woodbender
Newly Enlightened
I am soliciting help with a custom light I would like to make. I have to say that if it wasn't for Wayne Johnson at Electrolumens, I wouldn't even be attempting this project. I conversed with him over several days about his Maglite mods, and he was extremely helpful and forthcoming with information. I was going to buy one of his lights, but realized that it just wasn't what I needed for my application.
Here is my project: I am a canoeist and occasionally paddle at night. I am wanting to make a custom light that I can mount to the bow of my canoe and power it with a separate power supply. I wish to use 3 Luxeon Star/O's. I machine plastics for a living but I'm capable of cutting aluminum also. I am looking for recommendations for the best housing for 3 luxeons. I will machine it out of aluminum for heat sinking purposes. What I'm wondering is what size of aluminum housing I will need for proper heat sinking. I want to run the led's to get the most light out of them without overdriving them too much.
They would burn constantly all night long. Would I do better to set them up in a liner array, or is a circular array going to give the best light? I want to get the most focused light from them as possible.
I am hoping to get a dialog started with anyone interested in offering ideas on this project. Any sketches with dimensioning can be input into my cad system and I can then output jpegs for viewing as the housing progresses.
Thanks for input.
Here is my project: I am a canoeist and occasionally paddle at night. I am wanting to make a custom light that I can mount to the bow of my canoe and power it with a separate power supply. I wish to use 3 Luxeon Star/O's. I machine plastics for a living but I'm capable of cutting aluminum also. I am looking for recommendations for the best housing for 3 luxeons. I will machine it out of aluminum for heat sinking purposes. What I'm wondering is what size of aluminum housing I will need for proper heat sinking. I want to run the led's to get the most light out of them without overdriving them too much.
They would burn constantly all night long. Would I do better to set them up in a liner array, or is a circular array going to give the best light? I want to get the most focused light from them as possible.
I am hoping to get a dialog started with anyone interested in offering ideas on this project. Any sketches with dimensioning can be input into my cad system and I can then output jpegs for viewing as the housing progresses.
Thanks for input.