping for a $.75 part:thinking:

XPE MCPCB $0.75
Sub Total: $0.75
Shipping Estimate: $12.45
Grand Total: $13.20

Eventually somebody will carry these that has other things I need and I'll combine the order to make it worth while.

Until then I'm shopping for a good price on DXXXI P7's


Marduke,

You're probably right about reflowing for ideal results. I've never done it so I guess it's time to learn. I need to go Google reflow soldering a couple more times before I try it on my own.
 
Is there any reason you guys are using the XP-E over the XR-E in this instance? Unless size is of concern, or you want the wider beam angle, the XR-E is significantly easier to work with and solder to manually (and if needed you can drive the XR-E at higher currents than what you can the XP-E).

A few months ago I mounted XP-Es on stars to do some early tests with, but to use a star in most applications seems to defeat the appeal of the package size.

If you use some very small wire you should be able to solder to the two tiny silver pads on the corners of the top of the LED and just use some thermal epoxy to mount the whole part to a heatsink (which has been hard anodized or otherwise made non-conductive).

They are nice little parts for specific kinds of projects. Good luck!

-Enrique
 
I think it has to do with the "Cree rings" that the XR-E series has that is created by the metal lens holder.
 
Endeavour,

I'll be honest, the only reason I got it was because it was offered as a free sample. The small size will definately be a challenge. In the past I've always shied away from surface mount parts but maybe tackling this will get me over the fear of playing with the tiny parts.
 
Using a small chisel-tip on your soldering iron I would lightly tin the top pads with a bit of solder. Use the thinner gauge solder to avoid putting an excessively large blob on the part. Then get your wire ready, heat the pad, stick the wire in the molten solder, and let cool. It's not too terrible, but you have to be very sparse on the solder, and use relatively thin wire.

The viewing angle of the XP-E is 120 degrees, if I recall correctly. If you are going to try putting a reflector over the LED I would highly recommend you find another way of working with the part; even without soldering wires to the top the pads are live and will short if you put metal across them (which will likely fry your driver, too). This particular feature of the part makes it a pain to design around if you want to use the nicer metal reflectors out there.

There is not a very convenient way to use this part unless you design your own circuit board (or get it pre-mounted on a star) and are careful about the design of the optics (or use plastic lenses).
 
Endeavour,
Thanks for the good advice. Technique will definitely need to be near perfect when dealing with these tiny emitters.
I have good equipment: Weller soldering and de-soldering stations, so that's not a problem but I still don't have a plan as to what I'm going to do with it. I'm not a Flashiholic like most of you guys so my hosts are mostly a bunch of old Maglites. I do have a Pelican M6 that might make a good host but honestly I don't know whats available to convert it from incandescent to an XP-E LED.
 
put XP-E on the title for clarity, R2 is the bin...tells you nothing about the size. When I read it I thought your trying to solder an 7090 with a plumbers soldergun:)
 
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