Old Toasters & New Tools

I just had some custom made LED mounting bases manufactured, which are very awesome. However, it was going to cost and outrageous amount of money to have LED soldered to them by a third party vendor. Soooo, I decided to make my own Reflow Toaster Oven! Don't worry, that's not as terrible of an idea as it sounds. I purchased a Black & Decker FC150 Infrawave oven like the one below.

Black & Decker FC150 Infrawave toaster oven

Basically any toaster oven with infrared heating elements will work. The FC150 is very old and hard to find, but is one of the original "host" ovens used when this kind of mod became popular...oh...a bunch of years ago. The main reason I wanted this model, is I knew there was space inside the side panels for all of my kit. The upgrade involves some fancy electronics that you'd need a degree to identify and assemble, but in the internet age...ETS Techincal already makes a kit! Let's open this bad boy up shall we? 

Yes, it's as much of a mess as it appears to be. (Click for a larger image) 

I didn't really take any "process" shots but this is about 3/4 of the way through the conversion. It's reasonably simple if you have some basic knowledge of AC wiring, DC wiring, and relay wiring. No biggie right? :) The main part of the kit is a microcontroller with an integrated LCD display and external keypad. You basically disconnect ALL of the existing wiring/controls and install the new kit in the side panel of the toaster. I also installed a sheet of adhesive backed thermal shielding to help isolate the electronics from the heat inside the oven. Blah blah right? Where is the video?!

Best Viewed in Full Screen (1080P HD)!

Box full of bodies...

...what were you expecting?

Getting There!

Doing some finish machining on bodies today. In the photo, I've just finished grooving a stone washed shorty body. I have to do about 80 bodies total in this run. Wish me luck!

NEW VIDEO: Tools of the Trade - "Spaghetti" Tubing Cutter

Hey folks, I bought this broken tool on eBay and managed to get it working again! Thought I'd share some of the "behind the scenes" stuff that I do to make the Alpha (and running a flashlight business) possible.

NEW PRODUCT FOR SALE: Titanium Zipper Pulls !!!

Hey Folks,

Looking for an awesome gift? Want to personalize a mass produced jacket or bag? Want to win friends and influence people? Try some of my pure titanium zipper pulls!

It's been a long time coming but I pulled the trigger on a batch of these! They are machined at Hirsch Machine in Santa Clara, the same place that makes my Ready Made lights. Check out this link to purchase them directly from my site. There are lots of photos of pulls on things like jackets, sweaters, bags, and flashlights so check out the link. If you buy some pulls, please send me a photo of the item you personalized and I'll post it on my site!

I had to take a hefty bite out of my checking account to make this happen so please help me spread the word! Blog, tweet, share to Facebook, email the gear-head in your life, anything you can think of! Your help is greatly appreciated.

These are also available for wholesale, so if you are a retailer, please contact me!

WIN: I modded the world's best flashlight switch

I should say right up front this is going to get pretty geeky. Like comparing two different types of springs geeky. Better buckle up. I was at a manufacturing trade show (better latch that tray table as well) and found a company called Smalley Steel Ring Co. They make some really interesting stuff...enter the wave spring. It's time to loose the conical battery contact spring and get with the wave spring. I'll be integrating these into my lights as soon as possible.

No flashlight should use anything else. So, when everyone starts doing this, you heard it here first :) This is henceforth known as the "Prometheus Spring!" Cue the music...or you can just check out my first prototype integration after the jump.

They even look cool right? Besides that, there are even more advantages over a standard conical spring. Here are the highlights:

1. No sharp edges. A typical conical spring is really sharp where the last coil is cut off and that cuts into the thin metal on each end of the battery. Long term...not good. It also makes the light feel awful and "scratchy" when opening and closing. Right now I have to put a blob of solder on the PCB spring and the McClicky switch spring to prevent them from destroying the batteries.  
2. Distributed contact area: Each wave spring will contact the battery at the crest of each wave...typically 4 different places. A conical (or coil) spring only has one point of contact. Multiple contact points distribute the load generated when the light suffers shock...for example, when dropped. Every effort should be made to protect li-ion batteries from physical damage. 
3. Shorter current path. In a typical spring the current must pass along the entire length of the spring, as if it were a straight wire. More distance equals more resistance, and resistance is bad. As you can see in the photo above, each crest touches a trough, making the current path incredibly short.

If you made it this far you might as well read on after the jump. More photos! You like photos right?

Laser cutting LED thermal pads (Epilog Helix)

I have been buying pre-cut thermal pads but this time I decided to make my own. This is the same material I normally use, purchased in a bulk sheet. Cut on an Epilog Legend 45 Watt laser cutter @ Techshop in Menlo Park. Nothing like cutting parts with a beam of light!

Chaos at Work

My pocket clips get processed in a vibratory tumbler to knock down the sharp edges that come from the waterjet process. Each clip is fitted with a nylon cable tie to keep them from sticking to each other.

When I pulled these clips out they were stuck to the same cable tie...meaning, one clip left its own tie and then attached itself to another! I'll spare you the electron metaphor. Anyway, I thought this was pretty wild...because I'm a science geek. And yes, I'm positive they didn't start out this way :)

Wired Magazine agrees with me: LEDs are the future

Check out the latest edition of Wired and their article on LED lighting. About time someone with sway picked up this story!  I don't know if this will have any effect on industry (or my business) but I have to imagine that greater public awareness can only help.

Wired must have some budget for cool photography: this image is from their article

Honestly I'm not sure why it's taking so long for companies with millions of dollars in development funds to make a decent LED light bulb. Liquid cooling is a pretty cool idea. That's one reason why the first flashlight I ever made was liquid filled. No, I'm not smart enough to come up with that on my own. My computer uses liquid cooling and there is a lot of research around "submersion cooling" of of power electronics.

One thing I am curious about is how they are keeping the liquid filled bulb from exploding when it heats up. I calculated that my liquid filled light would exert over 700PSI of pressure with each 10(F) rise in temperature. I had a couple of solutions to this but maybe I shouldn't share them yet. Hey "Switch", give me a call. I hear you are down the road. Anyway, the linked article below is worth a read.

"The future of light is the LED" -- Wired Magazine"

"Brett Sharenow is presidingover the Pepsi Challenge of lightbulbs. The CFO of Switch, a Silicon Valley startup, Sharenow has set himself up in a 20-by-20 booth at the back of the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, and he’s asking passersby to check out two identical white shades. Behind one hides a standard incandescent bulb, the familiar lighting technology that has gone largely unchanged since Thomas Edison invented it 132 years ago. Behind the other is a stunning, almost art- deco-style prototype that holds 10 LEDs and a secret fluid. It’s a liquid-cooled bulb, as radically different from Edison’s invention as anything that’s ever been screwed into a standard socket and, Sharenow hopes, the next big thing in the $30 billion lighting industry. The challenge: Can you tell which is which?"

New Goodies: Custom as usual

I'm trying to class things up a bit. Unfortunately that costs money. I have been wrapping the batteries (for shipping) in a little piece of paper. Functional, but not much to get excited about. I don't know if this moves the excitement needle very far either, but I had some custom battery tubes made by Caplugs. Why custom? Cause I couldn't find "exactly" what I needed. I'm including one tube with every battery purchases, gratis. However, I'll be selling these guys on my site (empty) for $1.99 each...probably some volume discount like 5 for $8.00 or something like that.

Tubes fit 1x18650 battery or 2xCR123 batteries! 

I had the caps done in high-vis orange so your spares are easy to see in the bottom of a bag or pack. They are square to provide anti-roll capability. Fresh batteries get stored with the + terminal towards the "head" of the battery tube. (think of it like a mini flashlight) When you deplete a battery, store it with the + terminal towards the tail. Since the tubes are clear, you can tell at a glance whether the battery is fresh...or dead. Cool huh? Around here we call that product design. Just one more close up for your viewing pleasure.

I have 1000 of these so don't be shy! 

"machined" finish light, what do you think?

So I've been doing a lot of "fancy" surface finishes but I do love a nice, raw machined finish. I've been playing around with the idea of offering this as a standard "retail" light that I will sell through other online and brick and mortar retailers. You'll still be able to buy the fancy finishes directly from me.

Raw machined body with flame colored titainum clip

I've also been considering having an outside machine shop make these lights in higher volume that is practical for me to make in my shop. Again, this version would only be available through other retail outlets. If you want to hear a little more about why, and see another photo, read on after the jump.

"I Recommend": G-Wizard Calculator (for machinists)

If you couldn't tell by the title--Warning: machinist's content & business content (if you are a machinist) after the jump

Okay, I have a notebook with a list of things I think are AWESOME. Most of the time I forget to write things down on that list, but I have a few and thought I'd start sharing them on my blog. These things aren't necessarily flashlight related, but if they apply to you, they will change your life. Bold claim eh? But I'm serious. I'm going to call this segment, "I Recommend..." I can't think of a better product to start with that Bob Warfield's G-Wizard machining calculator. It's like having a master machinist in your back pocket. Normally that would be really uncomfortable...but not with G-Wizard. You should really stop reading this and download the trial from this link right: here.

A perfect example of what the internet should be used for

From time to time I have an ah-ha moment when things suddenly become clear. This little piece of incredibly sophisticated software brought me one of those moments. The quick story: machinist and software engineer (Bob Warfield) decided one day to take on a little pet project, and G-Wizard is the result. First, this is what the power of the internet is all about. Second, it's well designed. Third, it's something every machine shop should have...especially small ones. I'll tackle those points in order, after the jump...so read on!

Pre-Production run is SOLD OUT!

I'm excited to announce that I have sold all of my pre-production lights...just in time for my first regular production run which should be available next week! Contact me if you want to pre-order. As always, quantities are limited and first come, first served. One of the biggest changes is a provision for a titanium pocket clip!

This clip is attached to a "raw" (un-plated) prototype

This clip is "somewhat-kinda-maybe" backwards compatible with the pre-production lights. If you are a pre-production owner you can email me directly for the details. I tried really hard to make it fully compatible but it just wasn't going to happen.

I designed the clip myself and had it waterjet cut from a sheet of .040" CP 2 titanium by Keller Industries in San Carlos. The clip is captured between the tailcap and the body so it can be removed without tools. Most clips require screws, meaning if you take the clip off...two nice holes are left behind. The gap created by the clip does not adversely affect the waterproofness of the lights.

MC18-B full production run #1...out for plating

Quick update! I have sold out of my pre-production lights and I just dropped the next batch at Amex Plating. Hopefully they will be done by Wednesday and I'll start shipping production lights on Monday! I learned a few things and made some minor changes on this batch.

Production lights ready for EN (Electroless Nickel) Plating!

As I've mentioned, you should expect to see changes from batch to batch as the project progresses. This might be hard to get used to, but consider this: companies tend to come out with new products every year that have different features and improvements, whether we are talking about cars or iPhones. This timeline is largely due to the scale of business. In my case, since I do everything myself, my production is intentionally small and I can make changes as fast as I can think them up. My design and engineering cycles is measured in days, not months.

Drivers in stock...new inventory available!

>>> ENOUGH TALK, TAKE ME TO THE STORE! <<<

The good news is, my LED drivers finally arrived! The good news is, I have more lights available. There are five more bead blasted lights and five of the new tumbled lights. For the time being, no bad news :)

100 pcs of 2.8A LED drivers

This is the last of the pre-production lights! I'm starting the machining on the first run of serialized and maker's marked lights...that sounded awkward but you get the idea. Just head on over to the store and bring your (digital) wallet! As always, let me know if you have any questions.

Haas VF-1 milling a custom flashlight head

This is a video of the final component...the flashlight head! I have the little container to the right of the vise to catch coolant. After the part finishes I dump the container of coolant over the part to clear away all of the tiny triangular chips left from the thread milling. I don't want them to get stuck inside the bore of the soft jaws and then get pressed into the finish on the head. Ask me how I know. Better yet, don't. 

Design for Dissasembly

I've always been frustrated by things that break and that I may not fix. Notice I didn't say that I "can't" fix. I mean things that are designed and constructed in such a way that it's impossible to fix them. Or rather, the only fix is to throw them out and buy a new one. My breaking point was about four years ago when I had a drip coffee maker overflow out the top. The water ran down the front of the machine and shorted out the circuit board. I won't even get into how ridiculous it is to put electronics in a coffee maker in the first place. Anyway, the water fried the circuit board. A call to the manufacturer confirmed the repair solution was to, "send it back and they'll send me a new one." Great customer service, incredibly stupid design.

My current coffee setup

So, I decided to deconstruct coffee making. One great way to avoid the disassembly/repair trap is to not assemble the parts in the first place. It might spread out the footprint more but it means every part functions independently from other parts. The part that actually makes the coffee is on the left...the clear vacuum flask and ceramic Buchner Funnel. Now I let gravity do the work instead of a circuit board. I won't explain the whole thing, but if you want to know what all this has to do with flashlights, read on after the jump.

Flashlight Assembly Steps

WARNING: LOTS OF PHOTOS

I took some photos while I was assembling my first batch of lights and thought I'd share them here. At this stage, all of the machining, finishing, and nickel plating is finished. Now I'm assembling all of the components into completed lights.

These are the bodies I'm assembling, fresh from Amex Plating.

Every light is identical on the inside. At this point I'm just trying out some different surface finishes, but the design and engineering is done...at least until the next evolution. If you'd like to see all the steps read on after the jump!

Behind the Scenes: Cutaway View

Just a quick peek inside the anatomy of a flashlight. I posted the exploded view a while back and this post is a follow up to that. A cutaway! I've always geeked out on cutaway views so I thought it was time to do my own. The main reason was so that I could actually check fit and clearances on the battery. If I can't physically see inside it's just a bunch of math. I'm an applied research person, not a math person. So, this is what it looks like.

Click the image for a 1024x768 size version

Turn out the math was correct...or at least my 3D model. I left the band in the center of the body so the whole thing wouldn't collapse as I was machining it. You can also see the substantial piece of solid aluminum that sits just behind the LED. This absorbs the heat and then transfers it to the entire head of the flashlight. This means the body will also start to pick up heat. It's hard to see but the first 1" of the body is bored out so the battery "floats" and does not touch the walls, preventing direct heat transfer to the battery and driver.

Bloy's question answered!

Bloy said...
"How many of these will you be making before you retool/progran and offer a second piece? What do you have in mind? Maybe a flex-head torch for increasing the range of usability? Or maybe an item completely remote from the first flashlights utilizing your skills? How will you be marketing these works-of-art?"

First, hi John! Excited to see a name from way back. Bloy had some really good threads on CNC Zone about getting his Shoptask machine set up. That was my first metal working machine.

Anyway, "how many will I make before making changes?" That will always be different. The lights might change from batch to batch or not change for several batches. I expect there will be more changes in the beginning. Fewer changes down the road...and then perhaps a big leap in a new direction.

The evolution of Coke...notice you only see the changes on the outside.
Coke, I forgive you for coming up with "New Coke." 

Now a lot of changes in the beginning might make people freak out. For example: you just bought a light and I made some improvement on the next batch and you would rather have that. Think of it this way, the same holds true for any product: cars, computers, cameras, books (new editions), bicycles, etc. We've been conditioned by the current market to think that changes should only take place, what, every year or so? We are "comfortable" with that particular time frame...but shorter starts to make us feel anxious. I have this feeling a lot, particularly when dealing with computers.