CNCman's entry to the 7th annual BLF/O-L contest [mod light category]( FINISHED )

I may need to change to a different mod because the Haikelite MT09R I ordered has not been restocked and will not be shipped until next year.
Banggood said it would be shipped two weeks ago and when they changed the order page to ” Do you want another item at similar value “, I requested a refund. After chatting with Banggood again , they said it was now in stock, so gullible me reordered it again. Now it says its ” Out of stock ” again. So I will let it go again for a few weeks and see if the MT09R will ever be restocked.

Meanwhile back at the ranch…. I was able to squeeze in some time to make some parts for a MT07 Buffalo. If I can get the heatsink made tomorrow, that should be the last part for now. All the parts were made after the beginning of the competition. If its OK, can I switch to this Mod ?

Sure :+1:

OK :+1:
GREAT :+1:
I am getting some pics ready.

Buffalo host has a lot of potential as well. I have MT07S but I consider MT07 host to be much better. :slight_smile:

OK, It’s on now. Sorry for the confusion getting started. I purchased this Haikelite MT07 just after joining BLF. This is my first big led light and I was inspired by you guys to buy it. This was an early version with the old XHP70 led and OP reflector. I really liked it at first, but after learning more, it was time to try to make it better. I ordered a SMO reflector just one month after buying the light. Just a few weeks ago, work slowdown has finally allowed opportunity to access machine time after work hours. After drawing this up on FREE 2D CAD from Seimens PLM, it was verified it will fit and do-able.
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Guess I wanted a thrower and didn’t care for the OP reflector.
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The FREE 2D CAD from Seimens PLM is easy to learn and use, best 2D I found.
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The new and larger reflector needed to be measured all over for dimensions for clearance fits. Threads were 1mm pitch.
This process of drawing the parts you have in hand first and then fitting them together in a CAD program
takes the guesswork out of play and allows you to move forward knowing your parts will fit.
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I decided to machine the adapter first because it was 7075 aluminum and the easiest and quickest to make. Here the inside and outside diameters are milled with a 1.0 diameter, 2 flute HSS end mill.
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Threadmilling the flashlight threads 82.5mm x 1mm pitch using a 6 flute single row thread milling cutter.
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Cutting the adapter off the coupon, same as using a part-off tool on a lathe, using a 5 insert, 2mm wide, 63.5mm diameter grooving tool.
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Here is the finished product after hours of planning, designing, programming and about 1.5 hrs machining.
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Haha Im a hack compared to work I see here, it gives me something to aspire to.

That is simply orsm. Have to love NC machines not that I’d have a clue how to use one. :+1:

OK , next up is the new bezel. I made this from a piece of scrap 316 stainless steel. It is a very tough material to machine.
Here the 29deg front angle, face, and outside diameter were turned on a lathe. It is being parted off in this picture.
The tailstock is inside to catch it when it falls off.
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Here the inside diameters are bored to finish after flipping it around to the opposite end.
There is paper between the chuck jaws and the outside diameter to protect the finish.
Notice the parallel and 2 magnets on the chuck face. That was done to extend the bezel away
from the chuck jaws so it could be faced to finish. The magnets are very strong and the RPM was kept very slow.
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Here are the dimensions used to machine the Bezel. The threads were match fit to the adapter.
Unfortunately I broke an end mill while milling the inside diameter prior to thread milling and
was a bit rattled by that and forgot to take more pictures of the bezel threading. It is easier to thread mill
the metric threads than to do that on a lathe. Doing metric threads on a lathe can be very troublesome.
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Broke an end mill right before finishing the Bezel. Forgot to change “Y axis” number in the program,.
And yes it left a mark on the inside diameter. But the 316ss is so tough, it still did not scrap it. :person_facepalming:
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And here is the finished Bezel.
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Ouch. Looks like it could’ve been worse, though. Great progress since you got rolling :+1: Looking forward to more :slight_smile:

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OK, here is the last part machined, a Heat-sink.
After mounting the 86mm reflector forward of the original position, a gap or space was created even with the longer reflector. So this created an opportunity to add more heat distribution. I had to draw this up on the fly on paper.

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The copper is pressed in with .0005 interference press fit. Copper is very sticky and a light press holds good.
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Finishing outside diameter and parting it out simultaneously. Left .007 thick and broke it out by hand.
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Finished Heatsink at .290 thick.

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Hey I learned something from you CNC man! I’ve never thought of holding a parallel to the chuck with magnets. Seems easier than bumping it straight with with a mallet and checking wobble with a dial indicator. And tool pressure doesn’t push it back when you have a light grip on thin parts.

I never got a chance to learn CNC machining where I worked, wish I did. I was always too busy doing repairs on manual machines for them to find the time.

” mr_magoo ”
I recycled the two magnets from a trashed cheap headset someone threw away. They grip hard. Just keep the RPM low or it may come out. We also use a triangle shaped piece from flat stock we cut on a band saw that cannot fly out of a 3 jaw chuck and a X shaped for 4 jaw chuck.

Manual Machinists are harder to find today and pay more most of the time. CNC machinists today are becoming more like operators, button pushers and part changers. I started manual machining for many years before slowly doing both.

You never know whats around the corner, maybe you will. But if not, be the best at what you do now, smile and be happy :smiley:

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Ok , here is a fit check of the adapter, reflector, bezel and ar coated lense.
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The new reflector is considerably larger, 86mm x 84mm vs 72mm x 68mm.
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There were no machining done to the MT07.
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The heatsink is not in yet, so the led is .290 below the reflector. Going to work that tomorrow :smiley:
Also it may need some focus adjustment, but I hope not much.
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There is a lot yet to finish and I will need some help doing a LED swap to a XHP72.2 .
And any suggestions you guys have. :beer:
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That is machining pawn at its best. Nice work Mr CNC. :+1:

Looks great so far. :slight_smile:

+1 I love seeing machining set ups :slight_smile:

Very cool mod.

Time to assemble and test. We will be making some additional mods if possible.
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Is there a resistor mod that can be done with some improvement in output ?
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Wow, it checked .287 thick core. That is approx .640 total under the LED.
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Here you can see a doughnut hole in the middle. Any suggestions how to stop this ?
This was a 4500k XHP70 LED i think, looks soft white on the wall.
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AFAIK that reflector is better suited to small die LEDs. I don’t think you can completely eliminate the donut with an mtg2.

Nice mod CNCman. :+1: Changing the LED to an XHP70.2 and slicing and dicing it might be a good way to go to resolve the donut hole issue and improve output a bit.