# WTF - The Quad SST-90 (SSR-90) Light 8,600 lumens



## cosmoworks (Jan 22, 2008)

_*Disclaimer: This post may not be safe for work (NSFW), due to the extreme nature of this light. The light porn displayed throughout this post may be offensive, as the light will be exposed from various angles, as well as in the nude.*_

So it's been a while since I've posted a light creation on here, and with daylight savings creeping up around the corner, I thought I'd share the fun once again with my latest creation, which I've appropriately named, "WTF".

In case you missed my previous light designs, here's the recap:

*Wall-E:* Wall-E - The Dual Ostar Light 2,000 lumens
*Rubix:* Rubix - The Quad D-Bin P7 Light 3,600 lumens
*Rubii:* Rubii (aka Rubix Dual) - The 8X D-Bin P7 Light 7,200 lumens

This time around, the weapon of choice is the Luminus SST-90 emitter. I obtained a few SST-90's on 20mm stars (also known as SSR-90's), W57S Color, WN Bin from Fred at PhotonFanatic last year. Each emitter is capable of 1,200 lumens max at 3.2 amps, but can handle up to 9 amps. Driver of choice is George's H6flex driven to 6.6 amps, so looking at Luminus's datasheets, the output for each emitter should be tad more than 2,150 lumens per emitter.

But using just one emitter is lame, how about 4? Sign me up biatch!

Design Phase:
Once again, I designed the light to use my signature thermostat controlled fan setup, which has proven to work flawlessly for me over the past few years (see my Rubix post for wiring schematic). But this time, the fan is so MASSIVE it needs its own zip code (70mm with 26 CFM capability).

































Light Porn - Pictures in the nude (before anodize):
I discovered from my last several projects about how much I hated machining heat sink fins, so this time I decided to design the light around some old CPU sinks I had - which could be used after having some of the fat trimmed off (i.e. - cut down to size, rounded off, etc.)

After I gave the heat sink the Jenny Craig treatment, here's what she looked like:








Continuing on with the obscenity - the lower electronics cover and mounting bracket:








This wouldn't be proper porn, if you didn't get the underside view:








Next, WTF's un-finished face (yes unfinished, I'll get to that in a minute):








She's definitely a BBW (Big, Beautiful WTF) - here's the unfinished body:








Test fitment pic (unfinished - still have some machining to complete). But here you get a full body shot while she's still naked (before anodize):


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## cosmoworks (Jan 22, 2008)

So why do I keep saying "un-finished"? Well, I actually had this light 80-90% completed about this time last year (all the stuff you see in the raw above). But then a little something known as 'life' got in the way and sidetracked me - putting the project on hold.

Since I typically bounce design ideas off my buddy, timight (who helps me validate my designs and builds replicas of my stuff), he was able to beat me out of the gate on this one. So the rest of the write-up is sharing the details of his finished WTF light (guy's got a red fetish).

WTF fully dressed (finished & anodized):
























I enjoyed the massive throw that the 35mm Fraen lenses provided in Wall-E so much, that I decided to use them in again WTF. I opted to go for two Fraen spots on top, and two mediums on the bottom. The bottom emitters are angled down more aggressively than in Rubix (15° instead of 10°), so that entire light can be angled up - such that the two spots can throw way out, while still maintaining good front spill from the mediums.

Basically this light is sort of the "Wall-E-meets-Rubix-and-has-an-overgrown-kid-on-steroids"... 4,300 lumens flood EVERYWHERE, and another 4,300 lumens thrown way, way, way out there, way past the balding guy's receding hair line. Fraen lenses aren't made in the SST/SSR flavor, so we ninja'd up some MCE versions to fit:









Comparing the light to the original Rubix design (left), just makes you yell out, WTF?!!








WTF mounted up on to my stem faceplate:


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## cosmoworks (Jan 22, 2008)

Beamshots (MTBR Standard Camera Settings):

By now you're asking yourself, "How can this be considered good light porn, if the ending doesn't show some nice beam shots?"

The first set was taken using MTBR "Standard Camera Settings" on tripod:
*ISO 100, F4, 6 Seconds *

Control shot:








H6Flex Level 3 (Low Mode):








H6Flex Level 5 (High Mode):








In the past, I've been asked to provide a point of reference, by showing a beamshot from a different 'known' light. Well I don't really have any 'known' lights, but seeing as there are lots of XML builds, I decided to include a beamshot of a triple XML light that I have driven at 2.8 amps (approx. 3,000-ish lumens):








Beamshots (MTBR Standard Camera Settings for High Powered Lights):

And if that wasn't enough, then here's another happy ending by way of beamshots taken at the
MTBR Camera Settings for High Powered Lights:
*ISO 100, F4, 1 Sec*

Control shot:








H6Flex Level 3 (Low Mode):








H6Flex Level 5 (High Mode):








And the triple XML light, for comparison:








I hope you found this write-up amusing, funny, sad, and maybe cried and laughed a little.

But regarding insane lights, that's it. I'm done, this is the last one. No more.
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&#8230;.
(maybe)


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## znomit (Dec 27, 2007)

:yikes:


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## troutie-mtb (Sep 20, 2007)

:thumbsup: Love it :thumbsup:


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## Goldigger (Nov 6, 2009)

All i say is
What the f.....
:thumbsup:

Now huffy puffy, you have no reason to not make a double cute XML...


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## odtexas (Oct 2, 2008)

That was great.:thumbsup:


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## HuffyPuffy (Jun 9, 2008)

holy...:yikes:

You must not let this fall into the wrong hands.


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## phburns (Sep 30, 2008)

love those cubes!


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## mattthemuppet (Jul 16, 2004)

you, my friend, have a problem 

makes my lights look like guttering candles


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## mfj197 (Jan 28, 2011)

Absolutely mad! Kudos to you. That is high quality machinework as well, and a gorgeous finish.

If I'm being picky I think angling the lower lights down has meant the nearfield is a bit bright in relation to the distance, so your eyes will adapt to the brightness and you won't be able to see too far. However the sheer amount of light will burn away anything that might be stupid enough to be in your way so I don't think you've anything to worry about!

How much does it weigh? Do you notice it?


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## pepko (Feb 1, 2008)

unbelievably amazing
I'm shocked

:eekster::eekster::eekster:


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## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

Another masterpiece. Not my cup of tea, but what a fantastic bit of work!


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## cosmoworks (Jan 22, 2008)

^^ Thanks for the props, peeps!



mattthemuppet said:


> you, my friend, have a problem


Step 1: To admit I have a problem.... lol.



mfj197 said:


> If I'm being picky I think angling the lower lights down has meant the nearfield is a bit bright in relation to the distance, so your eyes will adapt to the brightness and you won't be able to see too far. However the sheer amount of light will burn away anything that might be stupid enough to be in your way so I don't think you've anything to worry about!
> 
> How much does it weigh? Do you notice it?


As you probably already know, beamshots are just representative. In real life your eyes have a much wider range than a picture can produce, and it's not as exaggerated as it looks. In actual use, the foreground isn't as washed out looking and the distant trail is lit up better. Now if I had used spot lenses for the angled emitters instead of the mediums (which throw out really wide), I think you'd be right - eye adjustment would surely be an issue!

What does it weight? Light weighs around the same as Rubii (Rubix Dual), at around 1.5 pounds. Do I notice it? What kind of silly question is that?


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## carspidey (Aug 1, 2011)

do you sell these lights? just asking...


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## mfj197 (Jan 28, 2011)

cosmoworks said:


> What does it weight? Light weighs around the same as Rubii (Rubix Dual), at around 1.5 pounds. Do I notice it? What kind of silly question is that?


Fair point!  Amazing bit of design and build you have done there.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk


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## HEY HEY ITS HENDO (Feb 23, 2008)

................................................................
........  wow freakin` awesome!!
thanks for sharing cosmo :thumbsup:


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## muzzanic (Apr 28, 2009)

Ha ha you are 1 sick puppy.

I really like to see people do this type of thing & I must say what a nice job of building it.

However the batterys you would need to run it would be huge, I have a 3600 Lumen light with 9 XP-G's in it & have some really good batterys but find I only run it on full on very fast down hill runs,

It is nice to have the option I guess but I think that having 2 different light systems is a safer way to go as I have often been up around 40+ mph & thought if the light went out now it would really hurt.


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## emu26 (Jun 23, 2008)

Yet again Cosmo you come along and make us all drool with absolutely impeccable workmanship.

WTF?

"Why The Face"

Nice work, Me wants one.


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## msxtr (Dec 10, 2006)

Incredible!!!!!!!!!!! super nice job!!!!!!!!!

Greetings - Saludos

msxtr


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## cosmoworks (Jan 22, 2008)

^^ Thanks!



carspidey said:


> do you sell these lights? just asking...


Too much blood sweat and tears to sell these babies.



muzzanic said:


> However the batterys you would need to run it would be huge, I have a 3600 Lumen light with 9 XP-G's in it & have some really good batterys but find I only run it on full on very fast down hill runs,


Not too bad, WTF can get slightly less than 1 hour burn time at full power using the same pack I use on Rubix (10 cell 18650, 96 W-hr). And keep in mind, running it low power mode (L3) makes the LED's ultra efficient - 2,600 lumens for around 6 hour runtime.



emu26 said:


> "Why The Face"


More like, "What the Buck!" - well, not quite, but it sure sounds like it. :lol:


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## yetibetty (Dec 24, 2007)

Nice work cosmoworks.

Questions: Did you find this on easier to build than your others as it is larger with more room for cutters and less fiddly? was this also done on a manual S2 mill? and does the fan blow air into the heatsink or suck it out?

Oh and I wish I could do drawings on a computer.


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## Der Juicen (Oct 7, 2010)

this thread is my first venture into any "lights" forum here and i am completely amazed!
that thing is masterpiece!

time to start my research for parts!



yetibetty said:


> Oh and I wish I could do drawings on a computer.


have you tried google sketchup? free download, get it, learn it, create CAD drawings!
use the tutorials to get you started


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## cosmoworks (Jan 22, 2008)

yetibetty said:


> Questions: Did you find this on easier to build than your others as it is larger with more room for cutters and less fiddly? was this also done on a manual S2 mill? and does the fan blow air into the heatsink or suck it out?


Pulls air out... and yes, machined on an X2 mill. It wasn't really easier and less fiddly to machine due to size, but bigger did allow for larger diameter endmills, which means more rigidity and less chatter. The single biggest "easier-to-machine" attribute of this light over Rubix, was the fact that I didn't have to machine heatsink fins.


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## PScal (Apr 29, 2010)

Insane. I love it.


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## yetibetty (Dec 24, 2007)

cosmoworks said:


> Pulls air out... and yes, machined on an X2 mill. It wasn't really easier and less fiddly to machine due to size, but bigger did allow for larger diameter endmills, which means more rigidity and less chatter. The single biggest "easier-to-machine" attribute of this light over Rubix, was the fact that I didn't have to machine heatsink fins.


Thanks for the reply Cosmo, never accurred to me that you would just scale everything up including cutters.

Once again, nice work.

emu26 is your mill ready yet


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## emu26 (Jun 23, 2008)

yetibetty said:


> Thanks for the reply Cosmo, never accurred to me that you would just scale everything up including cutters.
> 
> Once again, nice work.
> 
> emu26 is your mill ready yet


It's a had a "quick" clean over but hasn't been trammed and doesn't have anything to sit on yet, or anywhere to put it for that matter. Off to NZ at the end of the month for 3 days riding for a mates "bucks weekend", had planned to knock up a couple of small lights before then so I don't have to carry my 2 14.8v "bricks" through customs. Having seen this and just learnt that it was done on an x2, I really think I need to extract my digit and start making something.


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## muzzanic (Apr 28, 2009)

emu26 said:


> It's a had a "quick" clean over but hasn't been trammed and doesn't have anything to sit on yet, or anywhere to put it for that matter. Off to NZ at the end of the month for 3 days riding for a mates "bucks weekend", had planned to knock up a couple of small lights before then so I don't have to carry my 2 14.8v "bricks" through customs. Having seen this and just learnt that it was done on an x2, I really think I need to extract my digit and start making something.


Were in NZ will you be riding ?


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## emu26 (Jun 23, 2008)

muzzanic said:


> Were in NZ will you be riding ?


Just down the highway from you in the land of the smelly egg, better known as Rotovegas or Rotorua if you're looking at a real map 

I'll be taking my racer x and the body armour. The armour is for the luge


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## muzzanic (Apr 28, 2009)

emu26 said:


> Just down the highway from you in the land of the smelly egg, better known as Rotovegas or Rotorua if you're looking at a real map
> 
> I'll be taking my racer x and the body armour. The armour is for the luge


Yes lots of fun over there.

The redwoods is lots of fun for Night rides, I do a night ride over there the 1st Saturday night of every month.


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## Goldigger (Nov 6, 2009)

emu26 said:


> Just down the highway from you in the land of the smelly egg, better known as Rotovegas or Rotorua if you're looking at a real map
> 
> I'll be taking my racer x and the body armour. The armour is for the luge


I went to Rotorua when i was travelling in 2004..me and a mate travelled all round the north Island..absolutly loved it 
We stopped at Taupo bungy jump on the way down, which gave me a quick dip in the Waikato River below:thumbsup:

Huka falls...aparently some locals jump in one end in a barrell and fly over the waterfall









Craters of the moon









We also stopped at Rivendell but didnt see Gollum









I imagine mountain biking is fantastic basing that on all the places we visited:thumbsup:


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## muzzanic (Apr 28, 2009)

Yes I have seen a few people kayak over them.



Goldigger said:


> I went to Rotorua when i was travelling in 2004..me and a mate travelled all round the north Island..absolutly loved it
> We stopped at Taupo bungy jump on the way down, which gave me a quick dip in the Waikato River below:thumbsup:
> 
> Huka falls...aparently some locals jump in one end in a barrell and fly over the waterfall
> ...


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## RTM (Sep 17, 2005)

emu26 said:


> WTF?
> 
> "Why The Face"


nice reference...:thumbsup:


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## DIYtailight (Sep 14, 2009)

Did you make the stem plate yourself? I really like stem plate mounting lights, but I have no mill to make them on. Are there some stem plates like that commercially available? Otherwise, I was thinking I could put a metal plate in between the stem plate and the stem, and make a mount off of that.


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## kwarwick (Jun 12, 2004)

DIYtailight said:


> Did you make the stem plate yourself? I really like stem plate mounting lights, but I have no mill to make them on. Are there some stem plates like that commercially available? Otherwise, I was thinking I could put a metal plate in between the stem plate and the stem, and make a mount off of that.


Hope made some stem plates for Thomson, Hope and FSA stems: Hope Vision Stem Plate | Buy Online | ChainReactionCycles.com

They were designed for Hope lights, but the nice thing is you can get buy the mounting hardware for Hope lights separately (Hope Universal Handlebar Mount | Buy Online | ChainReactionCycles.com) so these stem plates can used with DIY lights.


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## Wombat (Jan 25, 2004)

kwarwick said:


> Hope made some stem plates for Thomson, Hope and FSA stems: Hope Vision Stem Plate | Buy Online | ChainReactionCycles.com
> 
> They were designed for Hope lights, but the nice thing is you can get buy the mounting hardware for Hope lights separately (Hope Universal Handlebar Mount | Buy Online | ChainReactionCycles.com) so these stem plates can used with DIY lights.


Kwarick

I'm missing something in relation to the second link you posted. I assume that that should be the hadware needed to mount a light to the Hope Stem Plate (your first link), but I don't know why the quick release mount is there.

Thanks

Tim


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## ChainChain (Sep 25, 2010)

It's not night riding when you have the sun on your handlebars!

Nice work!


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## kwarwick (Jun 12, 2004)

Wombat said:


> Kwarick
> 
> I'm missing something in relation to the second link you posted. I assume that that should be the hadware needed to mount a light to the Hope Stem Plate (your first link), but I don't know why the quick release mount is there.
> 
> ...


Yeah, sorry I should of expanded a bit on that. The little 90 degree piece in the lower right corner of the photo of the quick release is something you'll need to adapt the hope stem plate to the bottom mount hole on a light. If you take a look at Easy2led :: DSC_0061.jpg picture by kwarwick - Photobucket you can see how I used that same piece along with a hope helmet mount for my Easy2LED helmet light. For some reason the only way to get that little piece of plastic is part of the complete QR kit.


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## DIYtailight (Sep 14, 2009)

Awesome, thanks for the info!


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## cosmoworks (Jan 22, 2008)

emu26 said:


> Having seen this and just learnt that it was done on an x2, I really think I need to extract my digit and start making something.


Emu: I just saw your guy's post about mills (toy or tool). Haven't read the entire post, but I saw some questions about a 6" rotary table. I can confirm a 6" does work, and I use it to build some of my parts (i.e. = stem light mount faceplate, and other non-light-related parts).



RTM said:


> nice reference... :thumbsup:


"I'm the cool dad... that's, that's my thang" :lol:



DIYtailight said:


> Did you make the stem plate yourself? I really like stem plate mounting lights, but I have no mill to make them on. Are there some stem plates like that commercially available? Otherwise, I was thinking I could put a metal plate in between the stem plate and the stem, and make a mount off of that.


Yes. Originally I thought about using an aftermarket (HOPE) plate or designing my plate to use side tabs like the Hope, but then settled on what you see here. The reason being is that I wanted to 'set and forget' the angle of my lights. With the "L" shaped lower mount, it allows me to set the light angle so that when I remove it and reinstall, it's exactly where I left it the last time.

I never expanded on my stem mount in my original Rubix post, so here's some more X-rated pics.....

Mount after machining:








Original face plate on the left, custom face plate on the right:








After anodize:








It occurred to me, when I was trying to make a second one for my buddy, that I didn't have to go thru all the work of machining another from scratch, and that I could just "bolt" a tab onto the front face:

















I've since adapted the design to some of my friend's rigs, and we've all standardized on the same mounting system. Here's the same tab adapted to another friend's Race Face stem:

















I've since modified the design for easier light removal. There's a slot in front now so that the thumb screw doesn't need to be backed completely out to remove the light. The light can't move forward due to the 2 dowel pins that hold them in place. Here's an example of the newer design tab retrofitted onto a Sunline Stem:


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## Goldigger (Nov 6, 2009)

cosmoworks said:


> Emu: I just saw your guy's post about mills (toy or tool). Haven't read the entire post, but I saw some questions about a 6" rotary table. I can confirm a 6" does work, and I use it to build some of my parts (i.e. = stem light mount faceplate, and other non-light-related parts).
> 
> "I'm the cool dad... that's, that's my thang" :lol:
> 
> ...


Your the fkin daddy:thumbsup:

How much time did you put into getting your X2 setup?
From my experience the SX2 is very inaccurate out of the box and requires some work to get it near perfect..
I added a back plate to the column to add rigidity and help reduce flex, it also assists in tramming the Y axis. As the head tilts forward on most X2's/SX2's, mine was out by 0.08 of a mm.
Which doesn't sound a lot, but you notice it when your cutting as the cutter doesn't cut evenly on both edges..
I can know make some pretty aggressive cuts without the head shaking and the mill screaming..Noooooooo


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## Wombat (Jan 25, 2004)

cosmoworks said:


> I never expanded on my stem mount in my original Rubix post, so here's some more X-rated pics.....


Cosmo

Thanks for taking the time to post this. It brings a smile to my face when I read what you've done. And the progression of your stem solution is brilliant.

Tim


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## nixternal (Oct 9, 2011)

I am 110% in love with that custom stem mount. My god that is way to gorgeous to be true and absolutely brilliant at the same time. Kudos!


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## mobile chernobyl (Apr 12, 2006)

This is really cool! I'm currently in my 4th year of a ME/EE curriculum at college and I'm working on testing and analysis of purely passive heat sink designs and geometry which makes me pretty interested in seeing any FEA you've done on this? 

I worked with Luminus to get some SSR-90 samples for my project, and we found that about 1500 lumens (our control) were running about 5.2A on the Q4 emitters which gives us about 18W to work with in dissipating. 

Now your running 4 of these bad boys, so at 5A your looking at close to 70W of heat dissipation. Did you do any computer modeling of your setup? and what is the junction temp goal for your design approximately? 

Very cool and absolutely impeccable fit and finish! I wish I had enough time in my studies to get sidetracked with something like this lol - its hard having access to all the machines you could ever need, but no time to use them...


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## cosmoworks (Jan 22, 2008)

Goldigger said:


> How much time did you put into getting your X2 setup?
> From my experience the SX2 is very inaccurate out of the box and requires some work to get it near perfect..
> I added a back plate to the column to add rigidity and help reduce flex, it also assists in tramming the Y axis. As the head tilts forward on most X2's/SX2's, mine was out by 0.08 of a mm.
> Which doesn't sound a lot, but you notice it when your cutting as the cutter doesn't cut evenly on both edges..
> I can know make some pretty aggressive cuts without the head shaking and the mill screaming..Noooooooo


I can't remember exactly since it's been several years, but I'd guess it took maybe an hour to tram everything in and shim the head straight? I never did that back plate mod you did, since mine doesn't seem to move even when i cut extremely agressive cuts. I find now that it's easiest to just align by making fly cuts with my 3" cutter and then adjusting, rather than doing the same with the dial indicator.



mobile chernobyl said:


> This is really cool! I'm currently in my 4th year of a ME/EE curriculum at college and I'm working on testing and analysis of purely passive heat sink designs and geometry which makes me pretty interested in seeing any FEA you've done on this?
> 
> I worked with Luminus to get some SSR-90 samples for my project, and we found that about 1500 lumens (our control) were running about 5.2A on the Q4 emitters which gives us about 18W to work with in dissipating.
> 
> ...


Yes, the light was designed via computer modeling, but no, I didn't run any thermal FEA on the models. A single SST-90 is around 3.4V at 6.6amp draw, so four of them makes a total Vf of 13.6V. At 6.6 amps, this light is around 90 Watts power consumption (not factoring in driver efficiency).

This light is only run full power on the downs and low power on climbs, but even on low it's still 2,600 lumens . I hear you regarding time though... I own my machines, yet finding the time to create more insanity is scarce at best.


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## ljsmith (Oct 26, 2007)

I am not very knowledgeable with DIY lights, so excuse me if this is a stupid question. But is there any way that a light like this could even be used on a bike? It seems like you would need a massive battery to actually power it in almost any of the settings for more than 30 minutes of so.


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## muzzanic (Apr 28, 2009)

ljsmith said:


> I am not very knowledgeable with DIY lights, so excuse me if this is a stupid question. But is there any way that a light like this could even be used on a bike? It seems like you would need a massive battery to actually power it in almost any of the settings for more than 30 minutes of so.


Yes Having many years of engineering under my belt, My hat goes off to the high level of build & the because I can factor.

However its like going shopping in a monster truck,sure you could do it but it is far from being the best setup most could have for night riding.

The power drain at full power is huge & only running it that high for the fast down hills is not the best way to get your eyes working & running a super powerfull light diped way down is not either.

This light will have a whiter beam & a longer beam etc but as far as riding fast it would offer little more than a good 2000 lm light & IMO you wouldn't be able to ride any faster with this light, In fact taking battery weight & the fact that a helmet light will always shine were you are looking I would think you would be slower than a good setup that has approx 1/3 of the power.

Just my 2 c


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## cosmoworks (Jan 22, 2008)

ljsmith said:


> I am not very knowledgeable with DIY lights, so excuse me if this is a stupid question. But is there any way that a light like this could even be used on a bike? It seems like you would need a massive battery to actually power it in almost any of the settings for more than 30 minutes of so.


Not only can it be used, it IS being used. 

Low power setting (L3) is somewhere around 13-15 watts of power consumption. The 10 cell packs we normally use are 96 watt-hr capacity, so runtime is somewhere around the 6 hour range in L3, slightly less than an hour on L5 (max power). What takes us an hour to climb usually takes around 5 minutes to descend. So typical use on a ride would be 1-1.5 hours on L3 and 5-10 minutes on L5. And only short bursts of L5 on shuttled DH runs.


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## tybeede (Apr 2, 2011)

I dig this light setup. Would you be willing to post up some parasolid files or STEP / IGES of the mechanical design? Do you have a BOM of the parts? I'm interested in building something like this and I've got access to all the tools.


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## tybeede (Apr 2, 2011)

Oh man... I've been through all your previous light build posts I could find here. I copied and pasted all the tech into a google document for further review. I'm hooked and this is going to cost me some time and money! However, it will be a great addition to rides in the Santa Monica mountains. You sir, own the night!


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## cosmoworks (Jan 22, 2008)

tybeede said:


> You sir, own the night!


What night? I haven't been "night" riding in years! :thumbsup:

Regarding CAD files... sorry, I like to be unique. But the BOM and wiring setup can be had by reviewing my Rubix build - with the only difference being really just emitters, relfectors, and fan.


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## jbflyfshr (Jul 24, 2006)

Mods???


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## emu26 (Jun 23, 2008)

jb, it's his 3rd attempt, under different log in names, on this thread in the last 2 days. Both of the others were quickly removed by the mods


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## jbflyfshr (Jul 24, 2006)

Being a US holiday may take longer I guess.

I still smile at your pic on the left...B>)

JB


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## shothar (Sep 26, 2012)

*Amazing*

Just amazing! I'm still amazed of your work! :shocked:
This and Wall-E has been real inspiration for me! I wonder if it's ok if I use your brilliant double dowel pin idea in my own bike light design?

When do we get a new model?


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## cosmoworks (Jan 22, 2008)

shothar said:


> Just amazing! I'm still amazed of your work! :shocked:
> This and Wall-E has been real inspiration for me! I wonder if it's ok if I use your brilliant double dowel pin idea in my own bike light design?
> 
> When do we get a new model?


Thanks man!

You're more than welcome to use my mounting technique. At one point I was going to suggest a "standardized" mounting method for the DIY community, but never got around to it. But you can start the trend :thumbsup:

The dowel pins are 1/8" diameter, pressed in 0.75" apart. The slot in the middle accepts a 10-32 size thumb screw. I've tested this setup with WTF under very agressive riding conditions, and it holds without any issues whatsoever, despite the weight. Unfortunately life has kept me too busy to be able to start any new MTB light projects... but I can taste the aroma of new light ideas possibly next year!


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## shothar (Sep 26, 2012)

cosmoworks said:


> Thanks man!
> 
> You're more than welcome to use my mounting technique. At one point I was going to suggest a "standardized" mounting method for the DIY community, but never got around to it. But you can start the trend :thumbsup:
> 
> The dowel pins are 1/8" diameter, pressed in 0.75" apart. The slot in the middle accepts a 10-32 size thumb screw. I've tested this setup with WTF under very agressive riding conditions, and it holds without any issues whatsoever, despite the weight. Unfortunately life has kept me too busy to be able to start any new MTB light projects... but I can taste the aroma of new light ideas possibly next year!


In that case I might even make new thread of my light project when I get it done! Thank you for the measures, though I'll just take the liberty to modify those into metric and simplify a bit... I'm making drawings on Autodesk Inventor and so far everything looks nice. We'll see how things end up 
Hopefully we'll see some new project from you! I like your designs and machining skills A LOT! :thumbsup:


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## cosmoworks (Jan 22, 2008)

shothar, good luck with your project! Will be nice to see another DIY'er out there using this robust mounting method. :thumbsup:


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## SAVAGESAM (Jan 14, 2008)

cosmoworks said:


> shothar, good luck with your project! Will be nice to see another DIY'er out there using this robust mounting method. :thumbsup:


Cosmoworks, do you have any advice/pointers for someone who wants to make homemade lights but doesn't have a lathe? I'm talking more along the lines of just assembling the parts (premade housing) and doing the soldering. I guess kind of half way between full on custom and half way off the shelf. T.I.A.


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## cosmoworks (Jan 22, 2008)

SAVAGESAM, this light wasn't made using a lathe... but I think your point is more about not having any machining equipment, right? 

Anyways, my recommendation is to buy a prebuilt light, and swapping to a high quality driver into it. Many of the prebuilt import lights are very capable lights, but have lumen ratings that are drastically over stated due to inferior driver electronics. Many times simply replacing the electronics increases the lumen output drastically and increases the light's reliably, if done right.

Take a peek at my Happa light, where I swap the driver to get a sweet high output light with less work than my typical routine of building from scratch:
Happa - Half-Import-Half-Domestic 8,900 Lumens 12X XML Light


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## SAVAGESAM (Jan 14, 2008)

cosmoworks said:


> SAVAGESAM, this light wasn't made using a lathe... but I think your point is more about not having any machining equipment, right?
> 
> Anyways, my recommendation is to buy a prebuilt light, and swapping to a high quality driver into it. Many of the prebuilt import lights are very capable lights, but have lumen ratings that are drastically over stated due to inferior driver electronics. Many times simply replacing the electronics increases the lumen output drastically and increases the light's reliably, if done right.
> 
> ...


Thank you Sir.


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