FW3A, a TLF/BLF EDC flashlight - SST-20 available, coupon codes public

Yeah, the price for that gasket is a bit ridiculous.
You can get a 1kg spool of GITD filament for 20-40$. Time is the real cost obviously but that’s a tiny piece.

Let’s see, what’s the volume of that thing…multiply by this, carry to three, deduct that…uhm fuck all is the answer.
In case you’re wondering, we’re talking about less than half a cubic centimeter.
So a spool would net you, idk, 1500pcs or more.

I got curious how much material it would take and how long it would take so…

…I slapped together a representative model of that thing (~20x20x3mm with appropriate holes) and fed it to Cura.
Looks like you could print 56 of them at a time in an Ultimaker 3 and Cura estimates it would take a hair over 3 hours with the default “Fast” profile while using a whopping 32g of material (generic PLA AA 0.8).
And that’s at 0.2mm layer height, with a part like this I would bump it to 0.3mm layer height and have it only take ~2hrs15mins. Or roughly ~2½ minutes a piece.
Dropping the thickness to 2.5mm means it would take only 1hr50mins and use 26g of material.
Sure you can tune it further to save even more time but that’s fast enough.

There are 3D printing factories in China with a room full of printers so you could have a load of these made in no time at all.
Just for the giggles I looked on 3dhubs, punching in Shenzhen and some factory would charge ~800 USD for 999pcs and you could get them by next tuesday.
If some chinese flashlight company would do the ordering, handling, storage, shipping side of things, how much would they charge?
Could they do it for 5$ a piece incl. slow boat shipping?

On the other hand, Neal might be a few steps ahead of us. *checks his store just in case. Oh well let’s hope that FW3A pic is a sign of things to come!

For my Emisar D4, I just cut two small strips of GITD tape and put in under the optics in the shape of an X. Seems to work fine. I like the aux led of the D4S. I wish the FW3A had an aux led. GITD doesn’t last all that long.

From observations of a light with aux LED’s that are probably as bright or brighter than the glow tape:

Probably yes, but only at firefly levels and close ranges, since tape or aux LED’s are not focused by an optic and therefore have minimal throw.

The glow tape isn’t that green under normal lighting, its usually an “off-white” when I’ve seen it, just like watch lume.

I doubt it would change the tint much, especially when its placed under the business end of the optics where not very much light should be shining at it.

Anyone with a 3D printer willing to mass produce these GITD gaskets? They will sell like hot cakes for triple and quad carclos!

Price is $12-$15
I am talking with the manufacturer to get better price

What is the backlog on shipping? Ordered it last week heard nothing so far :frowning:

@ttylamg, it’s called Worker’s holiday.

800pcs 3D already shipped.
Lumintop will ship me 300pcs 7A to me today

I’m having a slight issue with my light and I can’t seem to figure it out. For some reason, while I’m ramping up in the smooth ramp mode, sometimes it will just abruptly stop and shut completely off. Anyone got any ideas what I’m doing wrong? Here’s a video of what it’s doing https://giphy.com/gifs/ekvkxmNAyZY6Wk4AVW

… am I a bad person if I say yes?*

I mentioned that not even Neal knows because of a message he sent me yesterday. I’d rather not go into detail, but it’s definitely not certain yet.

@Toykeeper, I was certain until Neal said the same thing to me too, via someone else of course.

Now I’m tempted to sandpaper and polish a FW3A. It’d make the flat areas and high spots shiny silver while leaving darker ano color in the low areas.

But it’d look better if it had started with black anodizing. More contrast.

That’s the main symptom of a switch tube contact issue. I haven’t seen it happen on my production sample, but I know the issue well from seeing it on earlier prototypes.

Loosen the tail a bit, loosen the head, then tighten the tail as much as you can, then tighten the head. The issue should go away.

If the issue returns, loosen the head, tighten the tail again as much as you can, then tighten the head. Try to keep the tail as tight as possible. And always tighten it tail-first.

Thanks Toykeeper, that seems to have done the trick!

Thanks for the info Neal, that is starting to sound much better. :+1:

Yes, but feeling certain isn’t the same thing as having accurate information. There’s a reason why there are so many adages and quotes about certainty, like counting chickens before they hatch.

In other words….

How about a dab of quality rubber cement for the nub?
It will remain flexible as opposed to the rigidity of cured superglue.
A dot under the nub, and a thin smear over the sides and surface would create a cocoon for that little nub to live in for good.