2020-06-28T20:19:00Z
jvu2000’s AR15 "Anker"Lights (ShredLights Copycat)
by The Dude Above
Introduction
So I just completed an eSk8 board a few days ago, and during the build process (link here: Propulsion Boards Build | Bustin Ibach 39” | Ownboard Trucks | Dual 6374’s | Reverse Mounts | 12s3p 21700 | VESC 6.6), I was envy of the guys who were riding with the pretty ShredLights. I would shell out the money to buy them, but I personally wanted something more customizable and more powerful; hence this design [and post to share].
I had a few Anker flashlights powered by 18650 batteries that I had bought on sale from Amazon.com a few years ago. Decently powerfully (definitely more blinding power and runtime than ShredLights) and cost me a few bucks [on sale advertised on Slickdeals.net]. I also had some offset mounts for AR15 lights. If you want the details about the issues that I ran into with the original lights design, check out the “Anker”Lights section in the build log.
At the time, I was too lazy to 3D model a proper rail so I just jerry-rigged something to work. Operational? Sure. To my liking? Not a chance! So the previous design (pictured below) had one major flaw and that was the beams were too narrow, because of the obvious that they were too close together. I might as well just have mounted one light. Between the two flashlights from LED-to-LED, it had a distance of 3 inches. With this new adjustable design, I got the lights to separate 5-½ inches; the outer beams barely overlapping each other in the center.
Parts
I am only listing the names of the parts, because links to these items (especially if they are like 3rd partied straight-up Chinese named items) tend to die frequently. Just Google search or Amazon search the item.
| Category | Item |
|---|---|
| Flashlights | 1-inch Diameter Flashlight (x2) (I used Ankers LC Series) |
| Rails | https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4508098 |
| Mounts | 1" Scope Rings (I used AccuShot Picatinny Medium Profile 2-piece) |
| Hardware | Rails to Base: M3 Nuts (x2); M3x10mm Countersunk Flat Head Screws (x2) & Base to Deck: ¾” Sheetrock or Wood Countersunk Flat Head Screws (x4) |
| Rear Deck Tape | Reflective Fluorescent Tape (I used 1-inch) |
Design
I lost some sleep and grew some brain cells during this process. I wanted something simple and accessible (at least to me). So I sat around with Blender for a couple of hours and came up with a two piece rotating rail. The rail would interface with a base via a M3x10mm screw. The base has an internal M3 nut that would “clamp” the rails to itself once attached.
The original design had the beams kinda directed towards the ground. I wanted “hi-beams” so I angled the picatinny rails a bit. I didn’t measure the angles… too lazy. I am not interested in blinding people. I am interested in seeing what’s on the ground, what’s in front of me, what’s to my peripheral, and to intentionally let people know, “Hey, there’s someone on a freakin’ something going down the road, don’t hit him.”
Assembly
Assembly is pretty straight-foward. TL;DR: This is what I want to get to:
Once the rails and bases were printed, I inserted the nut into the slot of the base. Now, I was dumb and made the slot to be exactly as tall as the nut without much consideration into the tolerances of the 3D printed so I had to hammer in the nut with a punch (no pun intended). Not much of a headache though. It actually worked out in my favor, because I don’t want a loose nut if I ever have to take the rail off.
Final Product
I thought about building a set of rear lights, and conveniently, Amazon does carry red flashlights, but I didn’t want to add more lights just because I can so opted for something less “substantial” - reflective fluorescent tape. I walked off to a distance and shined some lights on them and they seemed to attract enough of my attention. I would be comfortable riding at night with them on. And let’s be honest here, this is a street board. I am speaking for myself here, but I live in the city where every block and square is lit up. The reflective tape is enough for me.
Iterations of the design from right to left:
- Rails that were too short and the flashlight mounts couldn’t be fixed on it.
- Rails worked but didn’t have an adjustability.
- This third one, I was just going to screw directly into the base with a half inch screw but did the extra work to model the nut slot and holes for the screw.
- Final design for now until something doesn’t work, and my OCD kicks in again.
CHEERS!!!