If that were mine, I would probably just fill in the pocket with JB Weld and then mill it down flat. I know I sound like a broken record with this, but with the large contact area the thermal properties of the material matters very little. Thermal properties of the tiny area between the LED center pad & MCPCB is the only truly critical spot, because it's so small and has to carry the same heat load as the much larger MCPCB-to-pill (or body) contact area.
comfy - how would you mill it? Been meaning to ask you details - I got a bench drill press, a Skil nothing great, but looking for good bits/attachments to work with alum, copper and brass. Also I saw that jig you have - would love to get that setup as well. Any tips would help! Maybe the wrong thread, but I would try the JB Weld method you are describing.
An alternative is to copper plate it, fill it with solder, then press it flat with a piece of aluminum. The solder will stick to the copper plating, but not the aluminum. This will also work if you want to solder your mcpcb to the pill. I have a thread about my recent experiences with copper plating. It doesn't even need to be copper plated. Stopping with a nickel plate should be enough, but I do love me some copper.
Carbide or HSS endmills, a low profile drill press vise, and 1x1x1/8" aluminum angle for making various fixture plates/soft jaws. JB Weld is super easy, aluminum is easy most of the time, copper will make you want to forget ever trying such madness.
I already hijacked another thread over here--> https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/26855
Oh wow. I need to get a setup like this - would make things I only dream about possible...
leaftye - are you using this plating technique now on alum pills with success?
The plating technique should work, but I haven't done it on a pill yet. Today I'm going to try adding a thick copper plate onto some springs. If that goes quickly, I'll try a pill too, otherwise it'll wait until tomorrow. I don't see why it wouldn't work unless it's 50xx aluminum. Supposedly the higher magnesium content can make plating and soldering much more difficult that it already is with aluminum.
Mr. Fang got back to me. Well, he's saying we are right but it doesn't effect the performance of the light - it can still be run for hours on high.. This is probably true, but they are probably not conducting prolonged heat/efficiency tests to quantify the issue. Also in stock form, the amps is lower than we'd like, so easier to manage the heat.
Here's my pics below. The big cut indent is about 13-14 mm in diameter and about 0.27 mm deep:
I can accept if this batch of lights is bad, but not attempting to address it in future runs upsets me more than a little. So much for Warsun being the new budget high quality alternative.
I'm still emailing with Mr Fang, conservations are on-going - I believe he is the owner of the manufacturer of Warsun products. Jury is still out - there may be hope, he's listening and talking still.
I have my fingers crossed. Thanks for making the effort. They have a lot of potential and they're almost there except for drivers, but that's a problem we should be able to easily fix on our own thanks to the driver wizards here.
I give up - seems hopeless. He doesn't seem to want to address the issue. His clear sarcasm in his replies to me tells me he's not taking me seriously. I won't be communicating with him again. Maybe someone else can have better luck. I thought blfdemigod was pursuing a custom light with him, but I don't see updates on that for a while (https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/26801), but maybe he's had better luck than me. Sure hope this so called Warsun BLFX doesn't have the same indentations in the pill top.