LED Shop Light

[wquiles]

Several years ago I modded this WoodRiver LED Dual Power Shop Light (Item #149727, available from Woodcraft for $33) by using a severely under-driven P7 LED (200mA).  But that light has not been "enough", and I knew that with a plastic head I was limited to how much current I could feed the LED.

So I decided to make my own metal head for these lamps so that I can get more use of them.  I started from a solid piece of Al:







I added some cooling grooves:



And using the Nichia 219's I made two prototypes:





I am using a frosted narrow and a frosted wide 20mm lens - how do they work?









With their flexible neck I can get the light where I need it, but this time I get plenty, beautiful, 4500K 92CRI light:



Here I am using one of them to cut more of the heads:







Since these work so well, I made some more for me, and a few more just in case:



I took 4x of them, sand blasted them, and then coated them with Moly Resin semi-gloss back:







Drill holes for LED wires:



And they are all done, ready for assembly:



I have been using these for the last two days, and they are working great.  The surface temp (via IR temp measurement) hovers between 100-110F, with an ambient temp of about 80F.  So they are definitely warm to the touch, but not hot enough to burn you when re-adjusting their aim.  As a point of comparison, my Electrix 50 watt incandescent gets to about 135F with the same ambient temp - you can't keep your hand on that one for long!


By the way, although I used the Nichia 219's here, I did build one LED Shop Lamp using the Cree XP-G Warm White (the Cree has a more throwy beam although both have the same narrow frosted optics).  The exposure is stepped down (these are fairly bright!).  Here you can see them side-by-side: the one that looks "white" is the Nichia:



Will

[Divided he ad]

So I decided to make my own metal head for these lamps so that I can get more use of them.

Can't help meself. You know what they say, where there's a will....     


Very nice lamps there Will 

I always think I should put a bit more effort into learning about these high power LEDs 


One of these days    Still plodding through my Tuit list 






Ralph.

[wquiles]

Thanks.  One thing I neglected to do was to post "before and after" pictures so that folks can see the dramatic improvements.

Stock light on the left, upgraded light on the right - stepped down exposure so that you can see the beam, but camera on manual exposure so that you can compare the relative brightness.  First the stock lamp - the beam is horrible and uneven:



Then the upgraded lamp - much, much better beam profile, plus much brighter as well:




Now the lights are aimed at the chuck on my lathe.  Again, camera on manual exposure.  First the stock lamp:



Then the upgraded lamp - again, much better coverage and much brighter:




Will

[Divided he ad]

As you say... Dramatic improvements 



Always good to know you can out do the erm... "Professionals"!?   






Ralph.

[HS93]

thank you for that , great idea  and I think a lot will copy , they should be called wquile lights or Wiggilies , two questions first is what do you use for the flexie and how do you wire the leds, do they need drivers etc what voltage are they ?if anything else is needed can you do a sketch please as a lot of the thicker people like me will want to try and build one

thanks

peter

[wquiles]

The flexible goose neck is part of the off-the-shelf LED light that I am using as the basis for this update: The WoodRiver LED Dual Power Shop Light http://www.woodcraft.com/product/2021277/26141/woodriver--led-dual-power-shop-light.aspx

To put these together, you cut-off the head:





You need to cut the stub on the 20mm lens:





Buy the LED's on 10mm boards if possible.  If you have bare LED's, reflow the LED's (it would help if I had reflowed them with the proper/correct polarity!) and solder wires to each end (the wire colors are correct in this picture):



Clean the surfaces, and apply thermal epoxy to the back of the LED:





Then use the 20mm optic to center the LED as best as possible (not possible to do a 100% perfect alignment since the dome of the Nichia/XP-G is not a 100% match to the hole in the TIR optic, but it is still really good):



Then put some weight to ensure a very thin layer of thermal epoxy:



The "electronics" are very easy.  Basically remove the wires for the battery (not used) and short either one of the two resistors, so that the DC voltage is fed directly to the LED.  Since it is voltage/current limited, you get about 800-820mA to the LED, which is about perfect for an LED that will be ON for hours at a time:





Then cut the wires on the flexible neck, solder and tape:





Then you epoxy the head to the lamp's flexible arm.  The groove that I cut on the back provides mechanical strength to the bond:





Then put the base on a metal base (like a vise), aim the arm and head completely vertical, and apply 4 small drops of glue to keep the lens in place:



Finished:







Will

[wquiles]

I always think I should put a bit more effort into learning about these high power LEDs 

Yes, there is a whole world of LED stuff - I only know enough to be dangerous.  I wrote a post as an introduction to Modifying flashlights, which has a good section on LED's and might be a good read to get you started:
http://atdms.com/tutorial_modifying_flashlights_page1.html

Will

[HS93]

thank you for that ill look in the Uk for something simmilar to build in to a new head

Peter

[wquiles]

thank you for that ill look in the Uk for something simmilar to build in to a new head

Peter

Peter,

Another totally DIY alternative (instead of buying an off-the-shelf lamp to modify) is to use Loc-Line, which it is of course hollow, and you can make any length (within reason!).  They even sell a magnetic base ready to go:
http://www.modularhose.com/Loc-Line-12-System/12-miscellaneous/Loc-Line-51846

Of course, you would still need to buy/make the metal head, come up with an AC-to-DC converter and/or LED driver, etc., but still totally doable. 

Will

[John Stevenson]

Peter, I have been using some Cree Q5 modules from deal extreme in China, very good to deal with.

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/cree-q5-led-drop-in-module-3-7v-18v-input-11621?item=108

These are complete units with inbuilt regulator and just require 3.7 to 18 volts but I have found that 5volts is just right, any more only generates more heat and no more light. I use an old Nokia wall wart at 5 volts

This is two of them built into the end of a special motor for a CNC.



And this is the light they throw out, in this case both were wired to the same 5v wall wart.



This was taken with no lights on in the workshop and they are not quite as bright as shown, the low light makes them look brighter but they are bright. good thing is they don't get hot at 5 volts and you can handle them after 4 or 5 hours with no problems.

John S.

[wquiles]

John,

That is very cool 

[HS93]

thank you for that Mr Stevenson I have orderd some

Peter

[krv3000]

well dun

[AlexanderMitchell]

Several years ago I modded this WoodRiver LED Dual Power Shop Light (Item #149727, available from Woodcraft for $33) by using a severely under-driven P7 LED (200mA).  But that light has not been "enough", and I knew that with a plastic head I was limited to how much current I could feed the led lights.

So I decided to make my own metal head for these lamps so that I can get more use of them.  I started from a solid piece of Al:







I added some cooling grooves:



And using the Nichia 219's I made two prototypes:





I am using a frosted narrow and a frosted wide 20mm lens - how do they work?









With their flexible neck I can get the light where I need it, but this time I get plenty, beautiful, 4500K 92CRI light:



Here I am using one of them to cut more of the heads:







Since these work so well, I made some more for me, and a few more just in case:



I took 4x of them, sand blasted them, and then coated them with Moly Resin semi-gloss back:







Drill holes for LED wires:



And they are all done, ready for assembly:



I have been using these for the last two days, and they are working great.  The surface temp (via IR temp measurement) hovers between 100-110F, with an ambient temp of about 80F.  So they are definitely warm to the touch, but not hot enough to burn you when re-adjusting their aim.  As a point of comparison, my Electrix 50 watt incandescent gets to about 135F with the same ambient temp - you can't keep your hand on that one for long!


By the way, although I used the Nichia 219's here, I did build one LED Shop Lamp using the Cree XP-G Warm White (the Cree has a more throwy beam although both have the same narrow frosted optics).  The exposure is stepped down (these are fairly bright!).  Here you can see them side-by-side: the one that looks "white" is the Nichia:



Will

It is very hard job.. It seems every task is performed with perfection..Thanks for sharing pics and other details