Prototype off-road/boating spotlight - King COB!

LOL you can get a used HAAS for the ctazy prices Tormach wants.

You can get closed loop Leadshine steppers for a reasonable price. A lot cheaper than buying them from Tormach. Then gut their control and use a UCCNC control. Even a SmoothStepper with Mach3. PathPilot is nice but it’s all proprietary crap.

I’ve run a Haas before but yeah, I was looking at a DT-2. For $50k new, it’s a hell of a machine. But I doubt I’ll ever have the budget or space for something like that. Haas controls have some really irritating software bugs and I’ve heard that their newest control is REALLY bad.

Anyway, I’ll just use the Tormach for one offs and prototypes and then outsource any production.

I really don’t mind PathPilot all that much. Their UI stinks and there are some dumb quirks like not being able to easily drive the machine off a limit switch. PP is just LinuxCNC with a Tormach sticker slapped on it. It’s actually funny but I got them to sell me the upgrade even though they shouldn’t have sold it to me given that our machine is “too old” to run PP.

There’s a guy who designed a lever operated hybrid hydraulic drawbar system for the Tormach that I’d love to have on the one I have access to but I doubt that will ever happen.

Doing some thermal modelling on the battle lantern tonight and it looks like it will be able to handle 35-40w continuous or there about. It could probably do a little bit more if I used copper here and there but copper is expensive.

Yeah they have some quirks but for the money they’re pretty good machines. And for most stuff they’re more than serviceable. If I had the space and money I’d like a Brother Speedio, but still waiting to hit that Mega Millions.

I’m surprised how long it took Tormach to come out with a machine with LM guides and servos. But you could get an SYIL for about half what Tormach is asking.

On my mini mill, I had a 3HP 24krpm electric spindle installed, but I basically work with aluminum about 99% of the time, and I use high-speed (constant engagement) toolpaths almost exclusively. Only thing about the spindle is that it uses ER collets, so no ATC…

I’ve seen a few hydraulic drawbar assemblies, and it really is not a big deal to build. You could probably find a good hydraulic cylinder on eBay, fabricate a couple simple plates, and get some Belleville washers - the concept is pretty simple.

From what I’ve heard, the only problem with the Syil is that it requires 3 phase even though it should be able to run just fine off single phase 220vac.

I saw another machine not too long ago which looked a little nicer than the Syil but I didn’t look into it all that much. YCM FV50T It kind of looks like a Brother Speedio.

I’d love to have a machine with HSK tool holding but that’s basically not a thing here in the US it seems even though it beats the hell out of CAT30/40/50.

The control software bugs drove me up the wall because I was doing a lot of “screwy” heavy hand coding of parts. The other machine I used to run, ran FlashCutCNC which almost has more in common with a proper programming language than g-code. You could do some pretty cool stuff.

FlashCut CNC if I remember correctly was one of the first “prosumer/light industrial” controls that ran off a USB port. That was actually a pretty big thing back then, maybe about 12-15 years ago?

I wouldn’t say g-code is not a “proper” programming language; it’s been around forever. I used to hand-code stuff, but unless it’s something simple I do everything in CAM. While I like the look of efficient code, it doesn’t matter anymore today because there’s no worries about system memory. Heck even Mach3 is capable of over 100 million lines of code, which even a lowly Pentium I and a parallel port could parse, no problem. I have Cut2D for simple 2.5D stuff and a child could generate toolpaths with it, yet it’s capable of doing some complicated stuff if you use enough imagination. I grew out of that however and got VCarve for its signage capabilities. Finally for full-on 3D programming I got a seat of OneCNC; and I’ve used it since XR2 Mill Advantage which is at least 10 years ago, and have upgraded over the years (I’m at XR7 Mill Expert right now.)

At my old job the FlashCut machine made a family of micro-machined parts so I wrote a pile of subroutines that calculated tool paths, feed rates and spindle speeds on the fly. I could even do constant surface speed on ball mills to compensate for the contact angle. Anyway, with the set of subroutines, I could code new parts MUCH faster than any CAM operator could by piecing together the required subroutines.

When I say “proper language”, I mean, it could handle named variables, structured programming and could do a LOT of math. Sadly, last I checked, FlashCut still hasn’t updated it at all. The only problem I had with it was that it had a memory leak so you would have to restart the control software a few times each day if you were running really complicated code.

Well, I have a LDH-45B-1050W coming to play with on the battle lantern since I don’t think it will be able to handle more power.

It would be fun to have a turbo button though…

I used one on a 50W outdoor flood light given to me with a bad druver. Works like a charm, dimmable, and I was able to work on the car at night for about 2 hours with my 3s LiPo only dropping to 3.6-3.7V according to the LVP I had connected to it.

Looks like I got those TIRs and housings in… hopefully tomorrow I ca look at it, take some pics, and set up a test rig.

I’m hoping that MW LDH arrives tomorrow so I can ghetto rig something and take a walk around the neighborhood.

I wonder if an aspheric zoomie COB light could be built. Maybe use one of the ~9mm LES COBs? Since it’s a COB and not something like an XHP70, it wouldn’t have that goofy square throw beam.

I think some high-powered moving beam lights use COBs.

I do remember seeing some focusable light fixtures for smaller COBs have to look…


The TIR and housing from China… there’s also a heatsink base that I did not buy because I’m making my own.

The TIR lens is 100mm. The housing is quite massive!

That thing is pretty crazy looking. What did it cost?

The lens was $15, and the housing (sans screws) was $5, amazingly…

:smiling_imp:

I was looking around on CDI’s site to see what else they have and I came across GAGGIONE. They have some 67mm TIR optics than can work with the Bridgelux 18mm COBs (~6000lm @~36w). I was thinking this might be an interesting option to make a giant quad. However, under-driven Vero29s or CXB3590s would be more efficient, I don’t know of a TIR that would approach a 67mm unit for compactness. The downside to Gaggione is that their website is a glacially slow dumpster fire and I don’t know if the entire line can actually be purchased.
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Looking at datasheets and such, the MW boost drivers are actually really interesting since at only 1A output, they basically stop when the ~36v COBs hit a nice output/efficiency ratio. At 1A, the CXB3590 I have is right around 195lm/w and putting out about 7000lm. Sure, it may only be 6000 OTF depending on the optic/reflector but that’s still pretty amazing. Also, at just $9 each, they’re a pretty affordable option for something silly like a quad. I guess I’ll see how heavy they are later today. I noticed last night that they’re larger than I thought. Luckily, I have tons of room inside the Battle Lantern.

The casing and the fact it’s fully potted make them pretty hefty. I accidentally fried one and took it apart. But you can remove the casing which would give you about 3mm or so of extra room…. And probably adhere itto your lantern to dissipate additionaal heat….