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XPE Helmet light

75K views 523 replies 77 participants last post by  HEY HEY ITS HENDO 
#1 · (Edited)
I have had these Q5 XPE for a couple of weeks now and have been wondering what to do with them . I did think about using 4 with a dual MCE light .

Then rummaging around in the warehouse of the place I work I came across this aluminium curtain rail thingy so borrowed an off cut for research .

Znomit did a build using a similar extrusion :thumbsup:

After attacking it with a measure and looking at the spec for the carclo 10 mm square optics . it was made for this build I think.

now which build is going to be the best










It has come to the point when it is the driver that takes up most space so thinking the maxflex can go live in with the battery
 
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#4 ·
Looks very clean and nice, but I too am pretty sure you need more cooling. Remember it will have to dissipate about 15W it you are driving them at 600mA. I was surprised how hot the XP-E got even when properly heatsinked. I had it on a 450g copper heatsink and still it would get burning hot when you pressed your finger on top of it.
 
#7 ·
I'm also considering building a bigger version of the Pipe Light using the next size up pipe fiitting to be able to put 9 XPE's driven 3 parallel in series fed by a maxflex.
My problem is there are no dimensional drawings on the Cutter website of the 10mm MCPCB to tell me if the indentations on the pcb are made for the Carclo 10412 etc lenses to fit over or do the legs of the lens fit into the two holes of the pcb.
Can anyone confirm or post the correct dimensions please.
 
#8 ·
I cant wait to see this build! 8 of them you really are mad! I was thinking of using 3 and doing a 1/2 scale achesalot build. I am sure you will post some sort of beam shot since you always do. I hope the 10mm squares are nice. Any plans to try any of the other xp-e optics? The khatod .5" x 1.5" strip looks like it could be trimmed down to 10mm.
 
#10 ·
formantjim said:
My problem is there are no dimensional drawings on the Cutter website of the 10mm MCPCB to tell me if the indentations on the pcb are made for the Carclo 10412 etc lenses to fit over or do the legs of the lens fit into the two holes of the pcb.
Can anyone confirm or post the correct dimensions please.
Looking at the data sheet for the 10412 optic the legs just sit around the 10 mm board .
I cant see them going into any of the indents as there are only 2 opposing each other.

Bikerjay.
You are indeed correct in your analysis :crazy:

The final build will depend on what the beam looks like from these wee beasties
I have ordered the 10417 :incazzato: I did not notice the 10412 had a better efficiency

Beam shots will be posted when they are here
No plans yet to try any other optics

Znomit

Nice idea but could look a bit messy
but it may be 2 * 3 XPE fitted to the helmet peak
 
#13 ·
deesta said:
This is really interesting....those things look tiny!! Should be interesting to see what you can come up with Chris :)

I reckon I could modify my housing to get, maybe, 6 of those in...without too much trouble. How could they be driven??
I am very undecided at the moment Steve..

:devil: hell only 6 in your housing :devil:
I just had a look and 14 would squeeze in
but 12 would be realistic and a maxflex or hipflex to power them



Oh that is the shotblasted and anodised one :D

Or you could go 9 xpe and the 20 mm triples Now that could be something Else .
A bit less heat than 3 mce and maybe a better beam
 
#14 ·
troutie-mtb said:
Or you could go 9 xpe and the 20 mm triples Now that could be something Else .
A bit less heat than 3 mce and maybe a better beam
But isn't the best angle for the 20mm triple a half angle of 18 degrees, ie total angle of 36 degrees? That makes it more of a flood. No joy with sourceing small quantities of the Polymer Optics range?

On another note Chris, I took the beast out on Wednesday night for the first ride. 38 showed up for a social ride but we were back at the pub before it was truely dark so didn't get to use it. Video this week I promise
 
#17 ·
The Compulsery ceiling shots

I have cobbled a test rig up for some beamshots .

have I mentioned they are darn tiny things .

one single XPE and Carclo 10417 narrow beam very small thing
the tapes are 1 mtre long and 2.2 metres from the microscopic light



and this is 4 of the little beggers ,



when it gets proper dark I will wander out and get a shot on my test trail with these
nano lights
 
#19 ·
Bloody Hell....That would be some kinda light!! :thumbsup:

Are you going to have a go at doing all 14?? I reckon you should :D But the wiring might be interesting :rolleyes:

I think there are going to be some VERY small lights coming out of the TroutShed soon..

Keep up the good work Chris
 
#20 ·
deesta said:
Bloody Hell....That would be some kinda light!! :thumbsup:

Are you going to have a go at doing all 14?? I reckon you should :D But the wiring might be interesting :rolleyes:

I think there are going to be some VERY small lights coming out of the TroutShed soon..

Keep up the good work Chris
I have only got 8 XPE s so need to maximise what I do with them at the moment I have so many ideas I would need 100 to play with.

ref the small lights I just wish you lived nearer I would like to get together and design something really radical I think these are to small for my manual lathing skills and crap mini mill.

these things are small enough to put on your glasses never mind helmet.:D

There is more wow factor from these than the MCE and 4 XPE with these 10 mm optics are IMHO better than 1 mce and boom reflector .

ok on to the rather rushed beam shots I struggled a bit because the optics were not fixed and just sat on the leds.

I tried to cover 2 leds up here so this is 2 up



this was a bit easier to do the 4 up



I have to say these shots do not do the these justice and I am very impressed with the performance for such a tiny package.
there is no wasted light out the sides it all goes into the beam

I think if you put 4 or 6 lined up on a helmet peak as tiny seperates you could taylor the perfect helmet light
 
#22 ·
gillestugan said:
The hotspot looks very similar to the boom SS in the wall beamshot. But then there is much less spill.

Ooo, I want, I want, I want! They look so good when placed in a row like you have done. And the optics are also very shallow, so you will have much more room behind them for drivers and stuff. (if placed in a housing)
As you may have gathered I am very excited by these and will have to endure a few hours in my freezing garage to come up with a housing .

These are the Q5 s so the R2 will be a bit brighter but as you see with only 4 they throw to the trees at the back which are 75 mtrs away where the single boom struggles to get half that distance .

Watch this space there is something really cool on the drawing board but will need Deesta`s CNC to do it justice , if he is willing and able to help :)
 
#23 ·
troutie-mtb said:
As you may have gathered I am very excited by these and will have to endure a few hours in my freezing garage to come up with a housing .

These are the Q5 s so the R2 will be a bit brighter but as you see with only 4 they throw to the trees at the back which are 75 mtrs away where the single boom struggles to get half that distance .

Watch this space there is something really cool on the drawing board but will need Deesta`s CNC to do it justice , if he is willing and able to help :)
75 Meters of throw! ( 246ft.) :eekster: :skep: Duh....I'm speechless. A six or eight setup could make a nice compact helmet light. Can't wait to see what the commercial bike light builders will do with these.
 
#24 ·
WOW

I have to put the electronics with a remote switch now. There will not be any room for the electronics even in a well cooled light.

Now I am really wondering, will a 5up 35mm be any good, it could easily be retrofitted to every ones 35mm cutter kits.

Even the amoeba will soon see portly. Also this has got me wondering about the 20mm round triple, could make for some great dinotte style lights.
 
#26 · (Edited)
Bloody freezing in my garage

I have just spent the last 4 hours wrapped up in my garage chewing a helmet light from a lump of ali.

It was going to be kept secret untill finished but I am so excited about these little babies I had to share it .

I will put up a few piccys

I have gone for 6 XPEs as it makes a nice compact light and is ideal for the Maxflex to power from my 14.8 v batteries and I can run them at full chat if required







I have tried to make it from one piece so the whole housing is the heat sink .
and there is 10 mm of solid ali behind the leds which I will leave for now but will if needed cut cooling slots if it runs hot . the Maxflex has its own heat sink built in so it will monitor the leds too .

then how to mount it to a helmet the thing was to keep it low profile and most mounting brackets add height .

so I built in some rails and slots for a 25mm wide velcro strap the rails hold it just off the helmet so air can flow under
the total height on the helmet is 25 mm so pretty low profile. not bad for a 1000 lumen helmet light

It also has a M5 threaded hole in the bottom so a bar mount can be fitted







 
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