Low-cost copper pills, spacers, optics, drop-ins (Updated 23/10/2022))

Do you have a link to Hoop’s pills please?

Thank you kind sir.

Received a large order from Kiriba-RU. Everything looks good as usual. :+1:

I just, quite accidentally found out about the existence of “C8TT”. This is very, very cool!!

Do you have more details about this? It looks really nice, but i don’t see how to use it

Im building big belt grinder. It took very long time, same time Ive made a batch of parts that allow use angle grinder as belt grinder. I could not wait longer to try 3M green belt in some difficult job so I temporary set my battery powered angle grinder as belt grinder and tried to sand flat C8’s stainless bezel. Tiny machine dont work as good as big one but anyway it didnt take much time.
Regular SS C8 bezel sanded flat with some laser engraving. How to use it? Probably will make another one for special C8TT set for 2k post GAW.

I’d be in for a flat one

Looks nice Kirill !

I have done it myself some time ago…

Does anyone make a more narrow optic that fits your heat sink head?
This one is a bit too floody for me. I would like to mimic the beam profile on the stock convoy C8 with an orange peel reflector.

Thanks

If you are searching plug and play decision - no, noone.
I think blf members have build several thousands of lights using cute-3 optics. Somebody used to sand optics top flat and polish it clear.
Another optics (angie-s) do exist but:

  1. Im not sure it will give more throw
  2. It have different diameter and height
  3. the only place where you can pcb for angie is led4power.com. If you want to try you can ask Neven about suitable hosts and parts…

My thread is always open for such offtopics Mike.
This is not solution, just experience with multi-core vs solid core wire.
Multi-core wires were developed to use in moving construction, or when it is necessary to pull wire through some angled tube so it should be flexible.
If you need to solder and you have limited place for the connection, multi-wire is not best choise. Imagine that solder layer smallest thickness is limited (lets say 0.05mm) and each core is surrounded with this solder. It makes no sense in mechanical or electrical connection, just takes spare place.
About practice:
Can you find some lacquer insulated wire from old ac/ac transformer/motor/stator etc? You can open (scratch out coating) copper core just from one side and use a tiny amount of solder paste. Nothing compared with multi-core wire when pcb pad is always fully covered with solder. This way you can move your connection closer to the pcb outer border.
If it is not enough and this wire still contacts reflector, you need some custom contact piece (for example, nickel plated copper contacts that wires are crimped by in automobile) so your contact could be wider but smaller height (same area but more distance to reflector).
In few words, any solid piece of brass or copper can be more usefull than flexible multi-core wire if you need to limit solder covered area. For sure you need to solder (crimp) another wire to the end of this contact piece, but probably there is more place on the side neither under reflector.

P.S. Technical lacquer (for repairing transformers/motors/stators etc) is not rare item and can be easily found. DC power require times less insulation properties, probably thinest layer over custom contact/refletor bottom can help to avoid short-circuits.

I’ve seen Old Lumens similar solution here: Soldering wires to a star, a little differently? - Video, and Cereal_killer mentioned using battery contact tabs. I can do these things, and I’ll try drilling too, but ultimately I’d be much more happy if I didn’t have to. Just a plan wire through a through hole, just like those cutter MCPCBs but for single LED MCPCBs would be perfect. It would make everything so much easier, I don’t see any good reason as to why MCPCB manufacturers haven’t made them.

I suppose manual soldering is not something big manufactures are thinking about, so technilogies are moving to the other side. Small connectors, point welded nickel strips, tiny laser-welded pins etc.
Not sure through hole is best solutuon, most would like rather big hole (like 2mm), if hole in shelf or pill is 2.5mm it leaves just 0.25mm to sides. If you are assembling light with wires as short as possible and fixing driver first and that soldering pcb, there is no ways to look and check if there is no solder leaked through the wire hole.

P.S.
I suddenly invented perfect decision which can fix two problems - pcb rotation and solder point under reflector bootom.
PCB with two extra half-circles protruded outside. With solder pads on them (outside reflector bottom).
Cons: you will need dremel and mill two cuts.

Should be easy enough to check for shorts, just put one DMM probe on the pill/head and check for shorts by probing each LED wire solder blob.

Yeah, that’s the downside. I’m interested in a solutions that require less work. Your design is for custom MCPCBs anyway, if your going to go custom I’m still convinced that two through holes in place of two of those wire notches would be an easier solution. If people can successfully drill their own holes and solder without shorts, soldering with pre-existing holes should not be an issue. But yeah, I have to put my money where my mouth is and try drilling first.

Through isolated hole in metall core pcb is another technology.
It took many years to move from fr4 to metall core.
And several more years from metall core to DTP.
How long will take next step? Nobody knows…

Any X6 copper or aluminum heat sinks available?

For a triple? Those are listed inthe first poet of the topic

I didn’t realize it. I PM’d him.

Is there any chance of you making an S2+ triple copper pill? The other guy still hasn’t made them yet.