The Tri-Lux is here.

**acerocket** · 05-31-2007, 08:09 AM

I heard back from the people about the Rebel PCB. Yes, you can get them without the Rebel attached, but you have to buy a rather large quantity to get them. Once I get the sample Rebels on PCB, I will post some pics and info about them for those who might be interested.

**Hasid Lafre** · 05-31-2007, 08:13 AM

Iam cureious as to if you make the mount/heatsink out of maybe a better heat dissapating metal you might be abel to take some length off.

or is alumy better at conducting heat?

**DACOTA** · 05-31-2007, 08:23 AM

Originally Posted by acerocket

Originally Posted by DACOTA

So I want to know whats the point of the tri-lux? I mean do they have leds that are just as bright as the tri would be with 3 of the same color.I dont know I'm just curious.

The tri-lux idea was originally conceived as an RGB unit (red green blue) to allow for a near endless choice of color. By decreasing/increasing the amperage to each seperate LED through a potentiometer (it's not that simple but just for explanation's sake) you can create almost any color you like. For example, if I had three on/off switches on the side of my saber, I could have red, green, blue, yellow, cyan, purple, or white by just turning the different switches on or off. No LED changing, just turning on and off the LEDs in the tri-lux. I could change the color of my saber in less than a second. The RGB is not an all out brightness unit, rather it is a way to create a variety of colors from a single LED setup. They do make an RGB LED, but it is rated at 3x1 watt for a total of 3 watts of total power output (and only about 80 lumens). The tri-lux runs on three seperate 3 watt LEDs (or K2 or Maybe even the Rebel) for a total of 3x3 watts (about 240 lumens total output). For a single color, I think a green Lux V is the brightest at 160 lumens. But a tri-lux with 3 green Lux III would have 240 lumens. You will pay for this output though in the heat generated by three LEDs and the shortened battery life. But there are some people who care about brightness and not so much runtime. If the 145 lumen rebel becomes available, you could conceivably have nearly 600 lumens of light from a single unit. That's far more than any single LED can produce right now. And, depending on how you run the tri-lux, you could even get 600 lumens from a simple 3.7V power pack (assuming direct drive each LED seperately from 3 seperate cells). Plus, the whole unit is only 1.25" diameter and 2" long. Easily small enough to fit inside of most hilts.

I knew there was a reason for it,I thought it was just that all the leds come on at once but what you said makes sence.

**acerocket** · 05-31-2007, 08:52 AM

Originally Posted by Hasid Lafre

Iam cureious as to if you make the mount/heatsink out of maybe a better heat dissapating metal you might be abel to take some length off.

or is alumy better at conducting heat?

Copper would be better, but the price of the raw material and the extra time needed to machine it would be a killer. You see a lot of copper heatsinks in high end computers. The trick to making a good heatsink is to have a ton of surface area. It's not how much heat a heatsink can absorb, but how much it can give off to the surrounding air. I have given thought to adding a few more fins to the tri-lux by making the existing fins thinner, but then you run the risk of breaking off a fin if you are not careful. With a copper heatsink, I could make the fins thinner because they would tend to bend a bit before breaking (but they could still break off if you were not careful). Another thought I am entertaining is anodizing the heatsink. It is a know fact that an anodized aluminum heatsink will perfom a little better than an unanodized one. I have a home anodizing setup, but I have it all packed up for my upcoming move so I can't experiment with it just yet. In asking about shortening the heatsink, I don't know if you would want to. The heatsink itself is only 1" long right now. I don't have one of Tim's in front of me but it's a little shorter (maybe 3/4"). The other 1" of the tri-lux is the optics (about 9/16"), the 1/16" polycsarbonate 'protection' disc, and the top ring (about 3/8" tall, but the blade goes into it 1/8"). compared to a standard TCSS setup, it's not much longer by the time you take a TCSS heatsink and add a star LED and optic.

**Hasid Lafre** · 05-31-2007, 09:04 AM

Humm I thought it was about 2" from reading a previous topic.

I see. I did not know that anodizing helps keep things cool.

What is anodizing exactly?

**acerocket** · 05-31-2007, 09:26 AM

The heatsink portion of the tri-lux is only 1" long. The entire unit is 2" long (the entire unit consisting of the heatsink, optic holder section, polycarbonate disc, and top ring which bolt together).

Anodizing is a process whereby an aluminum oxide coating is 'grown' on the surface of the aluminum part. In essence, you are rusting the aluminum part. But unlike steel, once this coating is 'grown', the aluminum will not oxidize any further unless the coating is scratched or removed. Under magnification, this coating looks like a honeycomb sturcture and this honeycomb can be died various colors. I believe Tim has some anodized holders on his site. Not sure why anodized aluminum is a better heatsink, but my theory is that the honeycomb increases the surface area of the part. Yes, it is only a microscopically thin layer, but the honeycomb structure will really cause an increase in surface area.

I am working at getting some info about the tri-lux up on my website (with some pictures, videos and information about the unit). Perhaps once I get it up, things will make more sense.

**Hasid Lafre** · 05-31-2007, 09:55 AM

Intresting, intresting indeed.

**acerocket** · 06-11-2007, 09:26 PM

Man, are these things small. By the way, that is five rebels. I am beginning to think soldering the rebels to the circuit might be a bit tricky. Anyways, I just got these this evening so I will post a review after I power one up later this week.