Custom eb strip led build write up (files available)

[Unclebilly]

Hey guys, so I’ve learnt everything I know from RIU so looking to give something back. maybe I can’t give any grow advice just yet but I’m a better fabricator than gardener I guess.

I’m in the process of building my own led fixture for flowering my 2.5’x4’ area.

I designed it using a mean well HLG 320H 42B driver and 11 eb gen 2 strips (1120mm 3500k) 39v @ 700ma

I designed the canopy and mini control box on fusion 360 and sent it out for CNC laser cutting. I designed it in a way that I can fold the edges by hand as I don’t have a press brake. It was laser cut from 0.090” 5056 aluminum. I downloaded the 3D model of the eb strips I’m using so I can space it all out perfectly in the model and I transcribed the hole location into my laser cutting file so I don’t have to measure by hand when mounting. I will be using 2 way thermal transfer tape (Amazon) and aluminum pop rivets to secure the strips.

I have the control box laid out as such:
On off toggle switch, then a small digital voltage and current readout. Which I will display the data for 1 of the 11 legs of the parallel strip wiring. So I can see what voltage and amperage I’m running while dimming. (Not necessary but I thought it was cool and for 10 bucks on Amazon, why not). Then, I have a 100k potentiometer wired with a 10k ohm resistor in series for dimming.

everything was modeled and holes marked in the 3d model so I just fold up the pieces and pop rivet it together I made sure that none of my rivets for the control box or driver mount will interfere with the eb strips. I also drew in these little flip up tabs to hang The light.
I drew a 3/4” lip all around the canopy to be bent down 90 degrees for a couple of reasons
1. So I can set the light down on the floor without sitting it on the diodes themselves
2. It gives the large flat canopy a TON more strength compared to if it remained one flat piece of aluminum.

I also drew in holes evenly spaced for the wire to poke through the canopy to wire the strips to the control box. Where I will be using a 12 terminal block to breakout from the driver to each strip both on positive and negative wires. I am 3D printing custom sized grommets to prevent any wire chafing on the aluminum edges.
I am really excited to get this thing together so I wanted to share my journey along the way.

my plants are 9 weeks into veg on a cheapie 150w QB so i really want to flip them onto 12/12 with this light ASAP but trying not to cut any corners!

 

[getogrow]

Hey guys, so I’ve learnt everything I know from RIU so looking to give something back. maybe I can’t give any grow advice just yet but I’m a better fabricator than gardener I guess.

I’m in the process of building my own led fixture for flowering my 2.5’x4’ area.

I designed it using a mean well HLG 320H 42B driver and 11 eb gen 2 strips (1120mm 3500k) 39v @ 700ma

I designed the canopy and mini control box on fusion 360 and sent it out for CNC laser cutting. I designed it in a way that I can fold the edges by hand as I don’t have a press brake. It was laser cut from 0.090” 5056 aluminum. I downloaded the 3D model of the eb strips I’m using so I can space it all out perfectly in the model and I transcribed the hole location into my laser cutting file so I don’t have to measure by hand when mounting. I will be using 2 way thermal transfer tape (Amazon) and aluminum pop rivets to secure the strips.

I have the control box laid out as such:
On off toggle switch, then a small digital voltage and current readout. Which I will display the data for 1 of the 11 legs of the parallel strip wiring. So I can see what voltage and amperage I’m running while dimming. (Not necessary but I thought it was cool and for 10 bucks on Amazon, why not). Then, I have a 100k potentiometer wired with a 10k ohm resistor in series for dimming.

everything was modeled and holes marked in the 3d model so I just fold up the pieces and pop rivet it together I made sure that none of my rivets for the control box or driver mount will interfere with the eb strips. I also drew in these little flip up tabs to hang The light.
I drew a 3/4” lip all around the canopy to be bent down 90 degrees for a couple of reasons
1. So I can set the light down on the floor without sitting it on the diodes themselves
2. It gives the large flat canopy a TON more strength compared to if it remained one flat piece of aluminum.

I also drew in holes evenly spaced for the wire to poke through the canopy to wire the strips to the control box. Where I will be using a 12 terminal block to breakout from the driver to each strip both on positive and negative wires. I am 3D printing custom sized grommets to prevent any wire chafing on the aluminum edges.
I am really excited to get this thing together so I wanted to share my journey along the way.

my plants are 9 weeks into veg on a cheapie 150w QB so i really want to flip them onto 12/12 with this light ASAP but trying not to cut any corners!

Very very detailed lights sir! fuckin beautiful man!
If you can get the aluminum and access to the CNC then you can sell your own. They are looking very good.

The 3/4" "edge" for strength is a great idea for both reasons you have. I hate sitting my light down on the diodes.
The voltage and amperage meter is cool as fuck man .....all props to you ! i think ill follow this one.




soil

 

[1212ham]

I advise against using rivets on the strips.

 

[getogrow]

I advise against using rivets on the strips.

i was kinda thinking the same. Seems aggressive.

 

[Unclebilly]

i was kinda thinking the same. Seems aggressive.

I was thinking that when I was designing but I hate the idea of just using tape alone. I know everyone does it and it holds up. But I like some mechanical fastener if possible. I bought the smallest diameter I could find and they are aluminum so they set and snap off with a lot less pressure than a larger diameter rivet and especially a stainless rivet

 

[getogrow]

I was thinking that when I was designing but I hate the idea of just using tape alone. I know everyone does it and it holds up. But I like some mechanical fastener if possible. I bought the smallest diameter I could find and they are aluminum so they set and snap off with a lot less pressure than a larger diameter rivet and especially a stainless rivet

i have a feeling that you know what you are doing but i am and im sure ham agrees recommending using screws instead of the rivets. Im using superglue on some of mine so maybe the tape would hold just fine but screws are best for feeling the pressure you are applying.

Im sure the rivets will be fine but be very careful to watch where the metal touches the strip because the strip is the pcb also.

 

[Chip Green]

[/QUOTE]

watch where the metal touches the strip

Looking at the backs of the strips, you can see which areas are safe. Some of the EBs had mounting holes for lenses, that would cause shorts if used for screw mounting.

That being said....

(lengthy applause)

 

[Unclebilly]

Well, I did some test rivets on some plastic 3d printed thin pieces to a scrap piece of aluminum and it didn’t crack or stress it very much with the thin 1/8” aluminum rivets so I went for it. It worked out great.

Since I sanded my aluminum with 320 grit on my random orbit sander to get rid of some scratches I didn’t like, It’s important to clean it really well before sticking Down your tape. I blew it off with compressed air and wiped it down with paper towel and isopropyl alcohol until my paper towel was clean. This will help your tape’s adhesion from failin

I stuck the 2 way tape to each strip. Then used a screwdriver to poke a hole through the tape in the holes I planned to rivet. Then I peeled the protective film off the tape, and stuck my 3 rivets in the strip to help align onto my laser cut plate. I tipped the strip up on the side and flipped it down into position so the rivets fell into the holes. You don’t want the 2 way tape sticking in the wrong spot it’s too sticky for mistakes.

I 3d printed all my grommets and will be wiring later today. So far it’s going great

if anybody likes the way this build is going and wants to build it. I will happily provide the .dxf files ( to send out for laser or water jet) and a parts list so you can build your own!

 

[welight]

rivets are ok if your holes on the board have safe zones, ie not no copper traces around the holes that will be cut into by the rivet. NEVER use super glues, these are cynoacroylates, these outgas and can create VOC's which will shorten your led life. best option is to drill and tap and screw down
cheers

 

[Unclebilly]

rivets are ok if your holes on the board have safe zones, ie not no copper traces around the holes that will be cut into by the rivet. NEVER use super glues, these are cynoacroylates, these outgas and can create VOC's which will shorten your led life. best option is to drill and tap and screw down
cheers

yep you can see on these strips clearly the open zone free from circuitry for fasteners. Who said superglue? lol

 

[Unclebilly]

Nvm I see it, Good point. I didn’t know that myself

 

[1212ham]

NEVER use super glues, these are cynoacroylates, these outgas and can create VOC's which will shorten your led life. best option is to drill and tap and screw down
cheers

Good to know! Thanks

 

[getogrow]

yep you can see on these strips clearly the open zone free from circuitry for fasteners. Who said superglue? lol

That was me , i use super glue and pvc pipes on my builds. (soft builds , not enough heat to care)
3x8 fixture for veg. upto 600 watts but thats too bright for veg and that area.....my newer ones have less strips.(foldable )

 

[Unclebilly]

Wiring was fun. I realized that little lcd screen was max 30v input so I bought thesis little buck lm317 (I think) voltage regulator to step down from 39v to 29.5 just to run the screen.
I 3d printed a little base for it so it didn’t short out on my control box.

I plugged it in it all works! Will clean it up and post finished pics soon

 

[Unclebilly]

Okay to hell with it. I can’t wait lol.

My shitty Amazon ammeter doesn’t read. It’s flickered on a couple times... no loose connections or anything. I suspect it’s in the board, so I’ll get another one.

I’ll rivet the control box on tomorrow and hang it.

Initial PPFD was a bit disappointing. I thought it would be better. At about 19” I get 500 ish as I move around. Around 12” I can get 800ish ppfd. That’s a quick and dirty. I will do a more accurate chart once I hang it.

I hope it will do alright for flower for the space because I’m ready to flip!

 

[getogrow]

Okay to hell with it. I can’t wait lol.

My shitty Amazon ammeter doesn’t read. It’s flickered on a couple times... no loose connections or anything. I suspect it’s in the board, so I’ll get another one.

I’ll rivet the control box on tomorrow and hang it.

Initial PPFD was a bit disappointing. I thought it would be better. At about 19” I get 500 ish as I move around. Around 12” I can get 800ish ppfd. That’s a quick and dirty. I will do a more accurate chart once I hang it.

I hope it will do alright for flower for the space because I’m ready to flip!

Make sure the light doesnt stay on your box during lights out.

Also can you link me to the parts you used to make the current/voltage box ? thank you !

 

[Unclebilly]

Make sure the light doesnt stay on your box during lights out.

Also can you link me to the parts you used to make the current/voltage box ? thank you !

good call on that, but yes the timer will kill the power to the whole plug, so that won’t be a problem.

I just searched digital voltage and amps / current display and grabbed one. Here’s the screen shot. It runs on 5-30 vdc. So it depends on your setup or driver. My driver is running 39v so I had to step it down a little to power that. So I got these little buck style voltage regulators from Amazon as well. They are adjustable to whatever output voltage you need. The larger the voltage differential (input-output voltage) the hotter it will get. The excess energy is given off as heat. That’s why I adjusted mine to run basically 30v (the max for that lcd display) but the smallest differential from my 39v driver output.

the other components are just an on/off switch and a 100k pot for dimming

cheers!

 

[Unclebilly]

And the little voltage regulator

 

[1212ham]

Wiring was fun. I realized that little lcd screen was max 30v input so I bought thesis little buck lm317 (I think) voltage regulator to step down from 39v to 29.5 just to run the screen.
I 3d printed a little base for it so it didn’t short out on my control box.

I plugged it in it all works! Will clean it up and post finished pics soon

I like the wire bundling and terminal blocks, clean and simple. A link I posted last spring.

17 Neat Cable Bundles That Will Delight Your OCD

Unruly Ethernet cables make troubleshooting more difficult and pose a fire hazard - check out these cable bundles so organized, they'll inspire you.

planetechusa.com

Those Phoenix terminal blocks look ideal for parallel builds, how do you like them?
Part number? They have 221 different versions!

 

[Unclebilly]

I like the wire bundling and terminal blocks, clean and simple. Those Phoenix terminal blocks look ideal for parallel builds, how do you like them?
Part number? They have 221 different versions!

they worked wicked! So simple. I liked this method to wire also. It’s really clean, but it uses a shit load of wire! I used 100ft on this one lol. I started with stranded wire and tinning the ends so I could stick them in the connectors.... GET solid core wire lol. I got like 8 wires in and said eff that. I got 100ft roll of 18ga hookup wire (solid) from digikey for like 9 bucks canadian. (The reason all the wire is red is because the red 100ft roll was 9 bucks and every other colour was 45 bucks for some reason)

part numbers are in the pic!