I can’t see any way that I can fit the reflector properly over the LED. It’s the 10 mm Sinkpad and MTN-SLdd. The wires are very thick and interfere with the reflector, and the solder pads are so close to the LED. I think that the little gray plastic piece that fits over the LED would help by raising the reflector up a bit, and I think it is needed for good focus anyways. But it was covering most of the solder pads so maybe I should sand it down in those areas and try to fit it in. Anyone have any suggestions? Many people have done this mod so I feel like I must be missing something.
The wires are about as flat as possible against the MCPCB.
This reflector is a little different than on my last Tool (which I lost). Maybe some material can be removed to allow clearance for the wires and of course I need to prevent shorts.
I ran into this same issue the first time I tried this build because of the larger, more narrowly-spaced pads on the 10mm sinkpad compared to the stock MCPCB. I have tried trimming down the stock plastic centering ring (mine never fit between the wires)…it helps center the reflector, but I found that it doesn’t elevate the reflector enough to clear the larger gauge wires. The best way I have found is to use a smaller gauge wire, like the 26 AWG Teflon wire from MTN Electronics. You can also cut down one of those adhesive insulation gaskets to prevent shorts.
You should note that the sinkpad is thicker than the original MCPCB, so you may have to file the bottom of the reflector down if the head spacing is off (this may seem obvious, but it caught me by surprise the first time I tried this build). It looks like you’re using a Nichia 319, so the reflector hole size should be fine.
Also, be aware of the heat this build generates…you should consider using thermal paste/adhesive and adding an additional heat sink into the pill if you aren’t/haven’t already.
Thanks for the response. I glued in the driver already so I’m going to try to avoid removing it. I’ll post some pics if I come up with something.
I did a test with the TIR optic from an EDC01. It fits but of course it is very floody I’d still prefer to use the reflector, but does anyone know where I can buy some TIRs to test? If I can’t fit the reflector then I may buy a C01s just for the optic.
Here is what I ended up doing. I had to sand the side of the MCPCB a little.
The plastic centering piece just barely fit.
Here is the heat sink that I made with the help of a nice machinist.
I drilled new holes that lined up better with the wires. Unfortunately messed them up a little on the first attempt which is why they are so big and not round.
That looks awesome! Love the heat sink. It looks just like the one in the ToolVN. As for the holes, I can’t tell you how many lights I’ve messed up tinkering with modding. At least you ended up with a usable pill. Nicely done!
Thanks, indeed this has been a learning experience and I hope to one day become an expert at flashlight modifications. If I were to start this light over from the beginning then I would use the thinner wire since it was tricky to trim the wires just right.
Meant to mention that the heatsink I made weighs 3.33 g, whereas the first one that I made from three 10 mm MCPCBs soldered together was 2.60 g. So it isn’t a huge difference in weight but the MCPCBs also don’t make contact with the ID of the pill. Obviously it is going to get hot no matter what. I’m getting 2.1A at the tailcap from a fully charged Efest 10440. Hopefully that means that my soldering was good enough. The LED is 319A, 4000K, D400, 80 cri.
