1.5W Cree Jade host build

Hey guys, just got this:

Its a "jade appreciation" expert's flashlight. I just thought it looked like a REALLY cool host for a lazer :drool: and bought it for $8.99 plus shipping on ebay.
Its a really solid flashlight!
(I also bought some ultrafire 18650 Li-ions to go with it)

I put the pill on my lathe, and opened up the cavity for the v5 flexdrive
I then desoldered the led driver circuit from the PC board bulkhead (which also held the positive battery contact on the reverse), and sanded off the traces. I drilled a hole through it, and soldered a positive wire directly to the contact



The aluminum forward endcap (which will be holding the diode module and heatsink) is heavily coated or anodized with something shiny, the electrical and thermal properties of which are unknown. So I put it on my lathe and opened up the bores a little bit, as well as machining down an annoying "step" to a straight 45*, which will make for better thermal contact with the copper heatsink I will turn to match.


What good is a host without a laser?:thinking:
I have a 2W 445 in a small brass module with the famous G-2 lens (TERRIBLE divergence, but great burning power) in an ad-hoc copper heatsink made from a machined-down silver-soldered stack of copper washers.

The Flexdrive is heat"sunk" with a RAM heatsink from microcenter, and its all driven by 3 AA's as it is now.

This lazer is gonna look great in the host, and I can't wait to get some copper lathe ammunition and turn out a heatsink!





This is an awesome laser and an awesome host. Awesome + Awesome will soon = way too awesome.

Thanks for everyone's help and input!

Feathers

That is going to be a really nice looking host! Hope you can turn a good heat sink for it.

I have a jayrob special with stainless cree with a copper heat synch. I know stainless is horrible for heat dissapation, but if you have an aluminum host - wouldn't an aluminum heat synch work good for heat transfer?

Can someone chime in and run down brass / copper / aluminum in a rough ranking (maybe with a percentage/ratio) in relation to the host material too?

Nice looking so far! If you are going to run that at a high current draw get some AW 18650 2900mah batteries (or one). You will be able to get way better performance. They are worth it!

Ready for full assembly shots!

Fyi - looks like that forward cap is coated with nickle - same as aixiz module (tough stuff)

Regards,

Patrick

Patrick,

I have a big chunk of copper to turn down for it! Should work well.

With any host, aluminum or stainless, you want a heat sink that will conduct as much heat away from the diode, as quickly as possible. Its not necessary to "match" the metal of the heatsink with the metal of the host, so long as they both conduct heat fairly well.

Here is a table of thermal conductivity for some metals.

Brass has a "score" of 64 Btu/(hr *F ft), aluminum is around 120,
and copper is well into the 200's. So copper is superior in most respects, other than machinability and price .

And your right! The cap is nickel coated. Unforutnately, so is the inside, and nickel is a less-than-ideal conductor of heat, so I bored out all the surfaces on the inside of the cap to remove it.

Thanks for the post! I'll post more pics soon.

Feathers

Sweet! Thanks for the info!

Can't wait to see it finished!

Buy that AW battery... the difference in output from that ultra fire through that v5 flex/boost will be night & day.

Post pics soon!

Okay. So, folowing several complications, IT LIVES!









Thanks for taking a look!

that a pretty neat build you have their, i personally like the front end, this just proves that many flashlights can become laser hosts!

That flashlight has caught my attention a few times on DX, you've satisfied my curiosity as to what it'd look like with a diode in it, Great stuff

Very nice build man ! I loved the copper whasers heatsink !
:gj: