Another DIY led...

dacianb

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Some time ago I started a topic asking people around what and how about a LED DIY...
Also I studied since more in detail and I think is time to show my progress on light.

ScreenShot.jpg


This is the main idea - a complete DIY light system (including mounting bridge) compatible with RedSea Reefer 350 - not yet bought but planned for near future (tax return gift)

As requirements - have to be mounted on the tank itself (I dont like hanging lights), to look nice and be silent. All components and parts will be top quality, no ebay style.

Further step by step details will come.
 
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dacianb

dacianb

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First step was to design a LED board, as none of the off-the-shelf boards were what I needed. Requirements would be to have Luxeon Z style and Osram style footprints on as high density possible to avoid "disco effects" and also high penetration.

Size of it 90x90 mm with 32 LEDs on 4 channels (approx 100W):
Channel 1 - 2 x Luxeon Z
Channel 2 - 12 x Osram
Channel 3 - 12 x Osram
Channel 4 - 6 x Osram

mcpcb.jpg
 

snoopie

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Where did you find these boards? Been going crazy looking for a good board. Either way I am following this topic.
 

snoopie

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Yes I read that just curious on where. Should of been more specific. Thanks.
 
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dacianb

dacianb

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This is how leds are distributed on the board.
LED array.jpg


the board with LEDs on:
MCPCBwith leds.jpg


- channel 1 - 2xLuxeon UV at 420-425nm - max current 1A
- channel 2 - 12 x Oslon Square Deep Blue - powered at 1A, but those leds can handle 1.8A - so high efficiency and increased lifetime
- channel 3 - 12 x Oslon Square White - 4500K with high CRI =85 - powered at 1A, but those leds can handle 1.8A - so high efficiency and increased lifetime. Using high CRI leds makes other colors (red, green, etc) useless
- channel 4 - 4xOslon Signal Blue + 2xOslon Signal Verde (505 nm) - powered at 1A too
 
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dacianb

dacianb

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Yes I read that just curious on where. Should of been more specific. Thanks.

snoopie, this board was designed by me and ordered online to Eurocircuits. This is great for Europe, but for sure in US you can find similar companies. Price wise are not cheap, but as many you order as lower the price go. So basically I have a bunch of boards at home just because was same price as to buy couple of them :)
 
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dacianb

dacianb

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Cooling story - each board is capable of approx 100W at full power, on a small footprint - so cooling have to be efficient - but also be good looking and silent.
So I took 2 heatsinks into tests - one extruded al, but black anodized (corrosion resistance) and also a high density copper heatsink based on vapor chamber technology capable of cooling up to 180°C on a 90x90mm size.
I hoped that the copper heatsink will be enough without fan on it, but temperature rise up to 75-80°C if board at full power. Sure, for LEDs would be no problem such a temperature, but if I accidentally touch it :cry:.

So, two alternatives - either to use the board at 75% of capacity, or to add airflow into design. In this case also the al heatsink would be enough, so I just quit the copper version (a friend of mine specialized in such corrosion stuff warned about copper above salt environment)
20150220_124354.jpg
 
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dacianb

dacianb

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As decided earlier, I will need airflow. So I went for long hours on computer tuning websites/forums searching for best candidate fan.
and I found this guy - 92mm x 14mm, 12dB noise level (lower then a whisper), rated for 150 000 working hours (over-passing the LEDs rated at 100 000) and with 6 years warranty. Should I add as feature the anti-dust sticking special surface?
Also loved the look and feel of it.

Of course, few times more expensive than a regular fan, but you have to see it and hear it (sorry, not to hear it during spinning) to understand that worth all the money.
LD0001160796_2.jpg
 

tabasco122

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Subscribed. This looks interesting. The custom boards are a nice touch. I have a noctua NH-d14 on my CPU and its super quiet and flows aton, good choice.
 

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How did you determine the cooling requirements of the pcb/layout? It looks like you are using a pour, but is it a ground plane or just dedicated to thermal cooling? What's the back of the pcb look like? I'm assuming you are tying the back to the front through vias but I don't see them.

How heavy is the copper layer on the boards?

I've tried making some led pcb designs in the past and started them on fire due to thermal runaway. (Forgot completely about thermal considerations).

I'd really like to have another go at it.
 

beastium

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Nice boards!! Please send a link where u found those wavelengths of oslon chips so we americans can find and build something similar.
 

gtbarsi

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Very cool. I'm still working on and saving up for my DIY led project. I would love to explore the possibility of creating a custom LED board (puck), do you have any specifications or documents you can share for the boards you had made? Additionally any information you can share about the LED installation onto the board would be great to have as well.

The LED array I would like to make would be 6 channels, with the following LEDs

W
1 x Bridgelux Vero 10
Vi
4 x Exotic hyper violet 3 Watt LED
Rb
2 x Philips Luxeon M ROYAL BLUE 12 Watt LED
Cb
2 x Philips Luxeon ES Cool BLUE 3 Watt LED
Cy
2 x Philips Luxeon ES Cyan 3 Watt LED
Li
2 x Philips Luxeon ES Cyan 3 Watt LED

I am sure that if I could create a custom "puck" for these LEDs I could achieve better color blending, not to mention the simplification of wiring.

If I have to stick with the LEDs mounted to stars by various vendors then the array I am looking to create would look something like this:
Mini Evil Cluster idea v2.jpg
 

Jlentz

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Another Question Dacianb, How are you reflowing the chips? Are you able to get away with a simple hot air setup or do you need a hot plate or oven to make sure these get soldered up right?

I was thinking about the puck apprach early on but gave up since the Chinese models are so cheap. I'd still like to try one of these days though.



For those of you in the US, look to Sparkfun and LadyAda for tutorials on PCBs. I've been making boards for about 5 years now, got into SMD work about 3 years ago. Its easy once you get the hang of it. High Power LEDs are tricky though.
 

gtbarsi

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Are these really PCBs or are they al plates with the circuits painted onto one side, like the stars high power emitters are frequently sold on?
 
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dacianb

dacianb

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How did you determine the cooling requirements of the pcb/layout? It looks like you are using a pour, but is it a ground plane or just dedicated to thermal cooling? What's the back of the pcb look like? I'm assuming you are tying the back to the front through vias but I don't see them.

How heavy is the copper layer on the boards?

I've tried making some led pcb designs in the past and started them on fire due to thermal runaway. (Forgot completely about thermal considerations).

I'd really like to have another go at it.

Jlentz, each LED datasheet offers tons of technical details as thermal resistance of pads to chip, size and configuration of pads, junction max temperature at different currents, etc (not sure about "exotic" leds, but I am talking about serious manufacturers). Next step is to know the board material thermal characteristics and go further up to type of cooling elements and in this way you can calculate the thermal resistance of the system.
This board is not regular FR4 board, but MCPCB (acronym of Metal Core Printed Circuit Board) - in fact an aluminium plate with few microns of dielectric material (thin enough to let heat pass, but thick enough to be electrically isolator), above a copper thin layer (see red areas bellow) and on top of it the black mask to cover most of circuit, except the electrical contacts between led and board (green squares in image bellow).
The back of the circuit is just a aluminium plate.

Screen Shot 02-20-15 at 09.55 PM.jpg
- this is how electrical / thermal circuit of the boards looks like. Each led thermal pad is connected to large coppers area, so the heat to be transferred asap to the cooling system
Screen Shot 02-20-15 at 09.56 PM.jpg
 
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dacianb

dacianb

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Nice boards!! Please send a link where u found those wavelengths of oslon chips so we americans can find and build something similar.

First companies coming in my mind are Digikey.com and Mouser.com selling such leds in US. Probably there are others too. I buy a lot from Mouser Europe, but everything is shipped from US.
 
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dacianb

dacianb

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Very cool. I'm still working on and saving up for my DIY led project. I would love to explore the possibility of creating a custom LED board (puck), do you have any specifications or documents you can share for the boards you had made? Additionally any information you can share about the LED installation onto the board would be great to have as well.

The LED array I would like to make would be 6 channels, with the following LEDs

W 1 x Bridgelux Vero 10
Vi4 x Exotic hyper violet 3 Watt LED
Rb2 x Philips Luxeon M ROYAL BLUE 12 Watt LED
Cb2 x Philips Luxeon ES Cool BLUE 3 Watt LED
Cy2 x Philips Luxeon ES Cyan 3 Watt LED
Li2 x Philips Luxeon ES Cyan 3 Watt LED


I am sure that if I could create a custom "puck" for these LEDs I could achieve better color blending, not to mention the simplification of wiring.

If I have to stick with the LEDs mounted to stars by various vendors then the array I am looking to create would look something like this:
Mini Evil Cluster idea v2.jpg

See my reply to Jlentz for how the led board is designed.
In my opinion I would use more less powerful leds than one big. As big a led, as lower efficient become and it is more difficult to cool it.

I used 32 leds with 10mm between chips and color mix is perfect - no disco effect at few cm away from board. But if you put that big guy in the center even on a custom board anyway will need lot of space around it for thermal reasons.
 

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