what kind of clearance did you have between the 10507 and the XP-L HI’s? I squashed one of my XP-L HI’s tightening the pill too much in my S6.
The HI clears the optic perfectly, BUT the die is so light it might ride high on excess solder paste and pressing it down to push out the excess solder can (and many times will) lead to a short under the emitter.
yep, that’s pretty much the sum of it. It would be easier if I had a mask for the paste.
I just had this happen last night… I replaced the emitter in my STL-V2 clone with an XPL-HI, reflowing onto a 26mm Maxtoch board. Everything was centered properly, but the emitter ended up at an angle, with one end riding higher, where it had floated high on the solder paste. I’ll have to pull the emitter, clean up the solder, then try reflowing again to get it right…
Maybe pre-tin?
Would it help to pre-tin the mcpcb, file it smooth so it’s a bare minimum layer, then apply the emitter and re-flow? I’ve even had the solder paste masking stencil allow too much (most likely my bad, not keeping the stencil flat)
Well, damn. That didn’t work.
I want to be able to measure high-output lights like a triple-XP-L HI, but they’re so bright that they blow out my light box. So I decided to get a neutral density filter to tone down the output, thus letting me measure an order of magnitude more light.
Here’s what happened after just 5 seconds with my Cypreus:
This following is my opinion and the reason while I hold it. If you like stencils, and they work for you, that's great--this is just an alternate viewpoint to consider. Don't take it personally, OK? 
I think that the solder paste stencils for MCPCBs aren't that great in practice. I've tried them and for me, they just don't work well enough to be worth the hassle.
I think that doing it by feel/experience is much better than what a stencil will do most of the time. Doing it without the stencil is much faster and cleaner as well (am I the only one that hates cleaning up a dirty stencil?). There is too much variation in MCPCB pad sizes and depths to consistently achieve good paste coverage--especially on the bigger LEDs. For example, if you were to use one on an XHP70 or MT-G2 Sinkpad, the thermal pad would probably only get about 50% solder coverage. The volume of paste required to fill those deep voids is quite large--so large that it requires mounding the paste so that there is enough solder to mostly fill the void once the flux gets out of there (the flux comprises a large portion of the paste's volume). The Sinkpads seem to have the deepest thermal pad voids, but some of the Noctigons have deeper-than-ideal-voids as well, depending on the MCPCB type and production run. With some experience you can look at an MCPCB, gauge the depth of the voids, and meter the correct amount (or close to it) accordingly.
Instead of pressing down on the LED to remove excess solder, keep your clean iron tip handy. While the offending raised LED is still floating you can touch the excessively loaded pad with with the iron to easily suck away the excess solder.
And there you have it, when you’re exceptionally skilled AND can pass the BAR, no stencil required!
Me? I like stencils, use them for virtually everything. Doing 10mm drivers is SO much easier, mounting an MMU on the flash board is SOOOOOO much easier with a stencil. MT-G2, XHP-70, SBT-70, you name it, I stencil it.
But that’s just me, YMMV.
Hint: Denatured alcohol on a paper towel wipes solder paste right off a stencil. If you let the paste dry, it’s not as easy but still no big chore. Different strokes for different folks. 
Hey man, reflowing MMUs is a different subject...those really can be a pain, even for someone as skilled as I! 
thanks Halo I didn’t notice the stencils in there.
hmm sounds like I need to practice.
I appreciate the suggestions guys - gives me something to try for next time 
Uhh whats a MMU?
something like this
Or more like this. Guppydrv for the win. 
The MMU referred to is the attiny13-mmu, an extra small MCU that made the single sided 10mm FET drivers possible They can’t be flashed when installed on the driver but have to be flashed beforehand.
Thanks! Now this splains alot! Won’t be a PITA to me (10mm driver) AIN’T HAPPENING!
never worry about that because it is happens to me a lot!
never close any led to optic due to their high temperature issue!
many optics produced by plexi hard plastic that they are not for use in high temperature area since you use best optic for certain temperature
So, are a lot of you going to be swapping your XM-L’s out for these, especially in throwy lights? They should throw better, but I don’t think there will be much difference in lumens, right?
They seem to be making less lumens, but of course they throw better than a domed emitter. The caveat to these is how they keep the tint nice when compared to a de-domed XP-L. And that they fit under the Carclo optics for triples.
So, upgrading the triples for better tint is where these really shine for me. Small lights like Sinner’s Cypreus or Ti EDC, helps tremendously to have the white light vs the green pukey tinge. And under an optic in a 20mm tube light they work very well too, getting about 25Kcd which is about 3 times better throw than the small reflectors can do.
Makes sense. Thanks.