Maximum sustainable lumens?  (build)

pinkpanda3310 · 2019-08-03T12:29:49.000Z

Milling out a flat spot for the switch was a challenge.

It looks good in the pics above but in reality I didn’t have the setup done perfect and didn’t realize because I couldn’t see well enough. The next 2 pics are the actual view angles I had.

As a result the milling was not central. I don’t think the part slipped (which was possible because of the way I set it up) , I think it was the initial alignment of the setup.

I tried to make it right but again I couldn’t see much so it’s still not perfect I moved onto cutting out a hole for the switch. That also didn’t turn out as good as I hoped. I went a fraction too deep and cut into the internal threads This is not such a big deal since it will be covered but I still didn’t like making the mistake. People make mistakes but when they come one after the other…

I didn’t fit the switch assembly until I was pretty much done with the rest of it. When I did fit it… yup I had issue with it

SKV89 · 2019-08-03T15:31:32.000Z

This looks amazing. Please consider making more and selling for profit if it’s successful. Btw the Imalent DX80 and the Olight X9R can sustain those lumens and are not actively cooled. But they are much larger.

pinkpanda3310 · 2019-08-04T05:41:00.000Z

SKV89:

This looks amazing. Please consider making more and sell for profit …and therein lies the rub. Manual machining is not budget machining nor is shipping from Perth Australia

Thanks for the positive comment though. For some reason I thought both of those lights were actively cooled. However they do both have thermal ramping. I wonder what lumens they can actually hold after thermal has kicked in?

SKV89 · 2019-08-04T06:40:24.000Z

7 to 8k lumens fir the DX80 and 6.5K lumens for the Olight

everydaysurvivalgear · 2019-08-04T08:14:08.000Z

The build looks awesome mate!
Its good to see some scratch made lights and lathe work back on BLF

thijsco19 · 2019-08-04T10:47:14.000Z

Could you measure the base of the reflector for me?

Looking good so far! That button assembly looks good!

pinkpanda3310 · 2019-08-04T11:31:22.000Z

SKV89:

7 to 8k lumens fir the DX80 and 6.5K lumens for the Olight

That sounds promising. We might hit the target with this build :partying_face:
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everydaysurvivalgear:

The build looks awesome mate!
Its good to see some scratch made lights and lathe work back on BLF

It’s not 100% scratch made but I agree, it’s always good to see pics of lights in the making on blf
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thijsco19:

Could you measure the base of the reflector for me?

Looking good so far! That button assembly looks good!

Lucky for you I didn’t get to the post office on Friday to send it to DavidEF.

thijsco19 · 2019-08-04T12:27:43.000Z

Thank you! That’s even better! (didn’t dare to ask you to make such drawing )

pinkpanda3310 · 2019-08-04T13:31:11.000Z

I don’t know what you need the measurement for but just one dimension usually isn’t enough to work with.

pinkpanda3310 · 2019-08-05T03:59:18.000Z

One of the requests was a tripod moutning point. I wasn’t sure how I was going to do this as I figured I would be machining it from scratch (denoted by the green plate at the base of the 3D pic in OP ). After some head scratching I got an idea. I have a couple of gopro style action cams. They come with more accessories than I need /use. I picked out the one with the deepest hole. In the new host it is a press fit with some epoxy to help hold it.

Redlyne22 · 2019-08-05T06:18:10.000Z

Threads like these are my favorite. Keep up the good work bud! Looking forward to more updates.

pinkpanda3310 · 2019-08-06T02:16:33.000Z

Thanks Redlyne

With the head pretty much finished I pressed the switch into place but had to remove it because it seized up when i pressed it in. The switch is made of titanium but the tolerances between the 2 parts were tight enough that the pressure of being pressed into the aluminium compressed the outer ring and gripped the button. It took me ages to work out which part was actually rubbing and I fitted and refitted too many times. Needless to say it was a real PITA

Centering rings. As noted above i don’t have the size needed and figured it would be faster to make some than wait for a delivery which would be a minimum 2 weeks.

This resin was not strong enough

This plastic was not heat resistant enough

I didn’t get many pictures but this circiut board was mounted to the lathe with double sided tape which wasn’t up to the task.

I tried a piece of carbon rod but the direction the fibre runs makes it very weak for this application. To the point it could not be machined.

I made a bar of 2 part epoxy putty. I was able to shape this stuff but it feels kinda fragile.

Not satisfied I revisited the circiut board idea with a better way to mount it. I had to trim the screw head to get the shape i needed on the board.

I’ll send David both sets. They’re not pretty but they’re functional

pinkpanda3310 · 2019-08-06T02:23:53.000Z

Just a few pics of the finished host

Without the batteries installed it’s front heavy. With batteries not so much. Extended usage may feel front heavy

It’s somewhere close to my design drawing

DavidEF · 2019-08-06T02:30:09.000Z

For some reason, I’m just now seeing this thread. Good work! I’m looking forward to seeing the finished light!

pinkpanda3310 · 2019-08-06T02:42:50.000Z

I figured you were just busy or something

Relampago · 2019-08-06T03:54:05.000Z

Wow! Photon blaster.

Caleb · 2019-08-06T04:29:57.000Z

UH-MAY-ZING!!

A thing of beauty!

SUPER SEXY!!

Awe inspiring!!

NEED!!

Caleb · 2019-08-06T04:32:19.000Z

We all have Q8s. I bet if someone produced replacement heads like this for that for the Q8 demand could be in the thousands.

pinkpanda3310 · 2019-08-06T08:32:14.000Z

Caleb:

We all have Q8s. I bet if someone produced replacement heads like this for that for the Q8 demand could be in the thousands.

Edit…… I probably shouldn’t dob him in like that :zipper_mouth_face:

kiriba-ru · 2019-08-06T07:54:38.000Z

Caleb:

We all have Q8s. I bet if someone produced replacement heads like this for that for the Q8 demand could be in the thousands.

We all have C8 (18650 version). I have invested a lot in C8TT, but demand is near 10pcs/year.