Lume1-FW3X: Constant Current Buck-Boost & FET Driver with Anduril1/2 + RGB Aux

Wow. Thanks for that awesome documentation!!

Excited to get these in my hands and in some lights!

Does Neal have interest in doing the Aux boards as well? That would be pretty cool. He could even include it on the premium FW3A models

Can this driver be used also in other e-switch flashlights, assuming you would connect the e-switch to the inner ring on the back?

The multi-color aux leds are really an outstanding feature.

I assume so, and thatā€™s what I was thinking of doing for some other lights, the via for the switch ring seems to start here :

Probably a bit small for soldering a wire there, but there is a tiny bit of space up north without components (blue) to make yourself another via.

Or even better loneoceans could add a solder pad for the switch, unused for the FW3X, but would allow to use the driver for other lights where it fits.



i am trying to make that happen ;)

Yes!! :smiley:

that is good to hear, i have have had nothing but great experiences with Neal.

maybe Neal can source the springs from lumintop to sell together as a set ? :smiley:

Neale confirmed on FB that he will sell FW3 driver and AUX boards also.

Spring should be included cause partially finished products are not attractive...

Could you please post a link, i canā€™t find it on fb

He answerd in M4D M4X deals and reviews post

It is possible to use this driver in flashlights with 22mm diameter driver cavities - just make sure that the shelf and retaining ring fit the driver and don't hit other components. Afterall, the Lume1-fw3x was designed specifically for FW3X flashlights only. thefreeman is right that you can solder the e-switch wire where the red arrow is drawn in the diagram. Perhaps more designs will be made for other flashlights in the future.

As for springs, yes, since Neal / Lumintop is fabricating the drivers, they will be able to use the same spring as the stock FW3A driver. It'll be nice if they sold the springs separately too, since I think they're the perfect size and profile for many small drivers. Individual drivers sold by Neal will of course come with a spring

Finally for AUX LED boards, I'm working with Neal to find the best way to get these produced. Most likely it'll be the RGB AUX boards - for the tri-LED boards, different LEDs will require different series resistors, and I'm not sure what the best solution is to sell that since there can be so many variants.

If I may I have one minor comment about your design. Iā€™ve noticed that your pads for pogo key have switched places for mosi and miso against already standardized pattern. Look like you can easy fix this to be in line with other drivers on the market.

I would love to see another version of those efficiency plots done with a triple Nichia/Samsung/Luxeon/SST20. As you know, the single XM-L2 is the worst case for buck-mode efficiency and also and unlikely case for the application. Boost-mode might reach the full 3A @2.7V too?

Thank you, thefreeman and loneoceans, for answering my question. :+1:

Good to know where I can solder the e-switch. Now I am planning some RGB aux triples. That should look awesome.

Cool beans

You knowā€¦ I just now noticed that there isnā€™t a flat notch on this driver to match the FWs driver cavity/ledge. Am I missing something here? Is it not needed? Or perhaps is this a feature thatā€™s not on the copper model that caused a minor oversight in the pcb design?

Thanks all for the feedback!

Yes the current iteration of the driver PCB is indeed round, because of the specific flashlights I have tested with. You are correct that the aluminium version (not the original ones, but the standard ones) do have a notch. I'm not exactly sure about the newest ones since I don't have them. The copper version, at least the one I have, does not have the notch. I'm working with Neal to determine what the actual cavity specifications are. Regardless, it's an easy adjustment with a little bit of sanding or filing to get it to fit if the specific flashlight cavity in your flashlight does have a notch. Once I get clarification I'll be updating with more details.

Yes the production boards are updated to swap MOSI and MISO, so it'll be the same as existing flashlights!

Is there a chance that some PCBs will have the same layout but bigger diameter (~24-25 mm) to fit 21700 e-swith flashlights?

FW doesnā€™t use notch anymore but drivers still has it.

Thanks everyone for the great feedback so far, and thanks everyone for your patience.

Just a quick update - the first batch of Lume1-FW3X drivers have been produced. I am arranging to getting some shipped to me so I can validate the build since I have no idea how they turned out yet!

In addition, a lot of people have asked about Aux boards. Neal has produced some RGB AUX boards.

https://imgur.com/po5GYL3
Here's a very quick GIF of what Neal sent over. Tweaking of resistor values in progress for LED brightness. I do not know what his plans are for AUX boards but I see no reason why they cannot be offered for sale as well. Please excuse the odd effects from video to gif conversion.

More to come soon!