Custom made see through (Acrylic) Flashlight Build Finished! (Picture Heavy)

So after about 30 hours of work, going on for about 2 weeks, it is finally done. It is not the first one I've built, but first out of acrylic. I've seen a few posted by other members, built of exotic acrylic material, but none of them was see through. So to start with the obvious, it is not the ideal material to build flashlights out of, for it's poor heat dissipation, relatively soft surface, compared to metals, and for the polishing work, that needs to be done inside and out (including drop in module, spring battery etc). Although I drew a possible design on Solidworks, it was quickly abandoned, and I've designed it on the go. This made things a bit difficult, having to make some of the parts more than once. Everything about this light is unconventional starting from using an ND:YAG laser mirror, to the battery connection, and the all acrylic momentary push button. To clarify the reason for using the laser mirror is, that I've had it for a while, and the coating on it gave it a really impressive look. The downside of it, that due to reflecting all 1064nm and 532nm wavelength, the beam has a pinkish cast and an interesting beam pattern, otherwise, it has a 99.7% transmission rate for the rest of the wavelength. The Cree XM-L2 P60 was used, since I've had a few of them not getting any use. The Titanium coupling used to connect the battery to the spring, is also something I've had on my shelf, so with a little modification it became the connection piece.This light is a prototype, so I might build one with added metal to conduct the heat outside. Let me know, what you think!

Acrylic Flashlight

Acrylic Flashlight

Acrylic Flashlight

Acrylic Flashlight

Acrylic Flashlight

Acrylic Flashlight

Acrylic Flashlight

Acrylic Flashlight

Some photos of the build:

Acrylic Flashlight

Acrylic Flashlight

Acrylic Flashlight

Acrylic Flashlight

That's some amazing work! I like the extra detail on the head, making the best of an interesting material.

Thanks Dan, I appreciate the kind words! I have ideas for 2 more very cool build...which I will start soon.

Very nice - would be great for some low power P60s (M61WLLL, etc..)

Very unconventional and cool!

Very fine! Thank you for documenting the build too. Great job all around. Some trits in there would have to look wicked!

I thought acrylic is so easy to break and can't be drilled or machined. Amazing work.

nfetterly said:

Very nice - would be great for some low power P60s (M61WLLL, etc..)

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Thanks for the tip, I'll look into it, although these will work fine with limited runtime (Ran them continously for 10 mins. without any issue) I'll use the momentary push button most of the time though.

Thetasigma said:

Very unconventional and cool!

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Thank You! There will be more unconventional one coming in the near future...

Str8stroke said:

Very fine! Thank you for documenting the build too. Great job all around. Some trits in there would have to look wicked!

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Thank you, for the kind words, I'm planning on adding a few green ones in the push button, I thought it would look cool too, illuminating the whole button at night. I'll post a post a pic. In here, when I put them in.

hbk_rey said:

I thought acrylic is so easy to break and can't be drilled or machined. Amazing work.

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Thank you! Extruded acrylic is actually not bad at all to work with...can be drilled, milled, threaded. It takes a while to get the glossy finish back, after machining though...

Always loved anything cool that was clear/see through (Demo cameras for instance) This is both! Very creative & interesting stuff!:thumbsup:

It's just such a cool torch, and one hell of an entry post! Welcome to the forum! ~I forgot to say that on my previous post here.

I've got a turntable for the mill I use, but even though it says it can go vertical, you'd have to have 14" long bits to reach!

~D

YummyBacon! said:

Always loved anything cool that was clear/see through (Demo cameras for instance) This is both! Very creative & interesting stuff!:thumbsup:

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So did I, but the only ones I could find that were see through were some mass produced crappy looking lights made of clear plastic...

DrafterDan said:

It's just such a cool torch, and one hell of an entry post! Welcome to the forum! ~I forgot to say that on my previous post here.

I've got a turntable for the mill I use, but even though it says it can go vertical, you'd have to have 14" long bits to reach!

~D

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Again, Thanks Dan!
The rotary table I'm using, is small, only three inches in diameter, but it is perfect what I need it for. Drilling with 14" bits are probably not the best solution...

Holy cow! Congratulations. What a beautiful light! Your design looks awesome, and your assembly work seems to be top notch.
So, how much current are you putting through the XML-2?
And, why the unprotected battery?
Protection circuitry not a plus?

Good job!
Jeff

That is just crazy cool! My jaw is still on the floor.

I would like to see one of these in the AAA format -- low lumens -- where heat would not be an issue.

Thank you Jeff, I appreciate the kind words! To answer to your questions, I'm not sure, how many amps the LED draws, as it was purchased quite a while ago, without much detail to the driver that is being used in it. As far as not using protected batteries, again it was something I've already had a few of, and I haven't had much trouble with single cell 18650's so far....although I might going to switch over to protected ones. Any trusted brand you prefer?

Ladd said:

That is just crazy cool! My jaw is still on the floor.

I would like to see one of these in the AAA format -- low lumens -- where heat would not be an issue.

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Thanks Ladd, there is an other specialty one in the works, and most likely I will make a small one too...maybe even smaller than AAA. I've just received some rechargable AAAA's and AAAAA's (that's 5A's which I didn't know existed)

That is some sleek machining. Love the light and the finish. Well done.