Flashlight body with copper pipe heatsink for LED/reflector drop-in

thingiverse

An Upgrade to Thingiverse's 2647700 Model The photos showcase the new version alongside its predecessor without heatsinking. This flashlight body features a 3/4 inch copper pipe and some copper foil as a heatsink. The previous model tended to overheat, never reaching failure point, but I started worrying about potential damage to the LED. New Components: * A 3/4 inch outer diameter copper pipe * A 3/4 inch inner diameter straight copper pipe coupling (a straight joint) Existing Ingredients from Previous Flashlight: * One protected 18650 cell * One LED flashlight "drop-in" with a reflector and a driver board, available on aliexpress, ultrafire.com, dealsextreme, etc. * A clear plastic circle 26.5mm - you can cut this out of any material using a dremel on a demo lens (ask for these at your local optometrist or optical store) * One SPST, 11mm diameter round latching switch from junk giveaway flashlights * Five centimeters of 1.6mm /14awg solid copper wire and the will to bend it Assembly: The Body - Cut the pipe to size and assemble all pieces. I used copper foil to wrap around the plug-in for a tighter fit (better heat conduction) into the copper joint piece. When cutting the copper pipe, insert may differ but once everything is in the petg tube, the end of the copper pipe should be flush with 1mm shorter than the edge of the petg tube. The Plug - Rotate the plug top-bottom before printing. The switch goes into the middle hole and copper wire goes into the side holes. Bend the copper wire to form a spring that presses against the inside of the copper pipe once assembled. Screwing the plug in is best done by pressing the tube against the table using palm surface for good torque via friction.