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TOPIC: Advice on Light for a PVC Hilt
Advice on Light for a PVC Hilt 1 month 2 weeks ago #75328
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Hiya,
I'm looking for some advice. I'm building a pair of sabers based around a pvc pipe for an event. They're just part of the costumes and won't be used for dueling or anything like that. Right now I have day blades to convey the blade color, but I know actually having them light up would be much cooler. I'm considering buying the plug-n-play electronics from SaberForge that I would need for each saber; LED Module, Switch, Stunt Warrior Wiring, and Battery. That way, I can install them in the pvc hilt for the event, then transfer them to a proper empty hilts later when the don't need to light up anymore. I'm curious if this would be a good approach? Also, will I need to worry about heat with them installed in a pvc pipe? Thanks! |
Advice on Light for a PVC Hilt 1 month 2 weeks ago #75344
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I usually stick with single Cree/Rebel LEDs to keep heat down in a PVC hilt.
Back when I was experimenting with Tri-Cree Photo Reds, I popped one in a PVC hilt for testing. After a while the hilt was too hot to comfortably hold. On the flip side, I managed to get a Tri-Cree Red to work decently in my PVC Kylo by using a larger-than-normal heatsink, thick, multi-layered PVC walls on the hilt, and only ever keeping the hilt on for a minute or two at a time. I think the board was also powering the LED at less than full-blast. Long story short, if you're going to use the SF LEDs, I'd say to only turn the hilts on for photos, then immediately turn them off to cool before the next photo stop, and you should be able to get through the event no problem. |
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The following user(s) said Thank You: Kagatoamv
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Advice on Light for a PVC Hilt 1 month 2 weeks ago #75346
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They also make this stuff called "cool tape" that you can line the inside of your pvc tube, I use it to protect the plastic from the exhaust on my motorcycles, specially some of the sport bike where the fairing is really close to the manifold, I've never had the exhaust burn/melt my fairing so the stuff works, and my bikes exhaust gets way way hotter than a led does. Only down side might be it would make your fit a bit tighter.
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The following user(s) said Thank You: Kagatoamv
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Advice on Light for a PVC Hilt 1 month 2 weeks ago #75356
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My concern for temperature wouldn't be strictly limited to the discomfort when holding the blade, but also the sensitivity of the LEDs to the heat of the heat sink. With an aluminum hilt you don't have to worry about it since the heat is dissipated throughout the hilt, but with the PVC the heat will be concentrated on the heat sink and PCB star of the LED module themselves. At a certain point, the temperature might reach the point where it negatively impacts the lifetime of your LEDs or burns out the module completely.
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The following user(s) said Thank You: Kagatoamv
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Advice on Light for a PVC Hilt 1 month 2 weeks ago #75359
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Without getting into specifics on thermal resistance, conductivity and capacitance----
The Heatsink alone is not enough to effectively cool the X4 star at full power. The heat sinks we use can dissipate around 3w of heat - which will work for a single diode If you put an X4 star in the heat sink, it will eventually reach the max temp of 150 degrees C and the LED will fry since the heat sink alone cannot dissipate all the heat being pumped into it. Some quick math shows within about 5-10 seconds with no heat sink (depends on the specific color of the diode) an X4 star will fry. |
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The following user(s) said Thank You: Snakeeyz99, Kagatoamv
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Advice on Light for a PVC Hilt 1 month 2 weeks ago #75365
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Maybe do a pvc to copper adapter for the led side of things, would help vastly with heat dissipation, might give it a neat look too.
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The following user(s) said Thank You: Kagatoamv
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Advice on Light for a PVC Hilt 1 month 2 weeks ago #75373
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This would be a way cheap option but depending the inner diameter of your PVC tube you could get a mini maglite flashlight for about 10 bucks and a little conversion kit to put a rear on/off switch on it for another 10 bucks and then since you are using day blades for color the flashlight would light it up easily. It would avoid the heat problem and it would be very cost effective. Just a simple DIY option.
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The following user(s) said Thank You: Kagatoamv
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Advice on Light for a PVC Hilt 1 month 2 weeks ago #75389
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Thanks for the feedback everyone.
It sounds like heat will be a concern, especially given that I've got the pvc pipe covered with resin cast pieces, insulating it even more. I'm going to give the mini-maglite option a try first, I'll let you all know how it goes. I'll also post pictures of the hilts after the event, so you can see what I'm talking about. |