check out my new project

[Bryguy17]

posted this over on MTBR too, but i figured id share over here too:

I've been working on designing this thing, and i just started to put stuff into solidworks. i figured that i might as well share so that i can get some input from you guys on things to improve.

so without further ado, heres the pic of what i've got so far



still need to add holes for fasteners and such, and there's still one more piece that will be on the back of this assembly, which will hold the LEDs, switch, and an integrated heatsink. plan is for 3 cree Q5 or R2 (not sure yet) and ledil optics. a bflex will slip into one of the two holes on the top or bottom of the middle piece.

lemme know what you guys think, and if you've got any ideas for improvement. also, does anybody know the stack height on the cree stars? i need the distance from the back of the star to wherever the back of the ledil square lense sits.

peace,
Bryan

[katonk]

Nice work. Have you posted over at the Candle Power Forums yet? If not, you should consider it. If any technical questions don't get answered here, I'm sure they will be over there.

[BrewMaster]

Nice design. You should think about handlebar or helmet and how you want to mount it to either place. This is best thought out in advance, trust me.

The ledil optics fit directly over the Cree stars, no stack required. what you are asking sounds more like the thickness of the star boards. I can measure this with a micrometer when I receive my new Q5 stars...any day now.

Let us know how this progresses. I like the design.

[Bryguy17]

thanks brewmaster, i pretty much want to know how far the stack height for the whole ledil optic/led star pack is so i can set it up to fit up nice and tight.

the design might be changed to a circular profile (as opposed to the ellipse) ill post that up when i mock it up...

[spookydave]

I like it. kinda close to what I'm doing but then again, kinda not.

[Bryguy17]

threw together a circular version:

[spookydave]

I would much rather machine the corner pockets on the round one. lol

Why not just use round optics?

[TrailJesus]

Sweet design. I'm pretty sure I'll be using Solidworks in the near future if I switch over to mechanical engineering.

[Bryguy17]

the corner pockets on the oval one were before i knew how to make the correct ones that are on the round design. they were just kinda standing in for the moment

[Jslow]

A few uninformed questions? I was thinking about doing something like this myself... so I figure I might just ask then you can mock me.

Why is everyone doing a multiple light set up? the designs look cool but is there a need for 3... are you using this to direct light different places? I've never used a lighting system that wasn't a single bulb...

Aside from this summer I had a crap h-bar light that ran off aa's and a helmet light that did a nice job... espically for the price 30$
Its a princeton tec 1w...

How does the brightness compare with current lights one could purchase?

How big are these lights? Brewmasters light looks to be the bombdiggity.
What sort or leds? are you using? What kinda light output do you get for the battery drain?

Where do you get the (optics) machined glass?

Ok nuff of that looking forward to responses

[BrewMaster]

Josh, lemme try to answer some of your questions:

Q. Why is everyone doing a multiple light set up? the designs look cool but is there a need for 3... are you using this to direct light different places? I've never used a lighting system that wasn't a single bulb...

A. What you are probably used to are halogen or HID set ups. There are single emitter LEDs, too. Basically, a multi-LED set up is brighter and if I am going to the trouble of building a light, I want it BRIGHT! You can also use different lenses on each LED to control the whole pattern. Generally people will put wider angle lenses on the outside two LEDs and a spot lens on the middle LED.

Q. How does the brightness compare with current lights one could purchase?

A. It really depends on what LEDs you used, but ballpark is that a light built with 3 Cree Q5 LEDs will put out around 600 lumens, give or take a bit. A commercial light that bright will cost you $300 to $500 to buy. To build your own, it would cost around $150 with the most expensive portion being a good Li-Ion battery and charger.

Q. How big are these lights?

A. Depends on what type of housing you build. The design I will be following for my next light is this one (the all square one, not the copper tubing one).

Q. What sort or leds are you using?

A.For my green light I used Luxeon 1Ws. For my next project I will use Cree X-REs.

Q. What kinda light output do you get for the battery drain?

A. My green light gets 3 hours on high. My future 3x Cree light should get around 4 hours or so.

Q. Where do you get the (optics) machined glass?

A. Future Electronics has plastic lenses and holders which work well with the Luxeons. Cutter in Australia has Ledil optics (polycarbonate) for the Cree and Soeul LEDs. Most of the optics are plastic, not glass.

If I were you, I wouldn't build the green light I built. It was fine for me to learn on and it works well, but I am looking forward to my 3x Cree light. Also, when choosing lenses, I recommend narrow angle lenses. I have 30 degree lenses on my green light and I really need 10 degree lenses or lower. Feel free to ask more questions. I am learning as I go and just reading the light board on MTBR I have learned a lot.

[Bryguy17]

brewmaster pretty much covered everything. the circular light i have up here is 2.8" diameter, and should stack up to about 2 inches long. in case people were wondering, im using the ledil square optics so i can have a way of cheaply tweaking the beam. the lenses are bigger and harder to design around, but its a matter of 3 screws and i can swap out the beam to something more spotty, more floody, etc. plus the optics are only 3 bucks each at cutter.

i could build a smaller light if I used the carclo or fraen lenses, but those are more expensive, dont offer as wide of a range of adjustability, and in some cases have a lower efficiency (80-85% as opposed to 90%+)

once i finalize the handlebar light, ill start work on the handlebar light, which will probably use McR reflectors for a tighter beam in a smaller lighter package

[92se-r]

http://reviews.mtbr.com/blog/category/lights-shootout/

[katonk]

Originally Posted by 92se-r

http://reviews.mtbr.com/blog/category/lights-shootout/

FYI, this shoot out is not complete. In order to generate some extra revenue they're posting one review a day (can't blame them for that).

Just wondering if any one has considered buying one of these lights and upgrading the emitters? The Ayup looks pretty promising. It's also crazy light weight.

[BrewMaster]

Originally Posted by 92se-r

http://reviews.mtbr.com/blog/category/lights-shootout/

Nice. If we start talking Lumens/$, I think homemade lights start blowing commercial lights away.

Conservatively speaking my green light puts out 160 lumens (probably more like 200+ or more like 500 if you factor in wavelength of the light viewed at night). With about $70 worth of parts in it, that's 2.28 lumens/$.

The new light should cost me about $150 to make (including the charger) and conservatively will put out 600 lumens. Thats 4.0 lumens/$.

Me likey.

I haven't weighed my lights so I can't talk lumens/gram yet.

[.8down]

Nice toothbrush holder...

[Bryguy17]

brewmaster's completely right. the homebrew lights blow away commercial models in lumen/$. if i build my light with just the handlebar light (for example), andn use R2 crees and ledil optics, you are looking at roughly 730 lumen coming out of the light, including accounting for optic inefficiency. thats in a light for 150 bucks which works out to roughly 4.9 lumen/$. hell of a deal when you consider that something like the light and motion arc HIDs run for between 450 and 600 for a 675 lumen light. that works out to between 1.1 and 1.5 lumen/$ depending on battery choice.

commercial lights probably do have the advantage over homebrews when it comes to weight and compactness to price, but i think its definitely worth sacrificing for over 4x more light for your dollar.

btw, back to the topic of optic choice, do you guys have any thoughts on the MR-11's? i might design something around these too if i get bored (happens a lot )

[katonk]

Keep in mind that the pricing in the MTBR shootout is MSRP. Some of the lights can be had for a lot less.

I didn't make my own light because I figured that I couldn't do it for less then a commercial light. Here's why:

1. I'm dumb, and break things a lot. Seriously. The $150 budget is only realistic if you don't make any mistakes. You can't order the wrong thing and either have to pay for shipping back, or worse, break it and own a broken part. RMA's to Hong Kong or Australia are not the speediest things in the world.
2. I may not have all the tools I need. Again, the $150 budget only works if you already have all the tools. Sure I have soldering iron, but I don't have all the metal working tools I need. My band saw is only wood cutting, I don't have many metal cutting drill bits or files, etc. This isn't really a project you want to be unprepared for.
3. Commercial lights are not always really that expensive. I bought a new Trinewt for $266, shipped. If I subtract my time building and researching the light, I think I've saved way more than $100. I'm also pretty sure that the housing I could make will not anywhere near as burly as the niterider.

Here's why I think you should build your own light:

1. It's fun.
2. LED tech is moving fast; you can use more efficient emitters than commercial vendors.
3. Because of the better emitters, the lumen to weight ratio may be better.
4. You'll learn something.

My point is saving money may not be the best reason to build a light yourself.

Now, if Brewmaster is willing to SELL a working 600 lumen light for $150, that's a different story.

I understand that some of you are smarter than I am and have access to resources that I don't.

[spookydave]

Originally Posted by Bryguy17

brewmaster's completely right. the homebrew lights blow away commercial models in lumen/$. if i build my light with just the handlebar light (for example), andn use R2 crees and ledil optics, you are looking at roughly 730 lumen coming out of the light, including accounting for optic inefficiency. thats in a light for 150 bucks which works out to roughly 4.9 lumen/$. hell of a deal when you consider that something like the light and motion arc HIDs run for between 450 and 600 for a 675 lumen light. that works out to between 1.1 and 1.5 lumen/$ depending on battery choice.

commercial lights probably do have the advantage over homebrews when it comes to weight and compactness to price, but i think its definitely worth sacrificing for over 4x more light for your dollar.

btw, back to the topic of optic choice, do you guys have any thoughts on the MR-11's? i might design something around these too if i get bored (happens a lot )

so I take it you have your own cnc mill to make those parts?

[BrewMaster]

Originally Posted by katonk

1. It's fun.

4. You'll learn something.

I totally agree katonk, especially with 1 and 4. It's loads of fun.

As for fabricating stuff, there are several machinists on here who I may be mooching off of to build my next housing. They have the cool equipment I need. It's part of the collaborative spirit of STR.

The tinkering is all the fun for me. My green light didn't work at first, but with some help from friends, we figured it out. It's kind of the same reason I like fixing my own bike. When I screw something up or get in over my head, I hit up STR or the LBS to bail me out.

STR Light Building Day? I could see it happening...