Hi all!
Doing a CNC run of some light bars at various sizes (differing lengths), and going with a heavier approach than the typical mass-produced lightweight finned extrusion model with driver+LED combo PCB everyone seems to be doing for light bars. The thermal interface between PCB and sink face is often poor. Some use pitted castings on smaller designs (without facing the PCB interface plane, just gobs of thermal paste under a thin AL PCB) and on longer designs they will use extrusions adequate enough, but not heavy enough to increase the power density very much at each optic. So I’m going to start with bar stock, then bore holes, thread the holes, and use a light head in each hole location. For simplicity, the host head needs to have male external base threads (the battery tube would be female threaded). Ideally, the donor host head should be beefy from LED PCB mount plane down to the base of the threads, so the billet bar can get the heat transferred into it well from the light heads. The stock mode configuration of the drivers won’t matter, as the drivers won’t be used, a master driver will power each LED from an external mounting location.
I’ve spent a lot of time digging and digging the web, searching images, and what I’ve learned are heads with male threads seem far and few between. The ideal head outside diameter would be from around 50mm and could be as large as 65mm diameter, but a head design on the smaller side of that range is probably a good sweet spot to start with.
It would need to be from a manufacturer that will sell me the heads, and a coated lens existing in the design would make the project better from the start. Through all of my research, I gather that Convoy might have what I need. It looks like they used to make an X3 model with 26650 tube, and that head looks good, but it looks like they redesigned the model into a newer M26 with coated glass. Is that model as heavy as the older X3 head was? I see there’s different versions, just need a plain Jane head with 26650 size tube threads, and no side switch hole on the head.
That’s what I could come up with for a start, but would enjoy hearing any other suggestions if you have them.
Thanks a lot!