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.