The ultimate Ranger PCB LED Exterior Lighting project
i don't understand what you are asking..
Last edited by Jp7; Sep 5, 2010 at 11:03 PM.
Today I drilled 672 holes for 168 Superflux LEDs with a 1.0mm bit.
And I didn't even bend or break the bit!
Took me about 2 hours... The LEDs fit fantastic. Now I have to figure out a way to paint the back side of the boards white so they will match the truck. When you look through the headlights/corners at the LEDs they will look clear and match the body.
And I didn't even bend or break the bit!
Took me about 2 hours... The LEDs fit fantastic. Now I have to figure out a way to paint the back side of the boards white so they will match the truck. When you look through the headlights/corners at the LEDs they will look clear and match the body.
With the press I have and a close eye I can do one hole in about 5 or 6 seconds.
I want to paint the nonconducting side of the PCBs that I've been making so that when the superflux are soldered to the board the "copper" side of the PCB will face away from the lens of the lights and the LEDs themselves will be on the nonconducting "green" side.
I did an experiment today. I had a few pieces of copper board that I cut off from another board that was going to be etched. I took 2 equal pieces.
Step 1) Both pieces were washed thoroughly in the tub and scrubbed with ajax and a toothbrush.
Step 2) Both pieces were dried and sprayed with SEM "XXX Adhesion promoter"
Step 3) Both pieces were then painted with 2 different paints, one which is a "high temperature" engine paint, one is off the shelf regular spray paint.
Step 4) I let 6 hours pass to then solder a piece of wire to them with my large soldering torch.
Step 5) I used quite a bit of solder, and connected a piece of large wire (like 16 gauge) to it in 2 places. I did this by setting the painted side of the board down against a note-pad.
As you can see where i pressed against the white board it came off where it got really hot and grabbed itself onto the paper note pad. To prevent this from happening i then held the copper board with my hand and hit the same areas again with the soldering torch where there was already solder.
I soldered it as long as I could and just kept moving the solder around until the board was too hot to hold, and I had to sit it down. I then had to test how the paint was going to react so I wrapped my finger in my t-shirt (to protect myself from the heat) and gently tried to rub the paint off of the white one, and also the green one while they were hot.
The white paint would smear a little if I rubbed it hard, and the green paint really wouldn't
Just to let you know, the little "chip" marks were where I scratched the paint away with my fingertip. Both paints did this pretty much the same, even where it was cool and hadn't been soldered. I think this is because it just wasn't cured fully yet. I will let you know in another 2 days, because I really like to let paint sit for 2 full days to cure before I do any handling of it. This test was however supposed to be extreme.
The test was to simulate abusive soldering with a lot of solder and a lot more heat that I'd actually use to solder superflux.
I used a 25 watt gun, and held it as long as I could before my fingers started to hurt.
Any comments would be appreciated, this was done so that I can find a way to paint the boards so you don't see that ugly green "circuit board" color through the clear lenses of my headlights.
I am worried about reliability of the paint finish over time due to the exposure of soldering.
I did an experiment today. I had a few pieces of copper board that I cut off from another board that was going to be etched. I took 2 equal pieces.
Step 1) Both pieces were washed thoroughly in the tub and scrubbed with ajax and a toothbrush.
Step 2) Both pieces were dried and sprayed with SEM "XXX Adhesion promoter"
Step 3) Both pieces were then painted with 2 different paints, one which is a "high temperature" engine paint, one is off the shelf regular spray paint.
Step 4) I let 6 hours pass to then solder a piece of wire to them with my large soldering torch.
Step 5) I used quite a bit of solder, and connected a piece of large wire (like 16 gauge) to it in 2 places. I did this by setting the painted side of the board down against a note-pad.
As you can see where i pressed against the white board it came off where it got really hot and grabbed itself onto the paper note pad. To prevent this from happening i then held the copper board with my hand and hit the same areas again with the soldering torch where there was already solder.
I soldered it as long as I could and just kept moving the solder around until the board was too hot to hold, and I had to sit it down. I then had to test how the paint was going to react so I wrapped my finger in my t-shirt (to protect myself from the heat) and gently tried to rub the paint off of the white one, and also the green one while they were hot.
The white paint would smear a little if I rubbed it hard, and the green paint really wouldn't
Just to let you know, the little "chip" marks were where I scratched the paint away with my fingertip. Both paints did this pretty much the same, even where it was cool and hadn't been soldered. I think this is because it just wasn't cured fully yet. I will let you know in another 2 days, because I really like to let paint sit for 2 full days to cure before I do any handling of it. This test was however supposed to be extreme.
The test was to simulate abusive soldering with a lot of solder and a lot more heat that I'd actually use to solder superflux.
I used a 25 watt gun, and held it as long as I could before my fingers started to hurt.
Any comments would be appreciated, this was done so that I can find a way to paint the boards so you don't see that ugly green "circuit board" color through the clear lenses of my headlights.
I am worried about reliability of the paint finish over time due to the exposure of soldering.
do it. you could have a new job and unlimited supplies
My suggestions on the heat dissipation & soldering:
Try to solder the backside while the front side is laying on a hard, damp sponge (might be a little difficult to hold the SMT LED's on there, may need to use a dot of adhesive).
As for after soldering, just make sure to brush over the soldered side with a stiff brush & 90% rubbing alcohol to remove as much of the solder flux as possible.
If you do happen to melt some of the paint, you can always mask the LED's & shoot on another coat of paint.
I have something similar in mind for some tail lights, although not nearly elaborate as your board etching & hole drilling
Try to solder the backside while the front side is laying on a hard, damp sponge (might be a little difficult to hold the SMT LED's on there, may need to use a dot of adhesive).
As for after soldering, just make sure to brush over the soldered side with a stiff brush & 90% rubbing alcohol to remove as much of the solder flux as possible.
If you do happen to melt some of the paint, you can always mask the LED's & shoot on another coat of paint.
I have something similar in mind for some tail lights, although not nearly elaborate as your board etching & hole drilling
Try to solder the backside while the front side is laying on a hard, damp sponge (might be a little difficult to hold the SMT LED's on there, may need to use a dot of adhesive).
In that case, you could still try the damp sponge idea & just bend the leads over enough to hold them in place while you solder.
As long as you don't go crazy with the iron, you should be ok.
As long as you don't go crazy with the iron, you should be ok.
I know some of you have been hoping for some more action. Here are some updates:
First PCB (one corner) is complete:
Check out how small these resistors are:
Shooting against the wall...
Some videos...
First PCB (one corner) is complete:
Check out how small these resistors are:
Shooting against the wall...
Some videos...
A few more photos after soldering 210 components over 756 joints. Results are breathtaking. Puts any PNP LED setup to shame.
This is just one Corner lit up in a pitch black room:
Running Lamps "Halo"
This is just one Corner lit up in a pitch black room:
Running Lamps "Halo"
Wow, very nice. Those might even be too bright though. It's good to have lights that people take notice to and can see, but it's another if they will be blinding to other drivers. Just saying...
They don't look like improperly aimed HIDs... If these are blinding to you that means your straight facing my truck at close distance.
