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!

POLL: Which "maker's mark" do you like best?

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UPDATE: Thanks very much to everyone who participated! I hope it was fun for all of you as well. Turns out it was pretty close between #3 and #4 so I talked with the company that is going to make my stamp. They thought #4 would have the best impression quality. They were concerned that the wider areas on the lettering (#3) would have to "move" too much material and that would excessively deform the stamped area, especially since the stamp is so tiny (only 1/8" in diameter).

Looks like I'll be going with #4 and I should have the stamp in about 7 days! Pretty cool. I'll let you know how it turns out and thanks again!

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So I've decided to have a custom "maker's mark" stamp made. I need to send it out pretty much immediately if I want to start using it on my next production run...so don't spend too much time thinking about it and vote now! :)

Something similar to this...

I came up with a few options. I'm playing with the letters "J" and "H"...which would be the letters of my name. So that's pretty much fixed. I'm not going with DS for Dark Sucks because this is a maker's mark and not a logo. Keep in mind that this stamp will be TINY. The circle will probably be about 1/8" of an inch in diameter. Maybe a tad larger.

I'm not a graphic designer so if one of my fancy friends wants to make a submission please email it to me! Basically has to be the letters "J" and "H' and inside of a circle. Without further ado, here is the poll:

Here are your choices!

Which "maker's mark" do you like best?

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.

Product Testers: Your lights are in the mail!

I'm excited to say there are five lights in the mail on their way to the first batch of product field testers. A couple of months ago I sent out an email to some friends and family and asked them to volunteer as product testers. It's taken a while to get things going but I finally got them in the mail on Friday!

Raw machined bodies with sand blasted head and tailcap

I keep referring to this whole exercise as an experiment or research project, and this is one of my first official research milestones. Each tester gets the light for two weeks. Then they have to send it on to the next tester on the list. I included a notebook with each package and I hope that people will right down a few thoughts, ideas, and experiences they have during the review period. I'll also be conducting more formal phone interviews to delve deeper into how people relate to the dark.

Testers! If you have any questions during the course of your review, please post them here. 

Thanks! 

Jason

infotuners Question Answered!

infotuner said...
"how are you keeping track of all of the automated machining operations as well as manual operations, jigs and fixtures and setup steps, bill of materials, tooling requirements and most efficient order of operations, labor and materials budgets, and the like so that you will be able to do things such as: properly price your end products while accounting for and allocating all of your costs (so that you are not operating at a loss or break-even), making sure that you can remember how to replicate the work that you've done with one batch on subsequent production runs (so that you don't have to 'reinvent the wheel'), figuring out what operations are most "expensive" in time or effort or materials so that you can simplify or improve them, keeping track of suppliers and placing orders with sufficient lead times while optimizing economic order quantities, and so on."

Whew, that really illustrates the complexity well :) As such, there is no simple answer...but I'll give one anyway. Answer: Your tolerance for ambiguity will tell you how fine the teeth on your comb should be. It seems like you have a much better grasp on what is actually involved in implementing something than most people do. The first step in this process is to be aware of the scope. Little details like lead time and product availability can make things really hard. (See one of my previous posts). When you start implementing, even the most simple things get complicated quickly.

You have to work with what you've got

That said, if you try to control ALL of the complexity you will never have time to actually get anything done. It's a trap. You'll spend all your time connecting dots and filling out spread sheets when you should be getting dirty and getting experience. If you can, start small and ramp up. I think a lot of people make the mistake of trying to go big out of the chute. Unless you've done it before (or several times) you are just digging a really deep hole.

The next step is probably budgeting. Start with your big number (for example, your credit card limit) and start breaking it down into the component parts. At some point you should realize you are counting pennies when you ought to be counting dollars. Dial the resolution back as needed. As an individual, or even as a few people, you'll never have the resources to count all the pennies...if you want to get anything done. That probably sounds like bad financial advice, but you can't have both timely execution and perfect information because they are mutually exclusive since they both require time.

Size Comparison and a Possible Name!

This is a super quick post but some people have been asking about size and I thought it would be useful to post this scale shot. Keep in mind that these light vary widely in terms of power and battery type.

I also thought this might be a good time to talk about the name for the product (not the company). I enjoy a good metaphorical name from time to time like the gladiator, super nova, or death star...but they are meaningless. I'm often frustrated by companies that name their selection of products random things when what I need to make a decision is actual information. You know, so I can decide which one of their products I want to buy? Throw me a friggin' bone here.

Anyway, here is the (proposed) name for my first light: MC18-B. After you get over the fact that it's excruciatingly boring here is my thinking...MC stands for Cree MC-E (the type of LED). 18 stands for 18650 (the battery type/size). B stands for Ledil Boom (the type of reflector/optic). If I ever build another variation, these are the three main features that are apt to change, and that you need to know if you are trying to pick out a light. Thoughts? I must admit, I like a good alpha-numeric name. Try and persuade me otherwise :)

Do I need to point out which one is my light? 

LEFT TO RIGHT:

1. Maglite (2x D batteries)
2. Icon Rogue (2x AA batteries)
3. Mini Maglite (2x AA batteries)
4. MC18-B (1x 18650 battery)
5. Dorcy Xenon (2x CR123 batteries)
6. Surefire E1-B (1x CR 123 battery) 

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.