Copper MCPCB Mods

You’re absolutely right!

This post left me pondering for a while. If the drill can go through that copper then it can certainly go through all my fingers like hot knife through butter. :open_mouth:

The copper star also gets very hot during drilling. One wrong move can certainly lead to disaster. :zipper_mouth_face:

Thank you the for pointing this out. Better safe than sorry. :beer:

Nice work Nightbird. I think some people assume you did this because you are cheap. I do things like this too but for different reasons:

  1. There is a certain joy in building something for the lowest cost possible.
  2. Trying something new (to me) just to see if I can do it.
  3. Curious how it will work.
  4. OK, yeah, because I am cheap. I save the good stuff for high current projects

Of course, the amount of time invested is a cost, but this is a hobby and not a business. I'm curious why you think you did this particular mod.

It looks like you may have scraped off the dialectic layer. Did you? I would be inclined to leave it (other than the drill hole) because it helps with bringing your copper plug closer tot he led and because the mcpcb has a copper sheet on top of the dielectric layer that could also facilitate heat conduction.

Nice mod! Resourceful mods like this can be more rewarding than buying pre-fab parts.

If you have a pair of thick jeans or an old leather belt you could buff the stars to a more polished finish.

Yes I attempted to scrap the dielectric layer of one copper MCPCB but did not finish it because I decided to go ahead with this mod. I left the dielectric of the other MCPCB intact.

I long wanted to try this because from what I observed on SinkPads, a rectangle hole is punched in the MCPCB and this is plugged with a rectangular copper piece which fits snugly in the hole. This can be replicated by simply drilling a round hole in the copper MCPCB then plugging the hole with copper. I have AWG 10 single core wire with me so the the best thing to do is drill a hole big enough for the AWG 10 to fit snugly. :wink:

I did all these because I love doing it, because I want to ‘improvise’ and because I want to try things that are new to me. Per djozz’ tests, aluminum SinkPads are not far behind in performance so my next project is doing this same mod to my aluminum MCPCBs. Not that I’ll be able to use all the modded aluminum MCPCBs, many of which are the former stars of some of my lights modded with SinkPads, I just love doing the modding. :slight_smile:

And yes I am cheap! This is a Budget Light Forum after all. :bigsmile:

Thanks Chloe!

Actually I use an old leather belt in ‘maintaining’ the sharpness of my blades. And yes this is very effective in buffing the stars. Thanks for pointing this out. :slight_smile:

  1. wire is used between the main panel and sub panels and also for electric ovens and dryers. Last year someone did this to a triple 20 mm using either #12 or #14 so I tried using it to link a 10mm aluminum mcpcb to a copper plate. I had the same difficulty centering the hole but if you file the edge of the wire before pounding it in you can repair the dam between the pads with fujik or JB.

I simply used the Mechanic Chips Repair Soldering Paste from FastTech to fill up the imperfections after the wire is fitted. I also filed the edge of the wire before inserting it to the hole because this would be very hard to do (without destroying the contact points) once it is already fitted in the MCPCB.

Regarding the triple 20 mm, were they copper or aluminum? Did the mod result to the desired results?

Aluminum and I think so. It was done about the time copper boards were coming around but still no copper triples so someone did the wire mod instead. Machinists like MRsDNF were milling out the center pad and dropping the star over a custom heat sink with a raised center pad.

Cool idea about doing this to aluminum stars for future projects. I bet this mod can be done pretty quick after you do a couple.

Nice tip about polishing with leather or jeans Chloe. Gotta keep that one in mind.

~.080" holes drilled, top & bottom of holes chamfered:

12AWG pieces are a light press fit. Clean off all the solder on the topside so it can be laid down flat, then hammer the pins from the backside only - that way the LED side won't need any filing or sanding afterwards.

Before riveting:

After:

The chamfer on both sides of the holes lets the copper spread out and fill in the space, which leaves a flange on either side that locks the pins in forever.

Being in international forum, I would like to highlight the difference in living standards.

Before anyone think about people being cheap or anything, it could be because some really couldn’t afford as much.

For example - the median wage for the US is about $50k while in Malaysia it’s $10k. That’s 1/5th purchasing power.

This is not exact, but quick calculation would bring it to this - would you have bought the copper Noctigons if they are 5 times the price e.g $8 apiece? No? Probably you’d still buy some to try out but not as much of course.

If there exist a way to use current aluminium or cheap dielectric copper board, we’d be glad to go that way, even if it means some mod is necessary.

I’ve go no problem with cheap. It’s a part of DIY.

Nice job CC.

+1

can you tell the difference in heat transfer?

In my case, not really as it’s in a solitaire which heats up quickly anyway. I’ll almost certainly continue to use this technique on occasion.

Cool! 8)

So this is the right way to do it. I’ll follow this technique. Thanks comfychair! :beer:

Well said Pulsar13! :beer:

Anyway, I don’t mind what others might think as long as I don’t offend anyone and I enjoy what I’m doing. I also think that many of us here think the same way too. :slight_smile:

Absolutely gorgeous job! Love the chamfer and riveting approach

Excellent job as always comfy!

All done with a drill press?

Reminds me of those copper core aluminum heatsinks for CPU’s

Those Intel HSFs work nice too.

Whoa! :open_mouth:

Wat is dat? :~

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