dacdaddy Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Expensive as #### considering it doesn't come with the heatsinks. Hmm, I didn't even consider it was the housing only with no heatsink. That sounds crazy Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted May 11, 2013 Author Share Posted May 11, 2013 Today I soldered the sockets and jumpers to the LDD boards. Damn, was a lot of work lol. I knew I shoulda just gone with the wired LDD Link to comment
dacdaddy Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 Isn't that what you're waiting for, the 1000hw? Link to comment
MeepNand Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 Wiring those LDD-H drivers are a pain. Getting the PWM socket without a board is especially painful. Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted May 11, 2013 Author Share Posted May 11, 2013 Isn't that what you're waiting for, the 1000hw? No, they're all LDD-1000/700H. I originally ordered the HW, but decided on the H and PCB. Just waiting on wire terminals now. Wiring those LDD-H drivers are a pain. Getting the PWM socket without a board is especially painful. Well, they weren't made to be run without a PCB. Link to comment
MeepNand Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 No, they're all LDD-1000/700H. I originally ordered the HW, but decided on the H and PCB. Just waiting on wire terminals now. Well, they weren't made to be run without a PCB. Might be a little late for that. Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted May 11, 2013 Author Share Posted May 11, 2013 Might be a little late for that. Then don't touch them, the pins you have one good, maybe two bends before wanna break off. Link to comment
MeepNand Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 I know. Haven't touched them since they were put in. Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted May 11, 2013 Author Share Posted May 11, 2013 So I bought a 1lb spool of 63/37 solder. I used almost all I had just by soldering those PCB, so I figured since this wont be the last array I make, I'll go ahead and get a ridiculous amount lol Link to comment
MeepNand Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 I finished my last project with about 2 inches of solder left. Then my dad brought home a 200ft roll. Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted May 11, 2013 Author Share Posted May 11, 2013 So I was going to drill and tap the holes to mount the big Bridgelux chips and the M, but I'm just gonna use thermal adhesive on them. Plenty enough to hold them and good thermal transfer. Silicone will be used to hold the optics on. Link to comment
MeepNand Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 So what are the advantages of using thermal grease over thermal adhesive? Link to comment
bpaston Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 Jedimasterben / Evil / Blasterman thank you all for the knowledge you share with all of us DIY'ers. Figured Id post up some pics of my evil cluster powered up, there crappy iPhone pics but nonetheless... Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted May 11, 2013 Author Share Posted May 11, 2013 So what are the advantages of using thermal grease over thermal adhesive? They are for different applications. Adhesive is, we'll, an adhesive for when you are not physically holding down what you need cooled. Jedimasterben / Evil / Blasterman thank you all for the knowledge you share with all of us DIY'ers. Figured Id post up some pics of my evil cluster powered up, there crappy iPhone pics but nonetheless... http://www.nano-reef.com/index.php?app=core&module=attach§ion=attach&attach_rel_module=post&attach_id=123765'>photo-6.JPGhttp://www.nano-reef.com/index.php?app=core&module=attach§ion=attach&attach_rel_module=post&attach_id=123766'>photo-7.JPG Looks awesome!! Link to comment
Tripwyr Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 They are for different applications. Adhesive is, we'll, an adhesive for when you are not physically holding down what you need cooled. IIRC, thermal adhesive's thermal transfer is slightly inferior to thermal grease. It is unlikely that it will make a difference for this application, but it is useful to note. Link to comment
blasterman Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 Thermal grease works better because the material is in a semi-liquid state. Thermal glue, aka thermal epoxy and the like are rip-offs. I used to make my own with powered aluminum that was 50% metal by weight (as opposed to commercial brands which are less than 10%). I then did a lot of testing and found standard epoxy works just as well because the important factor is how close the star is to the heatsink. With epoxy you can warm it up until it's like warm syrup, and them by pushing the star around you can get a very tight metal to metal fit. From a physics standpoint the distance between the metal of the base of the star and the heatsink is far more important than randomly floating molecules of metal. Thermal tape is obviously a different beast than epoxy. Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted May 12, 2013 Author Share Posted May 12, 2013 Thermal grease works better because the material is in a semi-liquid state. Thermal glue, aka thermal epoxy and the like are rip-offs. I used to make my own with powered aluminum that was 50% metal by weight (as opposed to commercial brands which are less than 10%). I then did a lot of testing and found standard epoxy works just as well because the important factor is how close the star is to the heatsink. With epoxy you can warm it up until it's like warm syrup, and them by pushing the star around you can get a very tight metal to metal fit. From a physics standpoint the distance between the metal of the base of the star and the heatsink is far more important than randomly floating molecules of metal. Thermal tape is obviously a different beast than epoxy. The stuff I have is from Steve's, says it is made by a company called Momentive. I've used it on several builds now. It is a rather thin consistency, basically like thermal pastes, and I squish the shit out of it by pressing down on the LED star with either a pair of pliers or a socket wrench for several seconds, twisting it, and it usually comes barreling out from under the star lol. Do you think that'll be ok? Drilling and tapping will just be a big hassle. Link to comment
Tripwyr Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 The stuff I have is from Steve's, says it is made by a company called Momentive. I've used it on several builds now. It is a rather thin consistency, basically like thermal pastes, and I squish the shit out of it by pressing down on the LED star with either a pair of pliers or a socket wrench for several seconds, twisting it, and it usually comes barreling out from under the star lol. Do you think that'll be ok? Drilling and tapping will just be a big hassle. I plan to drill and tap mine specifically because I'm worried about the thermal capabilities of my heatsink. As long as your heatsink is solid, I doubt it will be an issue. Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted May 12, 2013 Author Share Posted May 12, 2013 My heatsinks are good. Not the best, but with airflow they will be more than enough. Link to comment
dacdaddy Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 Jedimasterben / Evil / Blasterman thank you all for the knowledge you share with all of us DIY'ers. Figured Id post up some pics of my evil cluster powered up, there crappy iPhone pics but nonetheless... http://www.nano-reef.com/index.php?app=core&module=attach§ion=attach&attach_rel_module=post&attach_id=123765'>photo-6.JPGhttp://www.nano-reef.com/index.php?app=core&module=attach§ion=attach&attach_rel_module=post&attach_id=123766'>photo-7.JPG You put it over the tank yet? How's it look? Link to comment
Confuse Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 Hi Ben! I gotta say, you and evil inspired me to build an evil cluster! I'll be building one to put over my Nuvo 16 to get the spectrum I never got from the Cree's. Yeah, it's completely overkill, but it will be a nice little experiment to conduct! You've set the groundwork pretty well, so it will make the build way easier. Link to comment
bpaston Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 You put it over the tank yet? How's it look? I dont even have my tank set up yet. After a 3 month long battle with John over at Advanced Acrylics I finally picked it up, would definitly recommend not dealing with this guy. But I am going to try and set this one up over my sump and see what it looks like, ill attach some pics when I can get it setup. Link to comment
blasterman Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 Ben', as long as you push the star around until you can feel metal on metal you're good. It's just easier if the glue/epoxy is really, really thin, which you can do by heating it up before hand in warm water. Basic law of squares. For everytime you reduce the distance between the heatsink and star base by one half thermal conductivity goes up 4x. Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted May 12, 2013 Author Share Posted May 12, 2013 Ben', as long as you push the star around until you can feel metal on metal you're good. It's just easier if the glue/epoxy is really, really thin, which you can do by heating it up before hand in warm water. Basic law of squares. For everytime you reduce the distance between the heatsink and star base by one half thermal conductivity goes up 4x. Gotcha. Thanks! Link to comment
dacdaddy Posted May 12, 2013 Share Posted May 12, 2013 What's your opinion of the t-slot heat sinks since you aren't interested in drill/tap? Link to comment
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