Copper O-Sink and hex Sink if interested thread.

HI guys. Well recently I have been doing some research. Do any of you guys know how much copper Costs?
Well Neither did I. In a word it is expensive. Copper costs 3 times the price of aluminum. That's right 300%
I have also found that machining copper is a bit slower than aluminum. Both of these have a big negative effect on bringing Copper O and HEX Sinks to market. The price to the end user will be in the range of $21.00 to $24.00 each. This seems a bit steep to me, even Delivered. These parts will perform extremely well. Allowing those of you who like to push the envelope of performance to go to the extreme. Copper is a perfect material for the new K2 emitter as well.
These sinks will be HEAVY. Please keep that in mind.
So here is my delima. Do make them or not? As time has progressed the O-Sink has done very well. There are a bunch of O-Sinks out there on daily duty around the world. With the Help of FLASHLIGHTLENS distribution issues are behind us. Now the question is Do you guys want O-sinks made out of copper? Simple question. They will cost a little more than double what you are paying now for O-Sinks.
If I receive a reasonable response to this thread I will put them into production ASAP. With a bit of luck we will have HEX-Sinks will be available when the K2 becomes available.
What do you think?
Yaesumofo

How much better is heat distribution in copper over that of aluminum? I know it's better, but can is it that much better for the purposes of LED flashlights?

Also, I believe this was mentioned in a different thread - why Hex sinks? A hexagon can be easily inscribed in a circle, and allow for flexiblity in mounting to a PCB contact (if used). Seems like a circle would be much easier, and cheaper to make than a hexagon, and work just as well.

In aluminum, or in copper, I may be in for one myself. I would hold off a few weeks yet, since the newer generation Luxeons (such as the K2) have been supposed to have been released since the winter quarter of 2004 - I don't hold my breath with LumiLEDs expected delivery dates.

I'll keep my eye on the development of this project, though! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

-Enrique

Re: Copper O-Sink and hex Sink if interested threa

Looks like the c cell size will be the winner for this material.
Perhaps keep the design simple for the first run without the centering pits, but rather "bulls'eye" rings permanant markered at the center.
This way it will work with any type of led emitter that comes along. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Re: Copper O-Sink and hex Sink if interested threa

Tungsten 1.74 W/cmK
Calcium 2.01 W/cmK
Beryllium 2.01 W/cmK
Aluminum 2.37 W/cmK
Gold 3.17 W/cmK
Copper 4.01 W/cmK
Silver 4.29 W/cmK

The top 7 elements ranked by thermal conductivity..

70% more conductive for heat is the answer of comparing copper to aluminum... this will mean a much more shallow thermal gradient to the cold from the hot...

I think that when making a ballstothewalls light.. like the guy from Jurassic Park couldn't stop saying if a raptor was ripping his throat out.. "spare no expense".

-awr

I think this would be perfect for all of those SNII clones that use a 5watt LED at 1.5 amps. It will also be great for the 3Watts LED running between 1 and 1.5 Amps - it should give them a longer (happier?) life.

I would expect these not to sell as quickly as the Alu ones, but anyone running an overdrive (or wanting to run overdrive) LED's would/should buy these instead. I certainly would /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

To me, the increased performance of the copper would certainly justify the price increase.

Will

Re: Copper O-Sink and hex Sink if interested threa

I think that they will sell, not more over the aluminum ones, but there will be people and applications that will buy them. For a 1.5amp K2 or 5W these would give the most performance.