Where to get XML or XM-L2 emitters and drivers quickly and cheaply? (plus advice :-)

VeritatisVox

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Dec 15, 2018
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Hi All,
I'm a long time reader of the foums, but this is my first post. I'm trying to pull together a last-minute project as a Christmas gift, and am having trouble figuring out where to get the parts I need in time.

The project is an LED upgrade for a home planetarium/star projector.

This is the original device

This is what I want to do to it

For those who don't have time to follow the links, it's basically a small star projector, and the idea is to swap an XML or XM-L2 emitter, driver, heat sink and fan into it, to increase the output. I would just buy the upgrade listed in my second link, but I think the company discontinued it - and I'd rather make my own.

Here's the problem: All the parts I can find on eBay or Amazon are shipping from China and I won't have a way to get them and do the build before Christmas.

My Questions:
  • Can anyone recommend a fast and affordable source of the right parts?
  • Does anyone have recommendations on a specific driver that's well suited to this?
  • Any thoughts on an ideal power supply for this? I've been planning to find a DC power supply with 5+ amps of output
  • Any thoughts on cooling? I'd like this to run a full power indefinitely without overheating the plastic housing. At 10 watts or so, I imagine that'd be similar to the cooling requirements of a ULV laptop CPU. My current plan is to dig through my available heat sinks and find one that fits or that can be cut to fit. But if there's something off-the-shelf that'd fit well, I'd rather do that.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated! Thanks!

Scott
 

VeritatisVox

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Dec 15, 2018
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Thanks so much for the response. That site had everything I need and I've ordered it all up with expected delivery on Friday. Now I'm also going to build a Nichia triple in a Jaxman housing as a Christmas gift for another family member. Thanks again!

Scott
 

sween1911

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Dec 10, 2003
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Location
Pennsylvania
Awesome! Good luck. Richard from Mtnelectronics is very cool and answers any questions. Great customer service.

Looking forward to seeing how your project comes out!
 

X83

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Jul 31, 2016
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Digi-Key & Mouser seem to have the best selection of Cree XM-L -XM-L2 emitters with the cheapest cost and fast shipping.
 

Sirstanky

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Nov 11, 2018
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Thanks so much for the response. That site had everything I need and I've ordered it all up with expected delivery on Friday. Now I'm also going to build a Nichia triple in a Jaxman housing as a Christmas gift for another family member. Thanks again!

Scott

I did a similar project. I originally used a 1W Chinese led but it was too wreak. I ordered a Nichia 319A led from mtn. It's pretty much the only place stateside that sells emitters and goodies for good prices.
 

Sirstanky

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Nov 11, 2018
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A good power supply is from a computer monitor. They run 12V and 4-5A. You can also get them online or in thrift stores. I dont think you need more than 3A though. For a 3V led like the XML2 you'd need a driver to buck the voltagw to 3V for the led. Mtn has buck drivers that do 3A output, but 5A on a XML is pushing it. It will be plenty bright at 3A. For cooling, you can use a cooler from an old PC graphics card that has a fan on it. I use PC coolers, or take northbridge heatsinks and add small fans to them.
 
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