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LOG 20180425: Test fixture

A project log for M.O.S.A.I.C. LS

Modular Open Source Adjustable Intelligent Control Lighting System

slisgrinderslisgrinder 04/26/2018 at 02:170 Comments

I ordered parts for another cell to be populated with the appropriate emitters for the GTGL variant.

Along with the order I included a semi beefy heatsink and thermally conductive pads that I'll use as a test fixture.

The plan is to drill and tap 3 holes that coincide with the 3 ground holes on the PCB. This way I can do code development without worrying about overheating the board. I can also look into the thermal performance of the PCB and its layout. Hopefully this will yield results that I can later use for designing proper thermal management.


I had very many insightful conversations on the #HackChat in regards to designing, manufacturing and implementing thermal management for MOSAIC LS. There are many factors to account for and it is most definitely not easy to design a heatsink let alone to manufacture one. None the less, the task of thermal management has been put on the back burner until MOSAIC is ready in both code and electronics.

I would personally like to thank everyone on the HackChat that has helped me out. I am very grateful to everyone for pitching in ideas, debating designs, exploring options and just all round fun. This is a great community and I hope it continues to be so.


On a side note, I came upon an idea (which I initially had but dismissed due to inaccessible manufacturing) that to make electronic, optical and thermal management design easier, why not make my own LEDs? Actually, why not just assemble my own LEDs?

Cree and other manufacturers sell just the LED die to manufacturers who then do the potting/gold bonding/eutectic attachment process and sell them. There are a couple of manufacturers who do make COB grow lights but their price point is too high which MOSAIC LS is trying to address. However if MOSAIC LS were to evolve into an open source COB LEDs with the same design goals for a lower price point then there might be something further to explore.

There would be the same 4 variants (AHLS, GTGL, GAGL and GUVL) but as a COB. This would be smaller, have more consistent optical properties and have simpler thermal management. Also, open source COB LED!

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