# 2x XM-L



## Toaster79 (Apr 5, 2010)

And so it begins:


























I'll keep you guys posted. Still need to figure out what driver to use, since i want each light head to have one for itself.


----------



## mattthemuppet (Jul 16, 2004)

ooh, exciting <-rubs hands in anticipation->


----------



## Toaster79 (Apr 5, 2010)

Little progress can be seen 

Driver compartment ID=28mm (wonder what should fit in):

















OD: 34.5mm
Length 50mm

Rear cover is the next step.


----------



## ScottParsley (Nov 25, 2010)

looks good so far


----------



## Goldigger (Nov 6, 2009)

No problems fitting a maxflex 22.86mm, b2flex 25.4mm
Have you decided which leds your going to use?


----------



## Toaster79 (Apr 5, 2010)

I'll be using XM-L's that arrived from Cutter's a couple of days ago. Since George promised us a new driver to use with XM-L and LiIon, I'll have to wait for that one to along with some other parts I'm ordering right now. Maxflex or b2flex wouldn't be appropriate to drive XM-L at full 3 amps and h6flex is just a tad to big to fit in the housing so Lflex will be perfect solution for 2x XM-L and 2S2P LiIon pack. Meanwhile I'll just have to make some new housings for 3x XPG that came with the package including some Lisa2 9mm optics.


----------



## Toaster79 (Apr 5, 2010)

Rear cover finished! Now I'll just have to wait for rest of the parts to arrive


----------



## odtexas (Oct 2, 2008)

The round lights always look so good. 
Any ideas about the mount? Side or bottom?


----------



## mattthemuppet (Jul 16, 2004)

odtexas said:


> The round lights always look so good.
> Any ideas about the mount? Side or bottom?


if it's round, can it have a side or bottom? He he he, sorry, couldn't resist.

Looking really good toaster. How is the rear held on, interference fit?


----------



## yetibetty (Dec 24, 2007)

Hey Toaster that's some nice lathe work. I like the round bottom grooves. How did you manage to do them with no chatter?


----------



## Toaster79 (Apr 5, 2010)

Mounts? Dunno yet. I'll think of something wicked. Back will be screwed from the sides with tiny screws, or maybe I'll AA it in the body before finally closing it up. Interference fit is a no go, since I plan to mount a cable gland to in and it could be pulled out by a cable or shaken out by vibrations. Or maybe I'll just glue it in with some transparent silicone.


----------



## Toaster79 (Apr 5, 2010)

yetibetty said:


> Hey Toaster that's some nice lathe work. I like the round bottom grooves. How did you manage to do them with no chatter?


On the first three pictures you can see triangular shaped cutter, which i had to grind a little by myself, the rest of the job did the sanding paper before polishing. Machining wasn't smooth all the way, but didn't have to do much sanding either. Just a touch with 400 grade paper.


----------



## savagemann (Jan 14, 2008)

Looking great Toaster.
You guys and your dang machines make me so jealous. 
I may just have to sink my tax return into a Tiag micro lathe......= )
Great work!


----------



## Toaster79 (Apr 5, 2010)

I've been busy making some ali chips:

First try wasn't really a success, since I started on the wrong end of the housing :madman: 









But the second try was a bit better:









Bottom of the driver compartment is a bit raised in the middle to attach the lFlex, and there's still some place beneath for the LED leads:









Front side is machined to accept the modified Iris:









The fit is so tight, once you put the optics inside, you'll have troubles getting it out, because you can feel vacuum pulling it back inside, so need to drill holes for the leads, before trying to put the optics inside the housing:

















Got me some Hirschmann 4 pin IP67 connectors with 4A rated cable and some surface mount sockets, but will have to find a M8x0.5 tap to screw the sockets in the back covers since I don't want to waste place inside the cover with a nut:









Still waiting for the lFlex boards, some 5000mAh RC LiPo packs and mom switches.


----------



## ortelius (Dec 6, 2007)

Looks awesome! I'm really curious about the mount creation... :thumbsup:


----------



## Toaster79 (Apr 5, 2010)

I've been thinking about some carbon fiber, to gain some weight


----------



## Toaster79 (Apr 5, 2010)

Some more ali chips to clean up, and some grams added to light head:

Rear cover finished and I think I like it  :


























Just some final touch so It will be a nice little shiny one just like the one before.


----------



## bravellir (Nov 24, 2008)

looks fantastic. Good job.


----------



## Toaster79 (Apr 5, 2010)

Thanks mate


----------



## Toaster79 (Apr 5, 2010)

Preping some material for the mounts:

Applying some foil on the ali bar, which has a bit larger diameter than the housing









Some masking tape before cutting s strip of the carbon fiber









Attaching the strip to the bar so it doesn't slip while being twisted around the bar









Mixing epoxy resin and hardener 









All set for the oven









A soon as the epoxy sets it will be removed from the bar, stuck in the lathe to get the proper ID and OD, than follows the aestethic part of the job, by applying another layer or two of the carbon fiber. In the end I'll cut it into smaller stripes and drill some holes for the mounting pads.


----------



## odtexas (Oct 2, 2008)

Cool. 
That's something new. 
Can't wait to see how the CF holder turns out.


----------



## Toaster79 (Apr 5, 2010)

That's my solution for double Regina head lamp i built, but the bottom part made of carbon fiber is also a diver compartment for maxflex, that's why there's ali board on the bottom of it.









The one for the XM-L will be something similar, but a single light head mount with a U shaped bracket, so there will be some tilt avaliable for the light head, and grooves on the sides for the velcro straps. The firs light in this thread goes on the bars, with identical bracket, but different bar mount.


----------



## brad72 (Jun 12, 2009)

Great build toaster. Love watching these creations come to life. The XML's have ceratainly stirred up some DIY activity. the carbon fiber will make a nice touch. I have toyed with using it in my builds but it's very hard to find affordable stockists in Australia.

As for your tap for the rear cable socket this one is pretty creap http://cgi.ebay.com.au/M8-X-0-5-D5-PLUG-TAP-/300519461126?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item45f85b1106#ht_500wt_925 compared the $40 I paid for mine at the local tooling shop for my M8 socket

I look forward to seeing the finished article:thumbsup: .


----------



## OldMTBfreak (Apr 8, 2006)

That's a nice job. I do like the carbon fiber. When do we get some beamshots?


----------



## Toaster79 (Apr 5, 2010)

You'll get beamshots as soon as the lFlex boards arrive


----------



## Toaster79 (Apr 5, 2010)

Well mounts will have to wait a bit. Just couldn't resist to turn on my mini lathe again and make some chips. Yet another host for the XM-L. Those dang lflexes and lipos just wouldn't arrive.


































I have to keep me busy somehow :skep:


----------



## savagemann (Jan 14, 2008)

Nice work Toaster!


----------



## ScottParsley (Nov 25, 2010)

Looks really good! I wish I could make lights out of carbon fiber as it's really neat to work with. My riding buddies have seen the stuff I made with carbon and can't understand why I can't make a light out of it. They have no concept of thermal dynamics with their purchased lights.


----------



## Toaster79 (Apr 5, 2010)

It is possible to make housing out of carbon fiber, but it is not that easy, to make it dissipate the heat. The fibers must be in direction from inside to outside in the same direction the heat should go away.


----------



## Toaster79 (Apr 5, 2010)

Right now I'm one happy bastard!


----------



## kan3 (Nov 11, 2009)

Slovenia eh
how long it take you to get those?


----------



## georges80 (Jan 5, 2010)

kan3 said:


> Slovenia eh
> how long it take you to get those?


Shipped to toaster Feb 19

cheers,
george.


----------



## Toaster79 (Apr 5, 2010)

Thanks again George! 
Previous order took about nine or ten days, this one took a little bit longer. But, since my LiPos from HobbyKing haven't arrived yet, and were ordered the same day, I can't complain. Comparing the costs, I'm more than happy to get shipment from states to EU in about two weeks, and the one from the east takes about a month or so, and still costs about five times more.


----------



## Toaster79 (Apr 5, 2010)

Well the LiPo's finally arrived but I was rather shocked when opened the package and took the pack in my hands:


----------



## mattthemuppet (Jul 16, 2004)

that's a bit worrying..


----------



## savagemann (Jan 14, 2008)

Oh boy........did that happen in transit?
Looks like a nasty dent.
Careful of the leak there.


----------



## Toaster79 (Apr 5, 2010)

No transportation damage was seen on the pack, but the swallowed pack really scared the crap out of me. Just couldn't tell if there was a pillow packed under that shrink wrap or is there something really wrong with at least one of the cells. After ripping it apart i could find "just" one bad cell. The creepy part is that you never know if that cell is gonna burst in your face or not. Still no leak but that cell is being disposed as soon as possible.


----------



## MrLee (May 28, 2010)

Email pictures to the shop you got it from and get them to send you another.


----------



## Whitedog1 (Feb 3, 2009)

this is a B-grade Lipo from Hobyking - so no guarantee or refunds here!

It is also very risky to buy this b-grade lipos from them because this are the "waste" which could not be ratet as a A-grade!
They have higher internal resistance or do not reach the ratet capacity during assambly tests. 
So you get packs where the included cells have different internal resistance and capacity....if they don't swallow till arriving at the customers the sure will after a few cycles ....


----------



## jmblur (Jul 3, 2007)

EDIT: nevermind...


----------



## emu26 (Jun 23, 2008)

I was just about to post that this is a worry as its the second or third DOA battery from HobbyKing I have seen reported in a post here recently but now I see that B Grade on the sticker actually means it is B Grade, and not just another company name that doesn't translate to Engrish well.

Did even know they sold "seconds"


----------



## MrLee (May 28, 2010)

There must be a difference between b grade and dangerous? Still worth a shot, nothing to lose.


----------



## Toaster79 (Apr 5, 2010)

MrLee said:


> There must be a difference between b grade and dangerous? Still worth a shot, nothing to lose.


Those were my exact thoughts. Since I'm buying these to build 1S pack, there's not much harm done other than loosing a cell.

Emu, the pack wasn't actually DOA. All the cells have the same voltage 3.9V, so the swallowed cell still holds the charge, meaning it's not dead.

What I was wondering is if that pack looked the same before packaging as it looked on arrival. The package was left at customs for about a week. If it blew up there they'd hold me for a terrorist. :skep:


----------



## MrLee (May 28, 2010)

Here is whay hobbyking say -

"B-Grade Lithium Polymer packs are great for those not-so-important models or testing. They have a high internal resistance (thats bad), normally wont last past 60 full high-discharge cycles and may become puffy over time.
B-Grade packs are structurally sound, but lack the performance of our A-Grade packs such as Flightmax, Rhino and TURNIGY.
hexTronik usually sells B-grade batteries to smaller vendors who in turn sell online at a discount. However we're now offering them to you at discounted prices, for those not-so-serious applications. "

Looks more than a little puffy to me.


----------



## Whitedog1 (Feb 3, 2009)

as i said.....


----------



## crux (Jan 10, 2004)

Toaster79 said:


> Well the LiPo's finally arrived but I was rather shocked when opened the package and took the pack in my hands:


I did quite a bit of LiPo battery testing for the UN. Based off what I've seen the cells you have are in the process of venting and should be discarded. What ever you paid you should see a full refund or replacement.


----------



## MrLee (May 28, 2010)

Whitedog1 said:


> as i said.....


My point being they seem to be outside of that description. b grade or not, in which case it should be possible to get a refund or replacement. At least in the UK I would.


----------



## kan3 (Nov 11, 2009)

I agree

I don't see how this is any different than if you ordered a product online and it came beat up but still functional. Ya it still works but it's unacceptable to be in the condition that it is.


----------



## jmblur (Jul 3, 2007)

And possibly dangerous... I don't think the CPSC would be too happy with them importing those!


----------



## Toaster79 (Apr 5, 2010)

Finally I've found some time and will to start putting things together:









Soldering wit Lflex attached to the housing was royal PITA








Generous amount of hot glue to keep mom switch in place








Instead of tapping a 8x0.5 tap in the cover I just drilled 7.5mm hole and screwed the panel mount right in. Some plasti dip for the mom switch instead of rubber cap.








Right before closing it.








Need power? [email protected]

Well it got dark while uploading those pictures, so I'm off to make some beamshots


----------



## Toaster79 (Apr 5, 2010)

F 4
S 4"
ISO 100
WB Daylight

Control:








4x XP-G @ 1300mA, Carclo 10417








1x XM-L @ 3.5A, Ledil LXP RS








Distance aprox 50m








4x XP-G + 1x XM-L at full blast


----------



## Goldigger (Nov 6, 2009)

Looks like the 1 XML is better than the 4 XPG's ??


----------



## emu26 (Jun 23, 2008)

I think it's the wasted lumens of the small optics on the xpg, on paper there is no way that should happen

Thanks for the pics Toaster


----------



## Toaster79 (Apr 5, 2010)

It's just that XM-L outthrows four XP-Gs, but in real world the 4up is much brighter in close range but with the lack of throw. And the camera was also pointed a bit to high to capture the flood of the 4up. It's the combo that really surprised me. Bright as daylight.


----------



## MrLee (May 28, 2010)

Anyone ever come across anyone in the woods whilst taking beam shots? I can imagine all sorts of reports of "strange bright lights in the woods"


----------



## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

The carclo 10417 is a flood optic, even though it is marketed as "narrow"


----------



## emu26 (Jun 23, 2008)

MrLee said:


> Anyone ever come across anyone in the woods whilst taking beam shots? I can imagine all sorts of reports of "strange bright lights in the woods"


Yes, I had an elderly couple walk up the trail, out of the bush towards me as I was setting everything up. They were most confused about all the bright yellow cable hangers I had set up along the trail as distance markers and when they got to me they where very interested in the lights. Turned out he did a lot of early morning riding and wasn't happy with the "commercial" lights he had bought, I suspect the $25 Big W light set type


----------

