plantarms Posted December 15, 2009 Author Share Posted December 15, 2009 i think i'm going to use the heatsink lapping process that a lot of people use on heatsinks for computer processors. Link to comment
plantarms Posted December 18, 2009 Author Share Posted December 18, 2009 currently working on lapping the crap out of my heatsink, i will post some pictures when i'm done Link to comment
plantarms Posted December 18, 2009 Author Share Posted December 18, 2009 started with 220 grit wet/dry sandpaper and worked for a couple hours trying to get this even, definitely should have started with a rougher grit but i did not have it on hand, here are some pics of the progression. i have 400, 600, 800, 1000, and 1500 grit left to do Link to comment
HeyLookItsCaps Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 dear LORD the bling hurts my eyes! i just finished mine, and noticed my unit got HOT. so i added an intake and an exhaust fan, but theyre loud as hell. im gonna try and find the quietest ones i can. Link to comment
plantarms Posted December 18, 2009 Author Share Posted December 18, 2009 dear LORD the bling hurts my eyes! i just finished mine, and noticed my unit got HOT. so i added an intake and an exhaust fan, but theyre loud as hell. im gonna try and find the quietest ones i can. haha i've still got a couple hours of work and about 5 more grades of sandpaper left on that bad boy. i'm still trying to figure out my heatsink mount, my fixture is different from the current satellite, it was a current nova extreme pro 18'' that i used a hacksaw and cut down to 10'' to fit my pico Link to comment
plantarms Posted December 19, 2009 Author Share Posted December 19, 2009 worked for a few more hours on lapping the heatsink today, here is pretty much the end result, i'm going to run it through the 1500 grit once more to get a couple spots i am putting in a moonlight on this fixture as well and using a 4.6v (measures at 4.56v) cell phone charger as a power supply and one blue or white 5mm led in a mount. the white 5mm led's i ordered from LEDSupply were way too bright to use as a moonlight, it looked more like a spotlight, so for now i am going with the blue and possibly switch it out later. i am using a 68ohm 1/8w resister for this. here is the layout W - B - W - B B - W - B - W Link to comment
plantarms Posted December 19, 2009 Author Share Posted December 19, 2009 any advice before i start drilling and tapping? Link to comment
evilc66 Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 Take is slow and use lube (that sounded dirty ) Link to comment
plantarms Posted December 19, 2009 Author Share Posted December 19, 2009 haha yeah it did. can i use wd-40? as far as tapping goes i've heard 1/2 turn in 1/4 turn out, is that right? i would really rather not break anything off in this heatsink seeing as i've spent about four hours lapping it Link to comment
evilc66 Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 You got it. WD-40 works, but I like PB Blaster a little better. Link to comment
Walking_Target Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 i've always used transmission fluid or 3in1 for tapping. It helps if you use a centering punch before you drill too. Link to comment
jma1978 Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 That beautiful shine will probably start to oxidize in a couple days. It just makes it look not as shiny; not sure if it affects the heat transfer, but you might want to buff it again with the 1500 right before mounting your LEDs. Link to comment
plantarms Posted December 19, 2009 Author Share Posted December 19, 2009 i've always used transmission fluid or 3in1 for tapping. It helps if you use a centering punch before you drill too. will they have that at home depot? Link to comment
plantarms Posted December 19, 2009 Author Share Posted December 19, 2009 That beautiful shine will probably start to oxidize in a couple days. It just makes it look not as shiny; not sure if it affects the heat transfer, but you might want to buff it again with the 1500 right before mounting your LEDs. will the oxidation have any effect on the thermal transfer? how badly will it oxidize? Link to comment
evilc66 Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 It's not going to oxidize that quick or that much for you to even worry about it. Link to comment
plantarms Posted December 19, 2009 Author Share Posted December 19, 2009 how necessary is a centering punch? i will be using a regular power drill, but i am also only drilling 16 holes Link to comment
evilc66 Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 It helps a lot to stop the drill bit wandering when you try and start the hole. Link to comment
plantarms Posted December 20, 2009 Author Share Posted December 20, 2009 It helps a lot to stop the drill bit wandering when you try and start the hole. alright i listened to you guys and just picked one up from home depot (great store, it has everything) Link to comment
plantarms Posted December 20, 2009 Author Share Posted December 20, 2009 evil, caps, or anyone that has drilled a current fixture: i've got 3 holes to drill in the current aluminum fixture to mount dc power jacks, and a moonlight. seeing as i only have one shot here is there anything i should know about drilling this? the holes are 7/16'', and 21/64'' i have the titanium bits, i'm just wondering if the aluminum fixture will chip/bend/make a jagged hole. any input? Link to comment
cptbjorn Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 For holes in aluminum sheet that I don't want to mess up I always center punch, clamp a scrap wood block behind the hole, drill a pilot hole anywhere in the 1/16-1/8 range, then hit the drill bit and work with a quick spray of wd-40 before drilling through with the correct size bit. I've done it on multiple current fixtures with good results, just make sure the bits are sharp. Link to comment
gregzbobo Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 evil, caps, or anyone that has drilled a current fixture: i've got 3 holes to drill in the current aluminum fixture to mount dc power jacks, and a moonlight. seeing as i only have one shot here is there anything i should know about drilling this? the holes are 7/16'', and 21/64'' i have the titanium bits, i'm just wondering if the aluminum fixture will chip/bend/make a jagged hole. any input? Drill a small pilot hole first to guide the actual sized bit you will need for the cords. Doesn't need to be big at all, 1/8"-ish would be good. Not sure if it'd be practical, but backing up the hole with a piece of wood as you drill would help immensely, although it may not be doable at all here. Durn, beat me to it cpt. Link to comment
plantarms Posted December 20, 2009 Author Share Posted December 20, 2009 thanks for the info guys, perfect i just got an automatic center punch today! i'm glad i can use it for something else. so you're saying i should use the center press, then pre-drill the hole with a small bit like 1/8'' then use the actual size bit for the hole i need? yeah it's in a place where i can clamp some wood, and i'll do that. here are some pics of my progress today lapped the other heatsink just with 220 grit punched the holes placed the led's Link to comment
gregzbobo Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 Dang that heatsink looks good, gonna look better pointing at water with lights bolted to it making your corals happy. Link to comment
plantarms Posted December 20, 2009 Author Share Posted December 20, 2009 Dang that heatsink looks good, gonna look better pointing at water with lights bolted to it making your corals happy. thanks man, i can't wait to see this thing set up on my tank! Link to comment
plantarms Posted December 21, 2009 Author Share Posted December 21, 2009 so the heatsink drilling and tapping did not turn out so well.. i broke off one of the taps in the hole (luckily i got it out) however I also broke a screw off completely flat. however i did learn a lot after getting fairly frustrated. the good news is i do have a second tapping bit, the drill bit is still alive, and i have a second identical heatsink. of course it doesn't have the four hours of lapping that i put into this one. first of all though, is there any way to save this current heatsink? drilled the hole for the moonlight today, does anyone know what size/intensity/degree moonlight current usa uses? Link to comment
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