The Micro Driver Module (MDM) concept (picture)

Ok, so I've been wondeirng if a better, more heat efficient Aixiz type module could be designed that is dedicated to Dr. Lava's micro drives (Flex and Boost). They're only 9mm x 12mm x 6mm, so much of the empty space in the module body could be used for heat-sinking. I also think that copper could be used in some places rather than what's being used now.

I've modeled the concept and rendered it here...the module body could also be made of aluminum and can actually be a little thicker than the Aixiz modules.

Anyways, I'm not a machinist so I'm not even sure something like this can be done...sure, it's easy to model just about anything...but actually building the physical product can be a completely different story.

The basic idea is to place the driver in a heatsink "insert" that slides into the module body, and the head be made out of copper or copper alloy.

I think these would allow up to 1W output in pen size pointers with pretty good duty cycles, without the need for any special or additional heatsink...

What do the "pros" have to say? Is this possible? Would this even work? Is this just a really stupid idea?

I don't think that driver is going to work.....Did WL build it? :crackup:

I do love he idea though!

Personally, I'm just going to use a thermal pad.
Would be awesome if aixiz would release something like this though.

Great idea, the only negative aspect is the cost of getting it done, if you are not a machinist. It will work but your expectation of 1W in a pen might be a little extreme unless you do a 5 second on duty cycle with a very long off cycle. +1 for the graphics!

Hmmm. I like the idea but heatsinking isn't just about mass. I see you have some finned designs there that would increase surface area but without active cooling they won't have any air flow to effectively remove the radiated heat. Forcing air is not impossible at this scale, (as I've recently seen from some tiny fans posted on LPF), but 1W may be optimistic. Price may also be prohibitive but with economies of scale that could become reasonable. I guess it's a similar idea to one I've used in my dual MicroBoost build by giving the driver some heatsink attention and I feel it will work well but scaling it down makes me cautious. The only real way to tell would be to build one and test it. Not sure you need to use expensive materials for something so small though.

Great rendering skills and imaginative too. That ain't never stoopid!

M

The idea of heatsinking the driver is good, and I brought some 8 and 12mm cobber pipe home for the purpose.

Your idea would work, and could be sold with some shims to adapt for different drivers. They would be easier to fit and cheaper to make without the hole in the end.

Just make a cylinder with a driver size slit cut out.

Interesting design, but the problem is the contact with the chip. If I am correct, the biggest concern for heat, is the chip on the board . So in that design, you would need to somehow get the chip in direct contact with the heatsink, which I guess could be solved by an extra piece of copper or aluminum. Very nice render btw.

I've been considering it for a while now and I'm going to give it a shot now that I'm done with Kenom's Grooves

Aixiz "Stage" Kit

My idea was slightly different, just a flat spot to attach the driver to. It makes it a lot cheaper to machine = cheaper to sell. I also plan on "hugging" the diode a lot tighter, the aluminum driver heatsink and copper diode heatsink will sandwich the diode giving it more surface area to dissipate heat. I also considered form fitted plates for certain drivers that would press into the slit on my design because less thermal epoxy = better heat transfer.


How accurate are the dimensions on that microboost? I've been meaning to model one but I've been distracted. I'm also curious as to what you use to render that stuff, because my renders look like crap compared to those!

Epic render indeed.

However, did nobody notice that you cannot actually thread the back part of aixiz to the front one (where diode is) with this inserted, otherwise it would break pins ?

Jeez, fantastic render Imma go stare at it some more.

However, did nobody notice that you cannot actually thread the back part of aixiz to the front one (where diode is) with this inserted, otherwise it would break pins ?

Click to expand...

I thought you could get around it by connecting driver and diode with thin wires.

Perhaps a more convenient solution would be two cylinder slices to fit into a regular* module on each side of the driver after assembly.
*One with the end opened up.

Toke said:

I thought you could get around it by connecting driver and diode with thin wires.

Perhaps a more convenient solution would be two cylinder slices to fit into a regular* module on each side of the driver after assembly.
*One with the end opened up.

Click to expand...

Sorry but I don't understand what are you saying here.

Connecting the driver and diode with wires - so what, they still twist and break...

Not if the wires are long enough for the driver to hang outside the heatsink/module while it is screwed together. The impractical part comes when cramming driver and wires back in.

Eudaimonium said:

Epic render indeed.

However, did nobody notice that you cannot actually thread the back part of aixiz to the front one (where diode is) with this inserted, otherwise it would break pins ?

Jeez, fantastic render Imma go stare at it some more.

Click to expand...

I don't think so, you can assemble both designs just fine from what I'm seeing.

Kryczeck's design looks like the driver heatsink could remain stationary while only the outer sleeve would turn.

My design would use wires. You would solder the wires onto the diode, feed them through the hole, and thread the pieces together. Then you can pull the wires out of the slit (to the side) and solder them on. After that you just need to push the driver into the slit. No stress on the wires needed

EnergyCoherence said:

Interesting design, but the problem is the contact with the chip.

Click to expand...

Note: This is specifically modeled with Dr. Lava's drives in mind, and the "insert" would be designed so that the driver would contact it where it needs to. Toke's idea of "shims" sounds like a good one.

Pontiacg5 said:

I've been considering it for a while now and I'm going to give it a shot now that I'm done with Kenom's Grooves

Aixiz "Stage" Kit

My idea was slightly different, just a flat spot to attach the driver to. It makes it a lot cheaper to machine = cheaper to sell. I also plan on "hugging" the diode a lot tighter, the aluminum driver heatsink and copper diode heatsink will sandwich the diode giving it more surface area to dissipate heat. I also considered form fitted plates for certain drivers that would press into the slit on my design because less thermal epoxy = better heat transfer.


How accurate are the dimensions on that microboost? I've been meaning to model one but I've been distracted. I'm also curious as to what you use to render that stuff, because my renders look like crap compared to those!

Click to expand...

Well there you go then...someone who actually knows what he's doing has already considered this...I'll leave this up to folks like yourself, since you clearly know more about this than I do. Don't know why I felt the need to still have an enclosed module body. If the heatsink body attached directly to the head, then that solves one of the airflow issues.

The renderer is called Fryrender by RandomControl...it's known as an "Unbiased Renderer", and uses physically based camera and lighting methods as compared to the biased renderers that use the more conventional methods. The drawback is that renderers tend to take a lot longer because it's actually computing the way light travels around the scene rather than just a simple ray bouncing around...but the setup time is significantly less because everything renders exactly as you would expect it to, no faking crap by placing a light here, a light there, etc... Another great unbiased renderer is Maxwell...you should check them out.

The dimensions in the pic are pretty accurate, and the driver shown is the MicroBoost from Dr. Lava (or at least it's supposed to look like it ), right down to the diode and resistors. I wanted to make sure that everything fit the way it should, and still maximize the amount of material. I've got 5 boost drives here, and they are all very consistent in size.

Eudaimonium said:

Epic render indeed.

However, did nobody notice that you cannot actually thread the back part of aixiz to the front one (where diode is) with this inserted, otherwise it would break pins ?

Click to expand...

I had already thought of that...the "insert" will still rotate freely within the tube, and screwing the head on would be no different than what you have to do today, you *might* need to be a little more careful.

Toke said:

I thought you could get around it by connecting driver and diode with thin wires.

Perhaps a more convenient solution would be two cylinder slices to fit into a regular* module on each side of the driver after assembly.
*One with the end opened up.

Click to expand...

Ya, if you look at Pontiac's desgin, he got rid of the tube body altogether...I have no idea why I never thought of that...I feel like a lemming heading towards a cliff

Thanks all for the comments, feedback, reps... I appreciate it. Since some liked the rendering so much, perhaps I'll do more Maybe a "Virtual Build" tutorial or something.

Pontiacg5, let me know if you ever get them to the point of the design working a few made. I will be first on the list to buy some. I have been forgetting to ask you about that after finding it on your site a month or so ago. like your ideas.

I'll have to take a look at that rendering program, I've been using Keyshot mainly because it's fast. I've got a workstation though so hopefully renders will still run semi-fast!

I've got a few boost drivers on the way to measure, I was planning on having two plates that sandwitch over the top and bottom of the driver. These plates would be milled to match the driver so it would all fit together like a perfect puzzle piece. One thing I am worried about though is shorting something out so I was considering anodizing the diode heatsinks, possibly a hard anodizing to make sure it doesn't rub off and make a mess.

I'm still waiting for info on the V6 flex, I hope the dimensions are at least roughly the same size!

Rotate freely in the tube , you say...

Hmm, well then, you need to be 100% precise when soldering the driver to the diode so that it's perfectly centered...

I dunno, I'd go with a design similar to Cree C6 where you have a driver pill, you can seat the driver where emitter is supposed to be, effectively heatsinking it.

Heatsinking the driver within the Aixiz back end is going to be more trouble than worth usually, but some good ideas can also be made and realised...

If your design would not be "finned" it would be much more easier to make.
However this whole "rotating freely inside the tube" thing just does not fit right, I can see a whole lot of broken pins...

Also, insulation. Everything needs to be insulated - no doubt about that.

You mentioned something like virtual build tutorial. Wow, here is some rep for the idea alone
Please make that when you can.

EDIT - Damn, need to spread some rep around before repping you.