LED lighting PCB board etching

Technology
LED lighting PCB board etching
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MAKE Flickr pool member Joel Miller (jmillerid) is planning some LED lighting for his house and has been evaluating Luxeon Rebel LEDs. He etched these boards to experiment with different colors, their heat values, etc.

Luxeon Rebels are designed to dissipate heat through a large “no connection” solder pad directly under the chip. There are specific guidelines for the design of the PCB to draw this heat away from the LED which include a multitude of plated vias to increase the copper surface area. I’m unable to create plated vias in my homemade boards, so my intent is to mount the board to an aluminum plate, using an aluminum machine screw to draw the heat through the hole in the middle of the board.

LED lighting, part 1

More:

Circuit Skills: Circuit Board Etching, sponsored by Jameco

4 thoughts on “LED lighting PCB board etching

  1. jeff-o says:

    Soldering parts like this by hand (with what appears to be a soldering iron that isn’t quite hot enough) may lead to voids between the solder pads and the PCB. This will result in a less than optimal heat transfer. Just a heads up. ;)

    Great design though, I like it.

  2. atif khair says:

    I like the review of LED sign boards that different colors of bulbs make one light lamp awesome work.
    LED Sign

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Gareth Branwyn is a freelance writer and the former Editorial Director of Maker Media. He is the author or editor of over a dozen books on technology, DIY, and geek culture. He is currently a contributor to Boing Boing, Wink Books, and Wink Fun. His free weekly-ish maker tips newsletter can be found at garstipsandtools.com.

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