get_lit, after you are finished with the design and production, you could write a book on spotlight design with all of your knowledge. There probably wont be many other books on the subject :D.
I've saved everything I could find over the years and was just browsing through thousands of saved documents when looking for the SX-16 reflector mounting, which I also did happen to have from an old patent for the SX-16. When reading through some of the old docs, I had a much better understanding of them than from when I first read them years ago. Some of the most interesting docs include actual formulas for etendue and efficiency based not only on arc gap, luminous area, luminous output, luminous intensity distribution, reflector dimensions, and retro-reflection, but also based on lamp pressure, gas concentrations, and lamp current. Aside from everything I could find regarding searchlights, I have a treasure trove of research docs from everything that went into the development of the P-VIP based lamps. An interesting tidbit was that going from 100 bar lamp pressure to 200 bar increases etendue by 20%, 300 bar by yet another 10% over that.
Today I found for the first time a source for Gorilla Glass and will be inquiring about having it custom cut and A/R coated. This is something I have to sort out before creating the gimbal mount because it affects center of gravity.
I also recently improved the exhaust by reducing the number of components within it to lighten it up and to eliminate an internal cylinder whose wall thickness was partially blocking the light path. You'll see in the render below, the exhaust includes a front lens which allows all of the light from the reflector to pass through the exhaust (minus the wall thickness of the exhaust outer cylinder wall). Allowing that light to pass through the exhaust through the lens allows for 5% additional beam power that would otherwise be blocked by the exhaust. There is also a second one inside the exhaust, and they will have to be tempered and A/R coated as well and I'll be seeking a source for those lenses.
I will also be making a CNC mold for the bezel. Decided to go with a molded composite bezel instead of machined metal to save weight while having more rigidity. Plus a CNC molded bezel just looks bad ***. It will have to be a two-part mold because the back side must be shaped around the lens and EPDM seal.
I'm also finding that I will have to make the rearward most section removable in order to access the internal air filter. It won't be as clean looking as a single-part housing with un-broken curves, but I could make it work.
Also, in this drawing, I have yet to give the curves a final cleanup, and the outer diameter of the optics housing (the section directly behind the bezel) is still being worked on to accommodate securing the removeable reflector assembly apart from the lens assembly. When completed, that outer diameter section will be much less thick. I also toyed with the colors a bit to make it easier to see the curves than with the all black renders...
Large View (2560x1440)
