soldering a rebel?

[ambientmind]

has anyone tried soldering directly to a bare rebel emitter? what equipment/solder/wire did you use to accomplish such a tiny task? i just ordered six rebels for a project light that is in the works...

 

[Julian Holtz]

http://www.momo-wagner.de/indexmc.php?action=picsgal&id=15&rub=3

In German, but perhaps google translate can help it.

 

[ambientmind]

google translated most of it, thanks! but i am not going to be putting them on boards, they will just have the wire attached directly to them...so i need some tiny equipment!

 

[Illum]

heres some forum threads [with pics] on that matter
[Gearbox]How do I solder tiny leads?
[Brlux]Mod a Mag with a Rebel.
[Brlux]How to Solder SMT with a toster oven (Luxeon Rebel)
[Brlux]Concerns with the newer TFFC Rebels.
hope this helps:thumbsup:

 

[ambientmind]

perfect! thank you very much! now i just need to find that tiny iron tip. i like the idea of using a toaster oven to reflow. i'll try that on my next next project, replacing those old p4s with q5s:huh:

 

[frenzee]

You'll need:

1. Tweezers;
2. Needlenose soldering tip set to just above solder's melting point (approx 225°C);
3. No clean flux;
4. Regular 60/40 solder will do;
5. Lots and lots of patience

 

[3rd_shift]

Try to find one already on an electrically isolated star of some kind.
It's wayyyyyy easier that way imho.

Let's not forget about reflow solderability and the handiness of grandma's old oven for "non star" applications.

 

[LukeA]

I thermal epoxied the Rebel's heatsink pad to a piece of aluminum so that the electtrical connections extended over the side, then it was an easy (as far as soldering Rebels goes) matter to solder wires to the tabs.

 

[Illum]

I wonder where to find a pencil headed solder iron nowadays...all I see from the hardware/cement and mortar shops are the typical chisel tipped wellers

 

[ambientmind]

thats some impressive work there frenzee, what are you using those for? looks like 4 red, one white? interesting. as fas as mine goes, i need to solder directly to the led because of where the leds are going...its an idea i'll show when its done, hint: its a m@g 3d with 3 cree q5s and 6 rebels. but it will be a while since i'm still waiting on reflectors for the crees and the rebels themselves. can't wait!

 

[frenzee]

thats some impressive work there frenzee, what are you using those for? looks like 4 red, one white? interesting. as fas as mine goes, i need to solder directly to the led because of where the leds are going...its an idea i'll show when its done, hint: its a m@g 3d with 3 cree q5s and 6 rebels. but it will be a while since i'm still waiting on reflectors for the crees and the rebels themselves. can't wait!

3 crees and 6 rebels will need one heck of a heat sink, unless you underdrive them.

The above is for a composite yellow prototype (automotive) application and it's 4 reds + 1 green per. I'm still working out the kinks, but they're going into this copper heatsink which will be painted matte black:

 

[ambientmind]

thats a nice looking piece of copper! are you using them as turn signals? speaking of heatsinking the rebels, they will only be getting about 350ma each max(and less from there), so they shouldnt need anything too large for a heatsink right?

 

[frenzee]

Yes, indicator light. At 350 mA, a rebel (colored ones anyway) will get verrry hot very quickly, so heatsinking of some kind is unavoidable. I drive these at 100-200 mA intermittently and for relatively short periods, and even then they will easily reach 70-80°C in a matter of minutes. Past 80°C, the efficiency goes downhill very fast and it's not worth pushing it past that point. So for your project I sugget you experiment, experiment, experiment. And have a digital thermometer handy.

 

[James Jackson]

I am currently working on a design that should be able to use common FR-4 PCBs and a readily available aluminum heatsink to power/cool up to 4 Luxeon Rebel LEDs.

My experience with lighting 1 Rebel is that if done properly - one does not need all that much - if it is powered at 350mA. At 1Amp - you really need to make sure that it has a good heatsink.

But - I may be wrnog on this. I'll know for sure within a week or so.

Regards,

James Jackson
Oztronics