Springs!!

I’m nearly out of the heavy ones you had built and sold. Nudge nudge wink wink. :slight_smile:

I was going to have a new batch built (only difference: 9mm diameter base size instead of 10, to make it fit a standard switch board), but the contact I had at the spring factory is not working there anymore, and they lost the details of my previous order, so I had to figure it all out again, and then I ran out of hobby time temporalily, and then forgot about it.
I will have another go at it in September (out camping with the family at the moment :slight_smile: )

God on ya. For the camping with the family that is. :stuck_out_tongue:

Keep us informed;)

Because I destroyed the led of my Astrolux S1,I sent it to a friend who changed the led and bypassed the springs.
As it had passed enough time because the led came from China,I had forgot that the led which is now in,is not the original,but a XP-L Hi,so when I measured the intensity with my luxmeter,I found 19584cd,while it was 11500cd with the original led.Really the S1 shines. :slight_smile:
Of course,after 10 seconds I feel intense heat from the light now,much more than before.

Bypass a spring dont need to look ugly, just a good soldering iron and used to solder SMD stuff

So, djozz, are you planning to make some springs again or not?

No, lazy me postponed it for a few years and now led4power has made the exact spring that I was planning. Thanks L4P!
https://led4power.com/product/gold-plated-phosphor-bronze-high-current-spring-12x9x1mm/

Thank you for the answer. The reason I asked for this is that I am currently in contact with some Chinese OEMs to make some customs very high current beryllium copper springs, or phosphor bronze springs.

Also, I had completely forgotten about led4power’s springs. But they can “only” handle 6-7A. So, I decided to take it into my ones hands so we can get the best springs available in the same size category.

I have asked them quotes for 200pcs to 1000pcs depending on the seller for these materials:

C54400 Phosphor Bronze B2 with 19% IACS

C17530 Beryllium Copper at 38% IACS

C17500 Beryllium Copper with 45% IACS

From what I have asked from a materials engineer friend(I am so lucky to be friends with him), it would be best to take 38% C17530 Beryllium Copper as it is much easier to machine and less susceptible to compression compared to C17500 45% IACS. What do you think?

All I know about springs is in the OP, but your plan makes sense.

I’m not sure what your conclusion is from “they can only handle 6/7 A” ? It just is a way to explain that the resistance is lower than pure copper, I guess that it is the same as the phosforbronze spring that you are planning.

Are you going to sell the springs and are prepared for the hassle that comes with it?

Why are you interested in machinability?

@hlKARlnoob Cost. 45% IACS Beryllium Copper, or even just pure copper, is very hard to machine. And therefore, is at a big premium. This is what he told me anyway, and I do believe him on the research I have done.

The engineers at the Chinese companies said to me the same thing: 38% IACS beryllium copper is just a a tiny bit more expensive than phosphor, but 45% IACS is much more expensive to machine, in exchange to being more mechanically weak in terms of springiness.

This is why BeCu 45%IACS springs are so expensive on IntlOutdoor compared to bronze springs on Kaidomain, even for a smaller spring. It is just because it is more expensive to machine.

@djozz, I am planning to make a group buy, yes. Not all of the springs made are for the group buy of course. I’m going to keep some of them to replace all of the springs in my lights, so about 20 pcs if I only make 200 pcs of them. Then I am keeping about the same amount for prototyping a product that I am currently engineering, so about 20 pcs.

The rest 150pcs I am probably going to sell in a GB at cost depending on the price they quote me, just so the BLF members can try them out, and see how really good they are.

Before that of course, I am going to do a similar test to yours in 2014, just a bit update :laughing:

I have done group buys locally before, but not on a global scale like BLF. So it is going to be a trial on how good I am on the topic.

TLDR: Going to keep about 50 springs for myself and a project, then going to sell them in a group buy if they are good enough. Otherwise, it is going to be part of my hobby money spent on 200 springs.

I don’t get it. You don’t machine to produce springs; springs use a forming process to obtain their shape. At least, that’s what I thought.

Ok sorry, misltranlation on my part. I have asked him again, and he said that while 45% IACS beryllium copper is stiffer than copper after being worked on, it is actually slightly softer than copper before being worked on.

From what I can translate from French, he said that when forming 45% IACS beryllium copper into a spring, it has a slightly higher chance of breaking than copper, and much higher chance than 38% IACS beryllium copper. That is because 38% IACS beryllium copper contains more impurities added when making it, such as nickel and cobalt, giving it higher mechanical strength.

Finally, containing a higher percentage of copper and beryllium just makes it more expensive to produce.

TLDR: 38% IACS beryllium copper, while a bit weaker electrically, is stiffer than 45% IACS, before and after being formed, and is much less expensive to manufacture into a spring.

Sorry for the mistranslation, but I don’t speak or write much about these kind of topics much, like science, so I don’t always know the appropriate terms.

You don’t machine springs, they are bent into shape.
And also you DO want compressibility, if it’s too stiff it will plastically deform when compressed which is not what you want for a spring, it should remain in elastic deformation.

This makes sense. And no problem about the mistranslation, this is how we learn. :+1: :beer:

[video:]Beavis And Butthead - Boing! - YouTube

@Enderman, yes, you want compressible enough springs, not too stiff. Beryllium copper 38% IACS is good in that regard. In fact, phosphor bronze and beryllium copper 38% IACS are quite good in this regard.

However, as seen by djozz in his test, springs that collapse are a problem when looking for higher conductivity, as they collapse quite easily. This is not in relation to stiffness, but elastic memory when being compressed.

We want spring with good elastic memory.

Stiffness Elastic memory goes in an increasing manner:

Copper < Beryllium Copper 45% IACS < Phosphor Bronze B-2 15% < IACS-Beryllium Copper 38% IACS ≤ Phosphor Bronze B-2 19% IACS < Stainless steel

Edit: Haha I absolutely love Beavis and Butthead. Such a great show :+1:

Edit 2: IMPORTANT

I made a mistranslation again. By stiff

Beryllium copper IACS 38% is a good material for a spring in terms of stiffness, and is the best balance between electrical conductivity, cost, and elastic memory. Phosphor bronze is a bit cheaper, but we already these in most sizes. A tall, not short high current spring is what’s lacking.

Well, besides a nice laugh I've had after discovering the title of hIKARInoob's linked video (to my Spanish native speaking mind that sounds :-D “moñoñoñoñoñoño”), I have an interesting question in this regards fellows: What is the relative hardness of these spring alloys versus the hardness of the usual standard carbon steel cutting pliers are usually made of? You know, if the allow is slightly softer it can be of cutting edge :-D help.

Cheers ^:)

It would be interesting to make it narrow for reverse mounts. By reverse I mean that the thick end touches battery. Lone Oceans does so to gain more space on his drivers.