DIY LED light project

[lynxvs]

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/200771light_small.jpg

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/200771Light_Tank3_small.jpg

Does anyone have an interest in building an LED light? I realize this is beyond alot of peoples budget and capabilites but it was sure fun to build! It took me about three months and a lot of work to build this 24" light. I spent about $800.00 on parts (which suprised the heck out of me, those parts sure add up) not including all the tools I already own. The good news in cost would be if you build a longer unit (48", 72") requires little additional parts.. I figure I could build a "72 unit for about $1800.00 in parts cost (does not include getting the boards assembled) ... still sounds expensive but I don't think you can get the costs down much more... the LEDs are around $2 to $3 now. I have make several posts and have a web site with some plans(photiczoneled.com (http://www.photiczoneled.com) but have had little interest in this so far.... has Solaris totally turned people off to LED lighting? I have seen many posts of people say they are trying to build one but haven't seen any complete.. does anyone have a completed LED light to show off?

[sploke]

Which LEDs did you use?

[lynxvs]

The luxeon Rebel... Cool white and Royal blue.

[91yota]

would be nice to see larger pictures...

for what you spent, you could have bought 2 of these and had $$$ left over:

http://www.aquariumled.com/

[lynxvs]

It looks like I would need two to cover a 29 Gal. tank anyway... It doesn't look like they use any kind of lens on the LEDs and the specs say 120 Degree viewing angle.. about par for a bare LED, hard to believe most of the light is going in the tank and not on the walls... also can PAR readings be less in air then water as their specs suggest? It also has no blue LEDs and you would have to add them if you want a pleasing tank appearance. You also would not have the capability of turning on the white and blue LEDs independently as well as dimming them 0-100%. You would not have A light that features four light periods: sunrise, day light, sunset and lunar light periods and that would gradually increase or reduce in light intensity to simulate sunrise and sunset modes. You would not have a light that would automatically come on and off, but that could also be set to "Manual Mode" at any time allowing the lights to be turned off or on and dimmed. Do you see what I'm getting at? Besides the fact this is a DIY project and what fun would it be just to buy one? I will try to post larger pics but there is a restriction on file size... easier to go to my web page....

[Fishboy93]

How hot does the heatsink get? Seems a bit lacking in terms of surface area vs # of leds. I'm building an array for my 5.5G out of 10 cree p4 and 8 royal blue luxeon III's.

[91yota]

not sure if you're asking me or the OP... just in case, the one i linked to, you can grab the heat sink with your bare hand all day long and it will not burn you... it is warm to the touch but not hot by any means

[Reefaddict79]

thats awesome, I have really been wanting to build a LED fixture. After shinning a 5w led flash light in my tank and seeing what just one led can do really made me want to see what 20 or 30 could do

[lynxvs]

I'm using .125" aluminum plate as a heat sink... about 24" x 7" = 168 square inches. If you count both sides as surface area it's 336 square inches. It gets hot but you can keep your hand on it. I originally used an aluminum extrusion and it ran very cool but it was heavy. I did the calculations but they are at work right now. I have been using it for the past three months and haven't had a problem. I also have two cooling fans to help. My first design used Luxeon III and I used just a thin steel plate and as expected it ran very hot and if the fan stopped working I had LED failures.... I had many problems with the Luxeon IIIs... not one failure with the Rebels they seem very robust, I am driving the LEDs at 700 mA slightly below the max rating... It looks like everyone is choosing the P4s I have never used them.... seems like they would run very hot. Any way if it becomes a problem it's easy to mount a heat sink on the flat plate or replace the plate with an extrusion. It probably be a good thing to purchase a thermocouple and just measure it... do we have any mechanical engineers out there to give us a lesson on proper heat sinks?

[sivert55]

lynxvs, did you build the control electronics yourself? Or do you source those boards from somewhere else?

[lynxvs]

I designed all the control electronics just a microcontroller....I sent my design to a board house to fabricate the boards and I assembled them myself.... though the next LED boards I plan on getting assembled the LEDs are a real bear to reflow.....

[lynxvs]

Getting back to the heat sink issue:

Here’s how I justify the heat sink size:

Max Junction Temp = 150° C
Power of Single LED = 3.4 Forward Voltage X 700 mA = 2.38 W
Ambient Temp = 70° C ( A SWAG)
Thermal Resistance between Junction – Case (From Data Sheet) = 10° C/W
Thermal Resistance between Junction and PCB (From Rebel application note) = 7° C/W
Total Thermal Resistance = 10 + 7 = 17° C/W
Total Thermal Resistance between Junction and ambient air = (150 – 70)/ 2.38 = 33.61 ° C/W
Thermal resistance between Case and Ambient air = 33.61 – 17 = 16.61 ° C/W

The amount of heat dissipation that can be achieved with a flat plate of aluminum is indicated below.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/200771thermal.gif

Using a 3mm plate looks about 20 cm^2 per LED converting to inches is equal to 3.1 in^2 * 50 LEDs = 155 in^2 The plate I am using is 24 X 7.25 = 174 in^2 not sure if you can count both sides of plate as surface area… I also have two cooling fans to help…
If anyone sees a problem with this let me know…as I am not a mechanical engineer….

[lynxvs]

Here are some bigger pics!

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/200771light2.jpg

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/200771Light_Tank3.jpg

[stugray]

lynxvs,

Can you provide more detail about the electronics?
What micro did you use, and what are the 8 pin DIPs on the second circuit board?

I have a rabbit micro with built in PWM that I use to dim LEDs & control fan speeds that is ethernet capable. I eventually want to make a Enet power control center with the LED dimming & fan speed control built in.

I use the 3Watt CREE XRE White for my moon lights. There is also a new 10W CREE LED ( yes... 10 Watts ). I havent received my sample yet, but I am guessing it will require a massive heatsink.

Stu

[RedTC]

Looks good. From what I have read and experimented with the blue LEDs seem to make a big difference. I looked at the web site, are you planning on making a kit?

[lynxvs]

That was my original plan.... I haven't gotten as much feedback as I thought..... It requires lots of work to get everything together not to mention an investment in parts.... I would like to make back some of the money I invested so far... maybe I can post all my plans and just sell the programmed microcontroller for a fair price what does everyone think about that? Or I can sell the unpopulated or populated boards (most of the cost of the unit) the more boards you make the cheaper they get....

[RedTC]

Maybe this is just me but if I was buying an $800 fixture for my 24" tank there would have to be some sort of payoff. The energy/heat savings is a big plus as well as the longevity but I would want some hard facts/tests/results to know that if I purchase this fixture or these 'populated boards' that everything would grow as well if not better than under the lights I currently have for less than a quarter of the cost. I think selling the pieces so to speak(boards/controller) if you can get the prices right may be huge. Prices on LEDs are falling every day, it is just a question of when 'the price is right' and people will start switching. I think what you have is a great start and after looking inside a Solaris fixture compared to yours I would pick yours any day of the week.

[lynxvs]

Thank you for the comments... If you look at the prices of the two brands that I know of ,Solaris and Aquaillumination, they are charging $1400 to $1500 for a 24" fixture. Like I said I think the advantage in this system is in the larger units... it uses all the same parts but you just add the extra LED mount boards and driver. I totally agree with testing the unit.. I'm an engineer and It's been killing me that I don't have solid test results.... I just didn't want to invest more money into test equipment.... I made several posts asking if someone was willing to test the unit and publish the results here.... no one volunteered... What test results would convince people that this works? It seems Riddle labs has tested both Solaris and Aquillumination units with favorable results but there is still a lot of skepticism...

[BeanAnimal]

I think most people are shying away from the thread because it appears that you are attempting to sell a product, not provide DIY project.

That said, it is not uncommon for people to get together and do a group buy for boards and collaborate on the construction of a project like this. They key is that the plans and source code need to be made freely available to everyone :)

[stugray]

lynxvs,

"Can you provide more detail about the electronics?"

Stu

[lynxvs]

Stu
I use a Cypress PSOC microcontroller.... The other ICs are the LED drivers.... I'm still working on schematics was there anything specific about the electronic controls that you want to know about?

[lynxvs]

Stu
I use a Cypress PSOC microcontroller.... The other ICs are the LED drivers.... I'm still working on schematics was there anything specific about the electronic controls that you want to know about?

[lynxvs]

Sorry somehow I hit the send button twice...

[lynxvs]

BeanAnimal
It was not my intent to sell the design for profit, just recoup some of the development costs. I think this is a unique DIY project that requires a small investment on every ones part, at least everyone who is interested. I realize I am posting the project and I don’t expect anything from anyone. I had a blast designing and building this the last four months and still will be happy if no one was interested or built my design.
If anyone wants to attempt this project it would have to be some kind of a collaboration like you said. How does one set up this? Do you have any examples of this? My intent was to make the source code “Open source” so everyone can improve it. I don’t have a problem making my plans and code available but I would like some kind of configuration control over it, like posting all the plans and software on a single website or something like that just so people have a common source for information.

Tom

[lynxvs]

Anyone??

[BeanAnimal]

Posting the source code, a parts list and schematics would go a long way to rousing the interest of the electronics types. The skill level of the project is above that of many folks. The required tools, parts bin and overall project cost are a barrier even to those who think they may have the ability to pull it off.

The folks that do have the skillset and parts bin most likely have the ability to conjure up their own hardware and software for such a project and are thus only interested in the work of others in a peer review type of manner.

So, in the end you are left with a small handful of folks that are really interested in the details and willing to fork over the cash and time to build such a project. They are unlikely to do so without VERY detailed plans, parts lists and step by step instructions.

That kinda leaves you with the 3 options.

1) post minimal information for the sake of recognition (you tried that and there is little interest).

2) Sharing the full plans and parts list, along with schematics and source code and step by step instructions or a complete build log.

3) Keeping the details private and trying to sell the work as kit, plans or whatever.

Option 2 is likely to be even more time consuming and will reap you no benefit other than feeling good...


Option 3 is fine, except RC does not allow you to promote such ventures... leading you back to the other option of posting the full parts list, schematics and source code without monetary compensation.

Be careful attempting to skirt around option 3, as many a person has "moved on" permanently for trying to promote a basement business, even if it is NOT profitable :)


FWIW it appears that you did a nice job on the project. I have a cypress dev kit laying around here somwhere but never played with it. I prefer the atmega series of uC and the BASCOM-AVR IDE for software development.

[lynxvs]

Point taken...

[BeanAnimal]

Don't be discouraged by the lack of interest. A project like this is a large undertaking and cetainly deserves attention if it works as planned.

There have been a few other people who have posted similar pojects, most looking to drum up business in one form or another and therefore you are one or two projects late for the "ohh wow! A DIY SOLARIS" reaction. Those of us who DO work DIY electronics DO understand the time, effort and money that goes into such a project.

My current project is a dosing controller with an LCD display and rotary encoder. It will be ethernet configurable, etc. I already have over $200 in it and have yet to move it off the breadboard! The touchscreen lighting controller is also still on the breadboard and is likely going to end up costing a small fortune when I add up all the extras. Don't even ask how many hours or evolutions the source code has gone through!

[lynxvs]

I feal your pain!
I'm posting the parts list, qty and price so people can get an idea of the cost and complexity.... This does not include dev kits, software and tools.. I also include an estimated cost of a larger unit. The cost of the boards are based on a buy of 100 units.


Part # QTY Price Total

1 Blue LED LXML-PR01-0175 26 1.61 41.86
2 White LED LXML-PWC1-0070 24 2.27 54.48
3 LED Driver 497-5961-1-ND 10 3.78 37.8
4 Regulator LM341T-5.0-ND 1 1.09 1.09
5 Regulator LM317AT-ND 10 1.86 18.6
6 MCU 428-1596-ND 1 5.9 5.9
7 LED Lens FLP-W4-RE-HRF 50 1.5 75
8 Resistor 100 Ohm P100FCT-ND 10 0.036 0.36
9 Resistor .13 Ohm RHM.13QDKR-ND 10 0.098 0.98
10 Cap .47 uF 399-3498-1-ND 11 0.46 5.06
11 Cap .1 uF 399-1248-1-ND 11 0.072 0.792
12 Diode 497-5559-1-ND 10 0.21 2.1
13 Power Supply 17429 PS 1 24.95 24.95
14 Heat Sink .125 x 7.5 x 24" 1 22 22
15 Plywood 4' x 2' 1 4 4
16 Hookup Wire 0
17 AC Plug AE9889-ND 1 8.51 8.51
18 Filter Screen CR233-ND 2 3.01 6.02
19 Finger Guard CR180-ND 2 0.93 1.86
20 Fan (s) CR397-ND 2 7.02 14.04
21 PCB Fabrication Controller 1 6.32 6.32
22 PCB Fabrication LED Driver 1 6.69 6.69
23 PCB Fabrication LED mount 2 7 14
24 LCD 67-1771-ND 1 15.5 15.5
25 Switches, Push 107-MS199-RED 4 2.9 11.6
26 20 Pin Header WM17456-ND 3 1.96 5.88
27 20 Pin Housing WM2527-ND 3 3.1 9.3
28 Contacts WM2562CT-ND 60 0.0326 1.956
29 Molex Header WM4117-ND 2 0.88 1.76
30 Molex Header WM4116-ND 1 0.77 0.77
31 Molex Header WM4111-ND 1 0.34 0.34
32 Molex Header WM4112-ND 3 0.51 1.53
33 IC Socket 28 Pin ED90054-ND 1 1.79 1.79
34 PS Enclosure 377-1017-ND 1 21.2 21.2
35 PS lid 377-1052-ND 1 6.9 6.9
36 Switch Reset B3F-1022 1 0.18 0.18
37 Relay HE207-ND 1 1.56 1.56
38 14-Pin Header 929834E-02-36-ND 1 1.8 1.8
39 Resistor Variable 3386H-203-ND 1 3.58 3.58
40 Watch Crystal FSMLF327 1 0.67 0.67
41 Cap 22 pF 399-1197-1-ND 2 0.171 0.342
42 Molex Housing WM2017-ND 2 0.51 1.02
43 Molex Housing WM2016-ND 1 0.45 0.45
44 Molex Housing WM2012-ND 3 0.19 0.57
45 Molex Housing WM2011-ND 1 0.13 0.13
46 Crimp Terminals WM1114-ND 108 0.095 10.26
47 DC Power Cord CP-2200-ND 1 2.1 2.1
48 Power Jack CP-038BH-ND 1 0.52 0.52
49 Ribbon Cable M3AAA-1406J-ND 1 2.29 2.29
50 Cable Clamp NG-9511 2 1.74 3.48
51 Splash Guard 1 10 10
52 Resistor Variable 3266W-502LF-ND 10 3.25 32.5
53 Resistor P240FCT-ND 10 0.013 0.13

417
Total 502.52


Unit
24" 36" 48" 60" 72"
LED Mount PCBs 196.764 295.146 393.528 491.91 590.292
Controller Board 32.614 32.614 32.614 32.614 32.614
LED Driver Board 118.172 236.344 236.344 354.51 354.516
Power Supply 67.14 67.14 134.28 134.28 134.28
Case 65.83 65.83 65.83 65.83 65.83
Heat Sink 22 33 44 55 66

Total 502.52 730.074 906.596 1134.1 1243.532

[ozeri]

can you please refer to your component supplier.
all suppliers prices are much more expansive then the prices you quoted.

thanks.

[theatrus]

Looking at the part numbers, it looks like Digikey to me.

[aninjaatemyshoe]

How much do you think this setup would cost if you didn't incorporate a micro-controller? In other words, how much would you save if you were to have it just simply turn the lights on and off via a switch?

[ozeri]

it is digi key for all other parts but for the leds which are the heart of the sysem it's not...
i could only find LXML-PWC1-0070 on http://www.luxeonstar.com
and the price is not 2.27$ but 4.09$ (if you take it bare without the star connector)
when you take 100 leds it's a big different...

[lynxvs]

Most of the parts are from Digikey... The prices I listed are the prices I paid at the time. The microcontroller adds little to the cost of the unit but adds a lot of functionality. If you look at the bottom of my last response I listed the prices of the complete components of the system. As you can see the controller board is about $33.00 plus the cost of the switches and LCD. You would still need some kind of LED driver along with a switch. You can buy LED drivers, I used a buck puck when I built my first prototype but found them too expensive because I need 9 of them. I ended up building my own. The availability of the Rebel LED I used is spotty right now.... seems they have large backorders and the price really fluctuates. I expect the price to stay in the $2 to $3 range.

[Psychographic]

I might have missed this in the thread, but what is the power consumption of your 24" unit?

[lynxvs]

Last time I measured the DC current it was pulling about 6 Amps at 24 Volts so P = IV = 24 * 6 = 144 Watts

[drewread]

Hello lynxvs,

I first saw your lighting rig within the 84 page DIY post that Soundwave started, I am extremely interested in seeing a schematic for your controller and modular drivers, would it be possible for you to share that with us all? I am planning on building a setup for my tank in the very near future and I hope to use your controler design on it. I really believe that the LEDs need to be controlable for them to be used to their full potential over a reef.

Thanks!