500 Lumen - AAA Flashlight (photos) - Work In Progress - Part 2

[Draven451]

Hoping to have an exciting update later in the week.
In the meantime, thanks to everyone for your continued patience and support.

tgwnn

p.s. Still working on the final clip design

We like to hear about exciting updates :thumbsup:

 

[applevision]

Hi HKJ,

Hi applevision,

Yes, it is indeed, as was your blessing for the CoreTi (_)

tgwnn

Aw shucks! I'm blushing!

 

[Got Lumens?]

Of course, there's just so many possibilities and still so much to do

.

Guy,
I agree. Your priority should be to get details arranged to bring version 1 to market . There will be time to think about these upgrades and possibilities after you get a version one approved and in production.
GL

 

[AKbunnies]

Wondering if you know how they do the flickering low battery indicator on my Fenix p3d. And if anyone could make it work without a low battery. It would be a nice option to have. Thanks so much.

 

[Got Lumens?]

Wondering if you know how they do the flickering low battery indicator on my Fenix p3d. And if anyone could make it work without a low battery. It would be a nice option to have. Thanks so much.

:welcome: AK

Flickering Light= CandlePower, LOL.

You could try and post a new thread for that Fenix Question in the Flashlight Electronics section
Are you asking for the MBI Torpedo with four levels, plus flicker mode :huh: :thinking:

GL

 

[the_guy_with_no_name]

Of course, there's just so many possibilities and still so much to do

Hi Cataract,
Still lots to do, but for now waiting on the base version....

We like to hear about exciting updates :thumbsup:

Hi Draven,

Thanks, so do I of course,
some news below, not as exciting as hoped

Aw shucks! I'm blushing!

.

Guy,
I agree. Your priority should be to get details arranged to bring version 1 to market . There will be time to think about these upgrades and possibilities after you get a version one approved and in production.
GL

Thanks GL,
Working towards that. Thanks for all the help.
The new clip design is underway and should allow for a completely hidden deep pocket carry.

Wondering if you know how they do the flickering low battery indicator on my Fenix p3d. And if anyone could make it work without a low battery. It would be a nice option to have. Thanks so much.

Hi AKbunnies,
I did think about beacon mode after high, but seems like most people were against the idea.
For now, I want to get the basic version done, though in a future version,
perhaps 2 full turns after high mode, to switch into a beacon or programmable mode should be safe for a UI.

:welcome: AK

Flickering Light= CandlePower, LOL.

You could try and post a new thread for that Fenix Question in the Flashlight Electronics section
Are you asking for the MBI Torpedo with four levels, plus flicker mode :huh: :thinking:

GL

Hi GL,
Thats what I think?
Could be useful if integrated nicely into the UI.



Update@Everyone,
I received word back from the lab today.
A new pcb/driver was delivered yesterday but unfortunately it failed some of our tests in terms of all the required functions.:sick2:
Not sure if I should cry or scream but the next version is dew to arrive at the lab around May 7.
The good part about it is that it means the next assembled proto should arrive with both a copper and titanium torpedo as well.

There are only some minor issues that were left to fix on the driver side:
-eliminate jumping between modes during low battery
-reduce constant flash/warning during low battery to one double flash
-increase power output on high with li-ion
-eliminate skipping of modes during hyper-speed-turning of selector ring

Needs to be production perfect.
Can't have temperamental products!! Just not acceptable.
So we have to fine tune some values, some of which need to be tweaked and measured once assembled in the body.
I think the small diameter and selector ring are proving to be tricky, as the tolerances are very small.

Expecting to hear back very soon on project codename [MICRO] (not the official name though).
Think of it as a sub 5cm Torpedo, with almost no circuitry.
As its the driver that's currently taking the most time on the Torpedo, I figured this should be relatively fast to complete.

Anyone with magical powers, please cast a spell of patience on all of us!

Thanks as always for your patience,
tgwnn

p.s. The newest CoreTi samples are on-route (heading to that thread now)

 

[Got Lumens?]

OK,
Spell casted.

.
.
.

Hey it worked, I now have the patience required to see this project thru.
Thanks Guy
GL

 

[the_guy_with_no_name]

OK,
Spell casted.

.
.
.

Hey it worked, I now have the patience required to see this project thru.
Thanks Guy
GL

Thanks GL,

You always come through when needed

tgwnn

 

[JulianP]

.......
.......

.......
......

I can't wait any longer. I am going to make my own out of wax.

 

[compasillo]

I follow this thread with interest but, beside the very slow develop progress, the title still frightens me itself: 500 lumens from a AAA light based sounds too many overdrive issues. I wish I was wrong

 

[Got Lumens?]

I follow this thread with interest but, beside the very slow develop progress, the title still frightens me itself: 500 lumens from a AAA light based sounds too many overdrive issues. I wish I was wrong

Compasillo,
I will ease you pain, yes you are wrong. The Torpedo is the size of a AAA light(and smaller ), when using the specially developed lion cell it is capable of ~500 lm output. Using standard AAA cells the light intellegently recognises the cells incapability to deliver the current needed to drive the light at that output . It also has integrated thermal management that automatically steps the light to the next lowest level. With these two design factors, that should negate your worries.
GL

 

[yifu]

The slow progress is worrying indeed. I am not expecting McGizmo/Mushydont/Saalbuster level of efficiency (most projects take less than 3 months from design to sale) but it has been nearly 8 months and we're still stuck without a fully production ready prototype, despite promises of a Christmas release, then a early Feb release. The first prototype came out a long time ago and not a single update has provided concrete details on when it is actually going to come out, except for re-assurances such as "New proto... I've got a couple more new protos" etc. A couple mishaps with the PCB is very acceptable but a chain of problems is quite worrying. I count at least 10 prototypes (won't mind having one of those).

Even having a full production ready prototype does not imply production can happen immediately, and we're not even at that step yet. From the way things are going, i think we're going to have to wait another 6 months at the least, if we can afford to, as i am sure people's interests have waned with the slow progress of this project. Again, i hope i get proved wrong but it looks unlikely. I would be happy just to get the light with basic ziplock packaging, as it looks like a fancy packaging would cost us more time.

 

[easilyled]

People should remember that whilst we always look forward to a promising product that there is nothing lost by us if it takes longer than expected except for a little frustration. Other than that we have not been asked to put anything into this project. Its not a pre-sale.

Cut tgwnn some slack. He's the one that is taking all the risks with the financial outlay and the time and effort of setting this up. He could have palmed us off with something that is less than ideal but has set extremely ambitious aims with all the criteria that he has selected. Its no surprise to me that this is taking longer to realize than for a more straightforward product.

 

[Got Lumens?]

Yifu,
I disagree. David and his team at Four Sevens has worked well over a year and a half on some lights. OMG Lumens was working on his lights Fulltime at one point with help from others. The difference is this process is being shared with us realtime. Others don't issue a press release until they are ready to sell them, and we never hear any of the details like Guy has shared with us over the past 8 months. Guy is working a Fulltime Day job and developing these lights alone in his spare time. He has posted progress updates just yesterday morning. He also is trying to develop more than one product, and has the CoreTi almost ready for preorders. This is his first venture in designing and bringing lights to market. He does not have his own design team or production facilities and must rely on several other places to support his work. There are several reasons that he has posted that have explained the delays. Remember the battery also needed to be special designed and made. Are you a designer/manufacturer that can offer assistance to speed this process up? If so please do, we all will benefit. As far as the packaging, that has been completed for several months now, and is not the delay. He has a working prototype in his hands that he could say go ahead and build, but it does not meet his standards, and he won't release subpar work, and is taking the time it takes to get it right the first time.

 

[Sno4Life]

The slow progress is worrying indeed...

The first prototype came out a long time ago and not a single update has provided concrete details.

You clearly have not been reading the updates. TGWNN has been very specific about delays and the details that are being worked on. Ironing out details like clip design, sensor action, and driver electronics have been hashed out in great detail.

 

[Bigmac_79]

...From the way things are going, i think we're going to have to wait another 6 months at the least, if we can afford to, as i am sure people's interests have waned with the slow progress of this project...

It depends on why a person was originally interested in this. For those who were interested because it was new and sounded exciting, yeah, they might lose interest. For those of us who were interested because this is the only attempt happening at a high power AAA with a "twist more for more" UI, then there is no reason to lose interest. Peak attempted something similar with QTC, but it seems to have flopped. Until someone else does this, or tgwnn gives up, the Torpedo is still interesting. I see nobody else doing this, and tgwnn isn't showing any signs of giving up.

 

[smokelaw1]

GotLumens, EasilyLED, and Bigmac....RIGHT ON!

So, the initial VERY optimistic timeframes didn't happen....would you rather have had a product that while "neat" didn't perform the way you want a cutting edge flashlight to work? Not me! Even IF it takes another 6 months (which I doubt), this light will still be the only one doing what it's doing in this size. I, for one, and still fully on the torpedo ride, and am confident in and supportive of TGWNN.

 

[the_guy_with_no_name]

I can't wait any longer. I am going to make my own out of wax.

JulianP,
That would definitely be quicker but you might have issues on high mode

I follow this thread with interest but, beside the very slow develop progress, the title still frightens me itself: 500 lumens from a AAA light based sounds too many overdrive issues. I wish I was wrong

Hi compasillo,

In addition to the issues GL kindly pointed out, have no fear, we have you covered :thumbsup:

Compasillo,
I will ease you pain, yes you are wrong. The Torpedo is the size of a AAA light(and smaller ), when using the specially developed lion cell it is capable of ~500 lm output. Using standard AAA cells the light intellegently recognises the cells incapability to deliver the current needed to drive the light at that output . It also has integrated thermal management that automatically steps the light to the next lowest level. With these two design factors, that should negate your worries.
GL

Thanks GL

tgwnn

 

[the_guy_with_no_name]

The slow progress is worrying indeed. I am not expecting McGizmo/Mushydont/Saalbuster level of efficiency (most projects take less than 3 months from design to sale) but it has been nearly 8 months and we're still stuck without a fully production ready prototype, despite promises of a Christmas release, then a early Feb release. The first prototype came out a long time ago and not a single update has provided concrete details on when it is actually going to come out, except for re-assurances such as "New proto... I've got a couple more new protos" etc. A couple mishaps with the PCB is very acceptable but a chain of problems is quite worrying. I count at least 10 prototypes (won't mind having one of those).

Even having a full production ready prototype does not imply production can happen immediately, and we're not even at that step yet. From the way things are going, i think we're going to have to wait another 6 months at the least, if we can afford to, as i am sure people's interests have waned with the slow progress of this project. Again, i hope i get proved wrong but it looks unlikely. I would be happy just to get the light with basic ziplock packaging, as it looks like a fancy packaging would cost us more time.

Hi Yifu,

Thanks for the post.

I can understand the frustration as to be honest, I do share in it to some degree.
Its certainly no fun for me to post news of a delay or tests that didn't meet expectations.


As has been mentioned though, this is a very ambitious project to begin with, it is also my first in the realm of developing physical products, and to add to that still, a large portion of the work is done virtually which means components have to travel between the lab and other manufacturing facilities for testing, shaping, etc, and that does add to the timeline somewhat.

The packaging, which was favorably received, has been ready and completed quite a few months back.

In the updates I do believe I've covered the issues causing the current bottleneck and for now, it is the circuit.
The circuit has a significant amount of functionality and logic that it has to perform, and the most challenging part of it is that it must fit in a small tubular cavity approximately 12mm x 10mm diameter. We are attempting to cover all manner of voltages, multiple modes, thermal protection, magnetic switching, etc, etc, etc and some of that needs to be tested in the actual Torpedo body, because even a slight amount of play or difference in the magnet distance to the sensors could cause modes to skip due to the small size of everything involved.


V4 is the current version.
To give you an idea of the size, I've added a 5c coin at the correct scale.

As you can see, there has been quite an evolution from V1 to the current version.

Just about all the required functionality is there and working.
The remaining issues based on tests of the last circuit proto are down to:
1) the low battery flash needs to be adjusted (though it does work)
2) sometimes when going from mode 1 - mode 4, there is a tendency to skip a mode.

Everything else does appear to be stable and the working proto that I used for the video, I'm happy to report still works just fine.

I am working closely with my development partners to resolve issues as quickly as possible and whilst it is slower than the planned schedule because not everything was perfect first time round, I'm not willing to cut corners or accept something that is not perfect where my definition is "is this the quality you'd expect of the world's finest brand?".

I do expect that once a "production ready" prototype is approved, it may take 4-6weeks to complete the first production run.

Whilst I may not always be right, I do aim to be as transparent as possible and so if there is a delay or some issue, be it good, bad or other, you can be sure I'll post it here. That's part of the deal of developing everything, right here, for all to see and hopefully it might provide value to someone, somehow, beyond just being a quest for the 500 lumen Torpedo.

I know there are now a huge number of posts to read if you start at part 1 so from time to time, its good to update things in once post.
I have been wanting to send out a newsletter but waiting for some significant good news.

Thanks to everyone for your continued patience and support.

tgwnn

 

[the_guy_with_no_name]

People should remember that whilst we always look forward to a promising product that there is nothing lost by us if it takes longer than expected except for a little frustration. Other than that we have not been asked to put anything into this project. Its not a pre-sale.

Cut tgwnn some slack. He's the one that is taking all the risks with the financial outlay and the time and effort of setting this up. He could have palmed us off with something that is less than ideal but has set extremely ambitious aims with all the criteria that he has selected. Its no surprise to me that this is taking longer to realize than for a more straightforward product.

Hi easilyled,
You nailed it
Thanks for the support and vote of confidence.

Yifu,
I disagree. David and his team at Four Sevens has worked well over a year and a half on some lights. OMG Lumens was working on his lights Fulltime at one point with help from others. The difference is this process is being shared with us realtime. Others don't issue a press release until they are ready to sell them, and we never hear any of the details like Guy has shared with us over the past 8 months. Guy is working a Fulltime Day job and developing these lights alone in his spare time. He has posted progress updates just yesterday morning. He also is trying to develop more than one product, and has the CoreTi almost ready for preorders. This is his first venture in designing and bringing lights to market. He does not have his own design team or production facilities and must rely on several other places to support his work. There are several reasons that he has posted that have explained the delays. Remember the battery also needed to be special designed and made. Are you a designer/manufacturer that can offer assistance to speed this process up? If so please do, we all will benefit. As far as the packaging, that has been completed for several months now, and is not the delay. He has a working prototype in his hands that he could say go ahead and build, but it does not meet his standards, and he won't release subpar work, and is taking the time it takes to get it right the first time.

GL,
Thanks for putting it into perspective and your support.
I do think a large amount of development happens behind the scenes and often times, its only when the product is ready for production, that we get a glimpse into things.
Of course, this varies with the complexity of the product.

You clearly have not been reading the updates. TGWNN has been very specific about delays and the details that are being worked on. Ironing out details like clip design, sensor action, and driver electronics have been hashed out in great detail.

Hi Sno4Life,
Thanks for the post & support
A lot of progress has been made and for every post with an update, there is an average of 20 emails of back and forth that are behind it. I do try to gain as much confirmation as possible to avoid posting unconfirmed details.

It depends on why a person was originally interested in this. For those who were interested because it was new and sounded exciting, yeah, they might lose interest. For those of us who were interested because this is the only attempt happening at a high power AAA with a "twist more for more" UI, then there is no reason to lose interest. Peak attempted something similar with QTC, but it seems to have flopped. Until someone else does this, or tgwnn gives up, the Torpedo is still interesting. I see nobody else doing this, and tgwnn isn't showing any signs of giving up.

Hi Mac,
Thanks for adding your perspective.
It is a "project" and I share your belief that it is an interesting one.
Whilst the timeline may slip a little, perhaps due to my lack of experience in judging the complexities involved,
the final outcome will be good, because I am committed to seeing it through.

GotLumens, EasilyLED, and Bigmac....RIGHT ON!
So, the initial VERY optimistic timeframes didn't happen....would you rather have had a product that while "neat" didn't perform the way you want a cutting edge flashlight to work? Not me! Even IF it takes another 6 months (which I doubt), this light will still be the only one doing what it's doing in this size. I, for one, and still fully on the torpedo ride, and am confident in and supportive of TGWNN.

smokelaw,
Again, thanks for the perspective and support.
Much appreciated.


I'm always happy to hear every opinion, regarding the smallest thing and if you have been lurking, wondering whether its ok to ask or post something, rest assured, absolutely its ok! However small or however simple, both are fine and welcomed.
Positive or other, its all ok, as long as you maintain basic courtesy :twothumbs

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you

tgwnn