How about designing lights like this?

:candle: Seems now manufacturers like to add more and more functions into their lights... Some people like it but more and more people just want to buy a simple, bright and easy-to-use one. As far as I am concerned, I think too many functions is a waste.

I know manufacturers need to impress buyers to sell more products, but comparing with adding functions, how about this?



In this way, lights are divided into several parts, and each have different models. For example there could be many kinds of the head like optic edition, reflector edition, or with different LEDs. The driver unit could have different functions, from simple "on and off" to multi-function to meet everyone's demanding. That's the most important thing, With this design, everyone can get the best-fit light instead of paying money for useless functions.

Is that possible or just a fantasy?

Search for Aleph system.

Modular design would be fantastic. I'm with you!

Wolf Eyes ...

This is something that I was thinking a lot about recently.

With all of the very skilled modders and such like on CPF, surely it's about time a true modular CPF-inspired and built flashlight system was designed and built.

Different battery tubes, reflectors, heads, head-to-battery tube size-adjustment collars, different/user programmable ui's.

it would be so great to have a complete pick-and-mix system.

It makes sense to integrate the reflector with the LED. But I don't think it makes sense to separate the "driver" from the LED. The driver most likely should be integrated with the LED. But it also doesn't seem to make much sense to separate the driver from the controller.

So you end up with a head that has the reflector, LED, driver and controller all integrated. It makes sense to me. I think that's almost where we are at now with some suppliers; at least there seems to be a small trend this way.

What I'm thinking is, if I don't need many functions, I can just buy a simple driver, and it will be cheaper.

And someday a new LED appears, I can only change the head instead of buying a new light.

I feel that today we are paying more and more for unuseful functions... So this kind of light might save money. ( Is "save money" correct? I think I've heard that this form was wrong but not sure )

It is all here https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/136019


From past experience, these will be AWSOME!!


Colin.

fineday said:

What I'm thinking is, if I don't need many functions, I can just buy a simple driver, and it will be cheaper.

Click to expand...

The way that manufacturing processes work mean that the number of an item produced is critical to cost. Producing say 500 "cheap" and 500 "expensive" drivers may cost more than producing 1000 of the better drivers! Then you have to add the stock control and distribution headaches, extra design cost, extra machining for more couplings...

And someday a new LED appears, I can only change the head instead of buying a new light.

Click to expand...

But there's no guarantee that a driver will be suitable for the new LED. In the end all you probably gain is the re-use of a tube. And even that maybe problematic, as the details of switches may alter tube requirements, as seems to have happened with the JetBeam IIx.

* Aleph is a nice system that does everything you want, but is expensive. Entire light with single level light engine is over $200. A cheaper system would be ideal. Around $100 would be good for most people for a truly modular and upgradeable light.

* CNC123 comes to mind, but uses a standard Sammy instead of a star, which would be the second choice for a LE anyway as they are also common and incorporate many intelligent engines/drivers like POP2 and FluPIC for many levels and programmability. These both also work for those who want just two levels or even just one since they can be programmed to do just about anything, or you can use a simple one level buck/boost driver.

* making the LED integrated with anything, including the reflector, makes it not modular any more which defeats the purpose. It has to be manufactured (only SF, WE, G&P, etc make them, NO modders do) as an assembly. Aleph and CNC123 do not do this for good reason. The LED will be the most upgraded part, so it must be easy to replace. A Star would be good as it requires only the most basic soldering skills to replace. A replaceble reflector would suffice.

The Nuwai Q3 was the darling of the CPF entry level modding community a year to two years ago. It is still one of the easiest compact lights to mod. It is cheap, has a Lux star, a good forgiving aluminum orange peel reflector (works well with Luxeon, CRee, and SSC), and once opened is easy to access all the critical parts. A simple upgraded design would be a fantastic light.

One thing I propose though, is a smaller diameter star to be available from the emitter manufacturers. We need smaller diameter to keep an EDC light small.

thiswayup said:

Producing say 500 "cheap" and 500 "expensive" drivers may cost more than producing 1000 of the better drivers! Then you have to add the stock control and distribution headaches, extra design cost, extra machining for more couplings...

Click to expand...

They should use the same machining and couplings - the whole reason for modular design in the first place.
For CPF's purposes (where this would be actually used and upgraded - the general public won't do it) a Sammy like I mention above (new driver if required, but most likely only needed when truly revolutionary tech comes out) with an emitter is still better than buying the whole light (I have upgraded my FireFly with new Sammies twice now).
CPF'ers want specific drive levels, etc, that a nice POP or FluPIG can give everyone, but they have never been made in real quantities anyway. The Jet II, Proton, and Fenix digital are the first to be made in quantity with many level drivers, but we still need better UI and they are mass market & potted. The point, if I understand it, is to decrease reliance on mass market manufacturers that make Camry and Accord lights, when we want hopped-up modified GTO lights.

thiswayup said:

But there's no guarantee that a driver will be suitable for the new LED. In the end all you probably gain is the re-use of a tube. And even that maybe problematic, as the details of switches may alter tube requirements, as seems to have happened with the JetBeam IIx.

Click to expand...

Those are the things that the whole modular idea is to avoid. A modular design would be more tolerant of such changes. SF (L1, L4, E-series) and Aleph (E-series compatible) don't have those problems, and again, we don't want to rely on a first timer mass market manufacturer, we want a more customized and customizeable design.

I just don't think it needs to be $200 either.

The LED usually has to be wired directly to the driver, which is housed inside the heatsink (which is very important for the high-powered LEDs).

If the LED was to be separated like that, it would need to have its own heatsink up there in the head with it, and the contact points (+ and -) would have to be cleverly set so that it would contact the driver module just by screwing together.

Also, if the driver was removed, it a direct batt solution would have to work with the LED as well. I think it's all a little tricky

Add : I think it would work easily if when using a direct batt solution, that you'd still have to install a module in replacement of the driver module, except that this is just a dummy module to provide the right (+) and (-) contact points for the batt and LED.

when I saw your picture I thought for sure you musta been picking my brain.. lol... I swear I was thinking something that looked, in my head, a LOT like this, just about a week ago! (a simple modular tube design).

Great work on the example picture.. And I agree- it would be awesom.