Custom Maglite Project For My Dad

I wanted to share with you guys a project I'm working on for my Dad. He sadly suffers from macular degeneration (both wet and dry), and I'm trying to help him out to see better in low light situations. Many of the treatments he has been on has managed to slow, if not halt the progression of this condition, but he is to the point where seeing at dusk and at night is nearly impossible without some kind of illumination. He has been using some cheapy flashlights to help, but the output is either too low, or too tightly focused. So I decided to make him something that will fix both of those issues.

I'm only just getting started on the project, but parts are being ordered, and materials are already showing up. The project will revolve around two flashlights. One will be based on a Mini Mag Pro (2xAA LED) for easy pocketability, and a 3D Maglite for maximum output. Here's the plans for the lights so far:

--Mini Mag Pro

• C110 copper heatsink machined by myself
• 2x 14500 protected lithium cells @ 850mA (Orbtronic/Sanyo)
• Terralux TSC-1 tail switch
• 3x LEDs in series (haven't decided yet on XP-G or Nichia 219 yet)
• Carclo 20mm triple TIR optic (starting at 45 degrees, but may change depending on his preference)
• Custom boost driver

--3D Maglite

• C110 copper heatsink machined by myself
• 3x 18650 protected lithium cells @ 3400mA (Orbtronic/Panasonic)
• Cree CXA1520 LED (5000K, 95 CRI, ~2000lm)
• Ledil MIRELLA reflector (~41 degrees, but may change depending on his preference)
• Taskled maxFlex6 boost driver
• Western Robotics lithium voltage monitor (indicator LED will be visible just below the main switch)

I already have the host, and the copper bar stock for the heatsinks. Drivers from Taskled, tail switch, and the voltage monitor are going to be here this week. Still trying to get my hands on the Cree CXA1520 and the Ledil reflector, as they are pretty new, and not readily available. Cells and charger (Xstar WP6 II) will be ordered this week.

I was hoping to get some time on the lathe this weekend to start on the heatsinks, but my work schedule is telling me otherwise.

The custom boost driver for the Mini Mag will be based off of the Linear LT3478-1 boost driver chip. It's not the newest, or the most efficient (from what I've read), but it requires the least amount of support components to get it working, which means smaller size. I'm going to try and make it dead-bug style rather than making a PCB for it to keep the footprint compact. The back side of the heatsink will be bored out to make room for it to fit, and the thermal pad on the chip will have direct contact with the heatsink itself.

For the LEDs on the Mini Mag, I'm really not sure what to go with. For maximum output, the XP-G2 is the obvious choice, but the CRI suffers horribly at the higher CCTs. The Nichia 219 is an obvious choice when it comes to high CCT and haigh CRI, but the output really lags behind the XP-G2. The Philips Rebel ES ANSI 5000K 85CRI option is looking more appealing now, as they are readily available, and fairly inexpensive. Anyone have any experience with them compared to the Nichia 219? I have MCPCBs to mount all of these options, so that's not an issue.

Obviously, most of you are in it for the pictures, and I will post some once I get started.

Please, feel free to critique anything I have noted above.

Cells and charger are on order from Orbtronics and should be here next week. I decided to go with the Luxeon Rebel ES 5000K ANSI LEDs for this one, as the output figures are closer to what I would want from a high CCT XP-G2, but with decent color. I'm sure the Nichia 219 is a great LED (I'll have to try them out sometime soon), but these should be more than adequate, and a lot cheaper.

My work situation is looking a lot better for this weekend, so there is a greater chance I can get some time to start working on this. Pics to come.

The MIRELLA reflector from Ledil came in yesterday, thanks to a very generous sales rep. These reflectors are so new they only exist in sample quantities. He was nice enough to get me two samples from his stash. These things fit like a glove in the head of the 3D Mag. It's like they were made to fit in there. I didn't have time to get pictures last night, but I'll get some today.

Batterys and charger came in yesterday too. I love builds like this. It's always like Xmas when UPS, Fedex or USPS show up

it seems you have everything in order. Can't wait to see some build pics

Time for some pics!

I haven't had much opportunity to do any machining of the heatsinks, but I figure some shots of the parts being used might be better than nothing. First up, the Mini Mag Pro.



I like the red color on this one. Need to keep the colors bright so that it's easier to see on darker surfaces. The 3D Mag is the dark gray color, and might have to change because of the contrast issue my Dad has. I really like the Terralux tail switch. Seems to be pretty well built, and having it sealed is a nice touch.



Group shot with the Mini Mag Pro, the 14500 Orbtronic 840mA protected cells, the MCPCB, and the Carlco triple lens. The lens fits in the head perfectly, but the MCPCB needs to be trimmed down ever so slightly. The head of the Mini Mag Pro has multiple steps on the inside, and as a result, the MCPCB only fits in the first step from the top. The cap can screw down with the lens in place, but not all the way. A little filing on the outside edge of the MCPCB will let it fit into the second step in the head, and the cap can be screwed all the way down.

With the 14500 protected cells being a little longer than regular AA cells, they won't fit properly in the stock setup. With the custom heatsink and driver for this one, the stock LED setup will be completely removed (leaving just the body), and the heatsink will be sized to accommodate the two cells.



A closeup of the business end parts. The MCPCB is a universal footprint, so any 3535 format LED (Cree, Samsung, Philips, Nichia, etc...) or Rebel footprint LED can be used. For the reef aquarium lights I build, these are great for being able to mix and match LED types. The MCPCB is set up so that you can individually address each LED, or run them in series when you bridge the tiny solder pads. I have a good selection of the Carclo triples so we can play with the beam angle to get enough coverage.



As you can see, it's almost like this lens was made to go here.

Now on to the 3D Mag. I've only got pictures of the head, as I wanted to show just how well the Ledil MIRELLA reflector fits.



Mag head next to the MIRELLA reflector. The reflector is a two part setup, with a screw mountable base, and the reflector itself. There are a series of three pins on the base that fit into corresponding posts on the reflector to help with locating the reflector relative to the LED. It also sets the correct height of the reflector, as well as making it pretty easy to swap out different beam angles. It's a pretty tight interference fit, so I may sand the pins down slightly to make it easier to remove the reflector. Once everything is assembled, the reflector will have a compression fit with the head and cap screwed down, so the fit on the pins doesn't have to be super tight.



Like a glove. It's an ever so slight interference fit, but not so much that it's hard to get in and out of the head.



The base fits inside the threads for the body, but only just. Again, it's a slight interference fit, so the OD of the base will have to get trimmed slightly. The base won't have to fit into the body of the Mag, as the heatsink will be just proud of the top, with a lip on top stopping the heatsink from slipping too far into the body. As long as the base of the reflector fits inside the threads without interference, then everything will go together smoothly.



All screwed together, you'd never know that reflector was never supposed to be there.

More parts are showing up today. Seeing as I can't get the CXA1520 LED that I really want, I ordered a CXA1512 LED (5000K, 80 CRI) to use for fit-up. It's the same physical size, but the CRI isn't as good, and the output is lower (about 1400lm max versus about 1900lm for the CXA1520). It will be more than adequate for now. The Luxeon Rebels are showing up today also, so I should have enough parts to take a good stab at getting some work done on these. Now, if only my 9 month old daughter would be kind enough to give me a little time to get some work done!

nice work, man, real nice! any updates? how's the beam with that Mirella reflector? is that basically like those Ledil boom reflectors?

Haven't done much lately. Work has gotten crazy, so it's taking priority right now.

Not sure on the beam with that reflector yet. I got in the surrogate CXA1512 LED to use as a test, and hope to hook it up soon, but I need to get the heatsinks done first. I've used similar reflectors for other LEDs (like the Bridgelux RS), and the output is nice and smooth. These are much bigger than the Boom series, which is good, as it will have better beam control.

A little progress...



Finish isn't perfect, but it's the first time I've machined copper. Should clean up with a little buffing. It really looks worse than it is, as the surface feels smooth, just looks a little ugly. The fit isn't as tight as I would have liked (attributed to me rushing a bit), but I have another slug of copper that I can make another one from. Still have to cut to length and bore out the bottom end for the driver.