# Cree XP-G on custom PCB



## mds82 (Feb 4, 2010)

Just wanted to show off a few quick pics of my new XP-G's mounted on a custom 5mm x 10mm super thin board.

Just want to say a big thanks to Sonny over at http://pcbnet.com/ for all the help he's been in getting me the samples, pricing, and finishing up the design work on these boards.

Just so i dont get all sorts of questions - I run my own small business and build aftermarket LED lighting for BMW's, hens the need for a custom designed solution.

There are 1000 XP-G's, here and a total of 3200 PCB's made.

They were all nicely organized and in rows before i took off the top cover to take a look. No worries, theres no pressure on there to cause any damage


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## csshih (Feb 4, 2010)

XPG droooool... I want to reach in there and grab a handful...

oh, the PCBs are lovely, too


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## Tekno_Cowboy (Feb 4, 2010)

Looks like a bunch of fun 

So what kind of lighting do you make? Headlights? Tail lights?


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## Th232 (Feb 4, 2010)

Wow... so much light potential...


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## mds82 (Feb 4, 2010)

Tekno_Cowboy said:


> Looks like a bunch of fun
> 
> So what kind of lighting do you make? Headlights? Tail lights?



Replacement Angel eye lights  the XPG is the best there is right now, at least for the size of it!


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## bshanahan14rulz (Feb 5, 2010)

Dude! DUDE!!!! so how are you doing it? You obviously have knowledge of the angel eyes, so I hope my terminology is familiar, but I had a similar idea of replacing the parabolic reflector that was dedicated to angeleyes to an aluminum heatsink of the same dimensions, and stuffing the LED as close to the fiber bundle as possible. Barring that, you could use a collimating optic to make sure most of the light goes in at the correct angle to stay in the fiber bundle. (acrylic tube for zkw)

Are these replacements meant for a specific model of headlamp, or just a specific maker?


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## HarryN (Feb 6, 2010)

Hi, interesting project.

I was just curious - are those Al core boards, or are you planning on 8 thermal vias in a thin board with 1 oz copper doing all of the heat transfer?


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## SemiMan (Feb 6, 2010)

Hey, wondering how these are working out in production.... are you hand soldering/heat plate or doing on a pick and place with screen printer.

Those vias are quite big under the thermal pad. I would be worried about the consistency in the soldering process. Generally better to have smaller vias and/or outside the pad, though that is not possible with the XPE/G.

Semiman


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## mds82 (Feb 8, 2010)

bshanahan14rulz said:


> Dude! DUDE!!!! so how are you doing it? You obviously have knowledge of the angel eyes, so I hope my terminology is familiar, but I had a similar idea of replacing the parabolic reflector that was dedicated to angeleyes to an aluminum heatsink of the same dimensions, and stuffing the LED as close to the fiber bundle as possible. Barring that, you could use a collimating optic to make sure most of the light goes in at the correct angle to stay in the fiber bundle. (acrylic tube for zkw)
> 
> Are these replacements meant for a specific model of headlamp, or just a specific maker?



http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=280038

Thats what its going to be used for actually 



SemiMan said:


> Hey, wondering how these are working out in production.... are you hand soldering/heat plate or doing on a pick and place with screen printer.
> 
> Those vias are quite big under the thermal pad. I would be worried about the consistency in the soldering process. Generally better to have smaller vias and/or outside the pad, though that is not possible with the XPE/G.
> 
> Semiman



These are actually being assembled and soldered by PCBNet, not by myself. I was using a toaster oven to solder to reflow some MC-E's, but those are much larger and more forgiving to work with. with the via's, i did check and they are almost all filled up with solder, so i'm not too worried about that part of it. they are going to be glued down to an aluminum heat sink with arctic silver epoxy.


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## T0RN4D0 (Feb 8, 2010)

How are you managing the heat? How are they driven? 

On a first glance this looks like a nice way to premature LED death


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