It's been a while since i touched the mill..but now i have a little bit of time, i thought i best used some of the bits I have..
So instead of buying more ali. I thought, can i make a tripple XML from a piece of 38mm square ali bar that i have.
The only option i see is to steel a leaf out of trouties book, and mount the driver in the end of the light rather than behind the leds..sorry Chris
This uses 3 XML's, LC1 optics with a H6flex, 10mm momentary switch and a hirschman M8 right angle connector.
Mounts will probably be one either end so the light straddles the stem..
Any thoughts on this design before i start the long hard slog of swearing at the mill?
as they say, why reinvent the wheel when you can steal one off your neighbour's car
one point though would be that you're tying yourself to reflectors with this design and troutie (and others) seem to like the optics better. might be something to think about..
as they say, why reinvent the wheel when you can steal one off your neighbour's car
one point though would be that you're tying yourself to reflectors with this design and troutie (and others) seem to like the optics better. might be something to think about..
Up north they usually swap all 4 wheels for bricks
Sorry no reflectors in this...edited my post as i didnt state that it would be using the LC1 optics.
Goldigger, the triple I've just got working was made from 40mm x 40mm bar and I the reflectors are 26mm at their widest point. If you are concerned about the overall length then I did it with the HFlex in a pocket above middle reflector.
Happy to send you some 'Draft It" plans if you want them
My bar is 38x38mm..
The LC1's are 21.6mm so my cut out will probably be 22mm.
Curious as to how you got the h6flex in a pocket, wiring it up must have been a royal pita?
Yeah that probably won't fit unless the LC1's reduce in size as they get closer to the LED the same way my DX ones do. The pocket was 10mm high. This would leave you very little top and bottom for wall thickness and fins.
PITA is correct, hence the problems. I wired the leds first and sat them in place with the front cover on to keep them secure. Poked the wires through the body and did all the switch and HFlex connections. Took the front cover back off and then, whilst holding the leds in place, slid the driver into its pocket doing my best not to jam wiring on the edges of the cut outs etc.
I think yours / Trouites plans are better though and it has already given me an idea on how to do the XML triple with 18mm DX reflectors I have on the way.
Edit: Goldigger it is a HipFlex I used, not a H6Flex and at 36mm is even bigger than the H6Flex
Probably won't start mine till next week as I still have to finish some other projects on the mill. I'd like to see an update on yours though in case I want to change my design.
His site also mentions some will be in next week which isn't too bad. When I went to order some stuff before it was a 1.5 month wait.
I think George is on holidays at the moment, from memory Scar mentioned it on another thread.
Yep no orders from 9th to 18th..
But no stock of the h6flex till the 19th, I wonder if that date is set in stone.
I'll just have to use a hipcc for the time being and just have one level.
Thanks Chris, maybe take you up on the H6flex
Ok here is what it looks like after yesterdays work..
Roughed out most of the slot for the led's, know I'm just finishing it off on the rotary table.
One hole done two to go, but need to mill the half circle for the o-ring groove before i start the next hole..hope that makes sense..?
Led holes are sorted..plus the oring groove around the two end leds, just need to join them up..
Also need to mill a channel for the wires to sit in from each led to the next. Where i have left material where the led sits in, i will mill away the tops and bottoms to create the channel.
Where do you live? The x2 is on sale through HF until July for about $399+shipping.
If you can afford it, id recommend the SX2 over the X2.
SX2 gets a 500watt brushless motor over the X2 which has a standard 350watt motor, the 350 watt motor is pretty noisy.
SX2 is also belt driven rather than the cheapo plastic gears that the X2 uses. reading a few forums, they suggest that the plastic gears are a wink link. If your cutter jams into the work it normally breaks the plastic gears.
SX2 has varible speed, rather than 2 speed gear box on the X2
The x2 sells here on ebay for around the $700 mark. In stores its north of $800. HF won't ship tools like that to me, heck they won't even respond to emails inquiring about cost of freight, strange given what the F in HF stands for. Anyway
I did have concerns about those plastic gears, good to hear feedback on them. I'm still leaning towards the Proxxon setups but just can't justify spending that sort of money on a hobby.........at the moment.
Being stratigic didnt pay off, i done all the milling in the vice so that i would only have to swap the vice for the rotary table once.
Was working fine until i fu@ked up the front cover on the rotary table! now i need to swap the rotary table to the vice again, and then back to the rotary table.
A little update on todays work..
O-ring groove and led slots finished
Need to remove about 5mm from the left end of the body..
New front cover and driver cover cut to size
Bottom cover with hole in it is the front cover i messed up when i got up this morning. Dont know how it ended up so far out. Must have just crept gradually under the clamps.
Getting good with those o-ring grooves now! - So you going to use real spots (RS)? - Tried any of the others or combination of LC1?
What are everyone's thoughts on the xm-l and LXP - (I've got quite a few).
Thanks mate
The optic in the middle is a FA10661_LXP-RS for XPE as you know..
The two on the outside are the LC1 RS, I've got some more LC1's coming as the LXP-RS sits a little higher than the others and is about 0.75mm to high..
They both give pretty much the same beam.. I'm looking forward to firing all 3 up at 3amps
Edit. Just checked, the LC1 is actually taller, I haven't drilled the hole in the holder large enough to take the square part of the led lol
looking really good GD, can't wait to see the rest.
Also very glad there's such an enthusiastic DIY LED community dahnunda, that way we have southern hemisphere builds appearing for your winter, just when the northern lot pack everything away for our summer
looking really good GD, can't wait to see the rest.
Also very glad there's such an enthusiastic DIY LED community dahnunda, that way we have southern hemisphere builds appearing for your winter, just when the northern lot pack everything away for our summer
It might be just me, but I don't understand why people seem to ditch the night nights in the summer, surely that's the best time to go? i.e, it's not freezing!
Mr lee, those of us Downunder live in the best part of the world, perfect night riding weather all year round
that's right, my bad. As for the best part of the world, I think everywhere has it's + and - Here it's the winter, when I was in Melbourne it was the dust and bush fires. One day I hope to find somewhere I'm not freezing to death (here), being drowned (Bristol) or at risk of being burnt alive (Oz)! Actually, I did find it, but there the risks were kidnapping and death in general (Medellin, Colombia)!
I dunno why people give up night riding in summer - I LOVE night riding. I guess people are just glad to be back and scrubbed up before 9pm so they can do something else that night.
that's right, my bad. As for the best part of the world, I think everywhere has it's + and - Here it's the winter, when I was in Melbourne it was the dust and bush fires.
There's your problem, Melbourne isn't part of Aus, it's in another world altoghether, just like the two headed breeds we have down on that little island of the southern coast of the mainland.
Looking great GD!!!
I really like the oring groove.
I really like the idea of getting a mill, but don't know that I have the patience to use it.....= )
As far as night riding in summer goes........
It is the best time IMO.
It's when we do most of our night rides.
I probably did 30 night rides last summer alone.
I really don't like riding when it is much over 90F. I overheat and feel pooped pretty fast.
So we usually start our rides at around 7-8pm in the summer.
Gets dark around 8:30-9pm.
Start out climbing up while it is still light out, and it is completely dark by the time we hit the descent.
The temps are mild, and it is perfect out here at night.
I live in Nor Cal, and it can get pretty hot during the day here in the summer.
On the flip side, we can pretty much ride all year round.
I only missed 2 weeks of riding this whole year due to some crazy rain we were getting, and the trails got thrashed.
Last year, we didn't miss any days of riding.
There's your problem, Melbourne isn't part of Aus, it's in another world altoghether, just like the two headed breeds we have down on that little island of the southern coast of the mainland.
I dunno, 2 heads or not, you don't hear of mass flooding or towns being burnt to the ground in Tazzie. In fact, you don't hear of much at all (they do have electricity right?)!
Finished up all the cam files for mine today. It looks like it should take me about 2 hours to make one so I should have some shots up in the next day or two. Find any issues with the design that you decided to change in case it may relate to me as well?
Finished up all the cam files for mine today. It looks like it should take me about 2 hours to make one so I should have some shots up in the next day or two. Find any issues with the design that you decided to change in case it may relate to me as well?
If its only taking you two hours to make one, why arnt you making two
I won't get to touch mine until the weekend so unfortunately mine won't be finished.
Nothing changed so far although I do have some ideas how to make it look less square.
They will be the finishing touches when I do the finning..
If its only taking you two hours to make one, why arnt you making two
I'm actually making 4
Nothing changed so far although I do have some ideas how to make it look less square.
They will be the finishing touches when I do the finning..
I haven't started working with slopes yet inside of cam. I suppose I can try with this project as I do have a 1/4" and 3/8" ball end mill laying around. Probably screw it up and it'll look like poo.
EDIT: Actually, I think a 90deg drill point end mill will get the result I'm looking for
If its only taking you two hours to make one, why arnt you making two
I won't get to touch mine until the weekend so unfortunately mine won't be finished.
Nothing changed so far although I do have some ideas how to make it look less square.
They will be the finishing touches when I do the finning..
Sorry to make a mess of your pic, but is this what you have in mind?
Your light is already better in my mind as you're doing a screw down plate on the front and side. I'm just doing going to glue mine into the recess because I'm lazy.
Here is where mine is at as of tonight. I was wrong about the time, I think it'll only take me a little over a hour to make one. I do need to adjust my tram and gibs soon as the finish is starting to show. I'll finish up the rest tomorrow when I get time.
I wasn't paying attention on the bandsaw and cut the first one a little thin. The walls on the pocket for the maxflex are only .62mm thick.
nice job!
you found a spot for the driver, like it.
asymmetric, but not as deep, is good on the handlebar.
don't have a CNC,... just a scroll-saw, and a file....
3 XML, nice, should get toasty ...
I'll try to add heatsink surface to mine, and probably reduce power consumption.
anybody got a good place, for anodizing ? or is powdercoat an option ?
Looking good Kan3...
What led's and optics/reflectors are you putting in yours?
I was looking at mine last night trying to work out the best way of getting the wiring in from the driver to the leds, there isnt much room with a H6Flex in it.
Should get some more of mine done tonight as its a night off the gym, also got friday as its a bank holiday here in the uk.
I should change the name of my thread to something like GD Manual mill vs Kan3 CNC mill
It's just going to be a 3up xpg setup. I have a lot of spares from a project that went a different direction. Need to use them up.
Originally Posted by rschultz101
anybody got a good place, for anodizing ?"
In about a week or two I'm sending some stuff out to be hardcoat type3 anodized in black. If you have anything you want done you could send them to me. It should only be about $10-15 a part where most places have a $100-150 minimum on hardcoat.
Originally Posted by goldigger=
Looking good Kan3...
What led's and optics/reflectors are you putting in yours?
3up r4 neutral with reginas
I was looking at mine last night trying to work out the best way of getting the wiring in from the driver to the leds, there isnt much room with a H6Flex in it.
I just planned to drill a hole between the too compartments and run 2 strands of 22awg wire between them. The maxflex will have a small piece of aluminum epoxied to its pad so it'll sit up off the wall a little bit and let wires around it.
I should change the name of my thread to something like GD Manual mill vs Kan3 CNC mill
I don't want you to feel like I'm thread crapping or anything.
Here's a little bit of progress from tonight..
Milled the holes in the front cover, didn't plan to mill all 3 holes round. I was going to just cut either end and then mill the middle part out to join them up creating a big slot.
But as i seemed to have nailed the rotary table i cut all three.
Probably not the most accurate way to cut the holes next to each other, heres's how i cut all 3 holes on the rotary table:
1.With the front cover in the vice, zero the piece to x and y, move to the centre of the first hole, drill, move to next drill, move to next drill.
2.tap the 3rd hole, work backwards and tap the other two.
3.Remove vice, mount and centre the rotary table.
4.With the tap back in the chuck, screw it into one of the holes on the cover, making sure the end of the tap clears the top of the rotay table.
5.Bring the spindle/z axis down so that the piece/cover is pressed down against the surface of the rotary table, then clamp the piece down where it sits.
Like i said probably not the most accurate, but as i dont have a 4 jaw chuck to mount to my rotary table, i have to improvise a little
Milled the rear of the cover for the 0.75mm lexan sheet, just need to tidy up the 4 bits pointing inwards to straighten the inner edge..
All i need to do is drill and tap all the holes in both covers, then mill some fins and drill holes for the cables to go from the driver into the led compartment.
Done...changed the title, shame it doesn't change the thread name
Be interested to see How far you are by the end of today..and How the mini lathe performs.
Come on board troutie, we just need you to make one as well now
Already got mine as you may have seen
#
I have been looking at it to see if I can enlarge the led cavity to fit in the square optics but dont think I have enough meat for it to be successful.
liking the work you are all doing though but sadly my day job is getting in the way of making chips .
I have been looking at it to see if I can enlarge the led cavity to fit in the square optics but dont think I have enough meat for it to be successful.
liking the work you are all doing though but sadly my day job is getting in the way of making chips .
ha ha thats cheating..
I know where you are coming from with the day job getting in the way, thats the exact reason why I havent been up to much lately.
Finished the unit
Came in at 103g without the holes drilled for mount and wiring
I never noticed your post.. didnt get an email saying my thread had been updated..
Looks good, yours will probably be a lot lighter than mine..How are you going about the covers and mounts?
Wish i had cnc, would make some of the process eaiser than turning the wheel a million times. Especially when it comes to milling the fins, I imagin that that is quiet an easy bit of code to write as its generally repetative.
I'm going to use one of those mount kits I found in the supply sticky. I don't know if its a good idea to use aluminum mounts on our CF bars? On the bottom of the unit you can see a spot where I left some space to drill/tap for whatever screw it comes with. For the covers I need to order some more acrylite and then I'll toss a piece on the mill and have it cut out the covers for me. I may make a aluminum plate for the cap on the side if I get bored instead of the plastic.
Wish i had cnc, would make some of the process eaiser than turning the wheel a million times. Especially when it comes to milling the fins, I imagin that that is quiet an easy bit of code to write as its generally repetative.
Well, you bought a good mill if you ever want to covert it. It's probably the most popular mill converted to cnc so it has a ton of kits available for it. Total machine run time was about 40min with no effort to optimize it or use the faster pulleys for a better IPM. It took me longer to export everything to .dxf and make the cam files for the parts. Doing the cam files would probably take you a few times and then you'd get the hang of it rather easily.
I definitely like the look of the lathed part better. I also like the switch on the opposite side of the driver compartment.
Yeti get some paint slapped on and do some turning whilst it dries.
OK might as well join in on this thread
Decided to rework the light and while it is not a triple it is sort of
did a little remachining could not get 4 square optics in so am going for 2 xmls and 2 xpgs with the xpgs as a parallel pair they will see 1.5 amps when the xmls get 3 amps .
the XPGs will be Reginas and the xml will be Lauras
just need to work out the wiring next .
Edit Flipping heck it lights up
Last edited by troutie-mtb; 04-22-2011 at 11:45 AM.
+1 Brad, some very nice looking housings coming along here.
You boys have had me up half the night search this interwebby thing for something that will let me join the party. I'm getting closer, I think.
Nice work guys, keep it up
Chris, did you test the beam with the xpg / xml mix? I have to say I am super impressed with mine, first time I haven't slowed on a down hill section because of lack of light, just lack of skill
+1 Brad, some very nice looking housings coming along here.
You boys have had me up half the night search this interwebby thing for something that will let me join the party. I'm getting closer, I think.
Nice work guys, keep it up
Chris, did you test the beam with the xpg / xml mix? I have to say I am super impressed with mine, first time I haven't slowed on a down hill section because of lack of light, just lack of skill
Nope no test just built it blind so to speak got the optics in last night and will finish it today
while waiting for my daughter to make me a granddad she has been in labour all night so should be soon .
What you done Yetibetty not left enough meat for the led cavity ??
Last edited by troutie-mtb; 04-23-2011 at 01:27 AM.
What you done Yeti not left enough meat for the led cavity ??troutie
I was really pleased that I cut the all of the fins in the time it took me to have a cup of tea, then went back to painting the living room. Next time I looked I realized that I had cut the fins 3mm too deep.
I was really pleased that I cut the all of the fins in the time it took me to have a cup of tea, then went back to painting the living room. Next time I looked I realized that I had cut the fins 3mm too deep.
like you said yeti you could always fit 3 x 10mm diameter boards in the hole and use a triple xre optic like the light i made. There only about 30mm diameter from memory and give a pretty good beam
like you said yeti you could always fit 3 x 10mm diameter boards in the hole and use a triple xre optic like the light i made. There only about 30mm diameter from memory and give a pretty good beam
I just fancy a change as I have made far to many mr11(ish) lights in the past.
The plan to do one like yours will mean starting again, which I will today.
But I could stuff 3 XM-Ls in the fat bit that's in the chuck and make a fancy torch.
I'll start again and use the balls up to make a single with an Lflex.
I did not do the fins on the lathe.
I cut out the led /optic recess on the mill
after I had made the driver and switch bits on the lathe. then milled the fins so they follow the square shape
what is the diameter of the bit left over. is it larger than 50 mm
reason I have a couple of Ledil Rocket 3 optics on their way to try out with the xml
they worked very well with the MCE s
Cheers Chris, That pic made me laugh..wasn't expecting to see it..
Funny it does bear a striking resemblance to me and the lumen hound only just realised cos just back in from a walk in the dark with him .
It would look smaller and lose a bit of weight if you took the corners off in line with the fins
I know mine is a cheat and only a technical triple xml in output only but got a beam shot
at the haunted house which is my test for throw as the woods dont have the distance and was pretty blown away with the result the 2 xpgs really add to the quality of the beam
the distance to the house is approx 160 metres .
I will need to go through my old beam shots but from memory that is one of the best for lighting up that house .
even when I had retreated down the field another 100 metres it still lit it up .
waiting with anticipation for your beam shots soon
I just took some more off the rear..going from left ro right, notice that i have not milled the 8th slot or gone full depth on the 9th slot.
I'm wondering if i should put the M8 hirschmann cable gland there?
The corners arn't finished yet, they were just roughly done for now.
nice !
curious , can you put on a scale ?
any guess on SQ inches of surface, wondering about the cooling ?
maybe a laser temp measurement.
this is going to be one groovy light !
cheers
I just took some more off the rear..going from left ro right, notice that i have not milled the 8th slot or gone full depth on the 9th slot.
I'm wondering if i should put the M8 hirschmann cable gland there?
The corners arn't finished yet, they were just roughly done for now.
Love the lighting in that shot off the body and the swarf. Very artsy.
I have started my light at last, its a Triple plus one. Three xmls from a hipflex and a single xml from a bflex. I have a circuit to control both drivers to prevent over heating to for auto on / off for stop / starting. Its fully customisable via usb and a Atmel Dragon. I wont be using the pump/fan output so I can get it alot smaller, hopefully fit it inside the light. At the mo, it will live in a little carbon box under the stem. Light on bars, straddling the stem.
Its gonna take AGES to finish as I can only take off 0.1mm in the fins, there are loads of them and they are 8mm deep.
As you can see, I've used various setups to get it right! Need to buy a mill...
Oh, sorry, I misunderstood the thread. I was thinking that everyone with a triple XM-L is welcomed.
Everyone is welcome mate..
Just everyone so far has done a parallel arrangement with the driver on the end, you'll need to mount your driver on the end to keep the trend going
Just took these and this thread is probably a good place to post them
I paced it out from the building 100 good strides
Here are the lights from left to right
1 / single XML 2S Laura Lflex 3 amps
2 / double XML 2S Laura H6flex 3 amps
3 / triple XML 2S Laura H6flex 3 amps
4 / Triple xml 2S cute S H6flex 3 amps
5 / Triple XML 2S Rocket 3 H6flex 3 Amps
6 / double XML Laura + Double XPG Regina Hipflex 2.8 amps
7 / single XML Deft Aspherical Lflex 2 amps