limited production :: hand crafted :: high performance :: rechargeable :: premium flashlights

This is my blog about creating a startup LED flashlight business. I'm a designer, fabricator, and strategist and I'm passionate about making ideas real. I believe that products are about people, that they should be built to last, deliver real value, and that we need to do a better job than we have in the recent past.

Most of my career has been contract or freelance work and I've crafted products and strategies for both big international companies and startups. I also used to work in the "industry" fabricating special effects for film and TV, along with the occasional hot rod. Bottom line, I love making things.

I'm starting this blog so you can follow along, from day one, and see what it's like to start a business, or fail in the process. Only time will tell, but I hope you find this interesting enough to stay tuned, comment, link, like, tweet, and (most importantly) participate in turning this idea into something tangible and valuable.

For a good place to get started with general info about who, what, why, etc., check out the "Stickies" on the left side of the page. Thanks for stopping by and please don't hesitate to ask questions and get involved!

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Monday, February 7, 2011

Kendall's question answered!

WARNING: FLASHAHOLIC CONTENT

Kendall the CarpentryHero said...

"Will you make your flashlights with an upgradeable, replaceable Pill like a better version of the P60 and host idea. An upgradeable light even if I'm mailing it in for the upgrade ;-) ?"

Sort of! For those of you that aren't familiar with the terminology, a flashlight "pill" is a component comprised of an LED emitter, driver electronics, and a metallic body to hold those components and act as a heat sink. Sometimes the pill is combined with a reflector to create a "drop in" module. A P60 module is an industry standard size so P60 pills should fit into any P60 host. This is actually an interesting concept and I may do a P60 format light in the future.

A section view of the light head. The walls of the copper
sleeve are actually thicker than what is depicted here.
My current design does not use a "pill" for a few reasons...that I might get into in another post. Suffice to say I think using an LED mounted on a 20mm star MCPCB (Metal Core Printed Circuit Board) is the best option, for me, at this time. The head is a solid, one-piece design to maximize thermal transfer.

One of my primary design principles is "design for disassembly and repair." So yes, these lights will most definitely have the ability to be upgraded with newer LEDs or electronics. One reason I went with the MCBCB is that it makes it really easy for me to swap out LEDs. 

1 comment:

  1. Kendall the CarpentryHeroFebruary 8, 2011 at 8:39 AM

    Ok cool, thanks for clarifying 

    ReplyDelete