Stephen

Wow... that was fast. I got a call Wednesday afternoon that all the parts had been anodized, and I was able to pick them up this morning. To say that these guys are good would be a major understatement. Great attention to detail. Beautiful finish quality with no bleeding anywhere and no damage to any of the parts AND all at a reasonable price. They even individually re-packed every piece in it's own bag exactly the way that I handed the bare parts to them on Tuesday. So thanks again to Pam and Ricki and crew at Advanced Technical Finishing (ATF) for such great service. If you ever need any parts plated, I highly recommend you give them a call!

ATF
256.534.8426
www.AdvancedTF.com

Here are some pictures from the first evening of assembly:
First batch of 21 laid out (16 tail, 5 head)


Closeup showing LED board alignment keys and epoxy "drip wells" (I can't begin to tell you how nice it is not to have to mill out each of those lens holes.)


Power wire entry O-ring bonded to housing. This is a VERY tricky technique. Can only clean the residual adhesive after it cures for 24 hours.


First 16 Taillights with LED boards epoxied down.


Corner shot of taillight with new flush-mount lid installed with socket heads.


Not bad for a first evening couple hours work. This is going MUCH faster than last time with the new features on the front face. Thanks Robert!!!

Assembly steps for first batch of 25 (18 tail, 7 head):
1. Clean housings, and install power wire o-ring with 3M weatherstrip adhesive. (30 min - 100% Complete 10/26)
2. Bond LED boards to housings with Arctic Alumina. (45 min - 100% Complete 10/27)
3. Epoxy the power switch to all the lids, solder wires, and strain relief. (1.5 hr+overnight cure - 100% completed 10/29)
4. Install and solder series jumper wire to main LED boards. (1 hr - 100% completed 10/28)
5. Install lid o-rings (lightly lubed with silicon). (30 min - 100% completed 10/28)
6. Cut to length, strip, and install power wires into housings. (1.5 hr - 75% completed 10/29)
7. Solder power wires and switch wires into PC board. (1.5 hr - 20% completed 10/29)
8. Install PC boards into housings with loctite and thermal paste. (30 min)
9. Install Lids with loctite on screws. (30 min)
10. Install front face o-ring for sealing lens cover. (20 min)
11. Install Lens o-rings into lens cover (lightly lubed), install lenses, install lens cover. (1 hr)
12. Install modified H27 quick-release spacer onto extender bars and mate with light body. (1 hr - 100% completed 10/30)
13. Cut spring rubber spacers for H32 clamps (seat stay option). (30 min)
14. Check programming, leak check, and burn in (1 hr).

Went ahead and completed one taillight for a little 7.4V rundown testing... This one is coming your way Ed. The new light as show here, weighs in at exactly 100 grams.
Here's a few pics of the FIRST COMPLETED TAILLIGHT from build 3:


Step 6. is actually a lot more tedious that it sounds. The power wires have to be stripped AFTER the wire is inserted into the housing. Then, in order to prepare the wires for insertion into the power supply, they have to be carefully trimmed and tinned. Lastly, I add some high-temp heat shrink over the Red/Black insulation since it is not high temp and will melt during the soldering process. This pic shows the power wires but also shows the lid o-ring and internal jumper wire.


From Step 12.... the extender bars turned out beautiful. Nice and clean. Good lines all around. NICE job Robert. This is the KEY piece to making the lights work with the Cateye mounting system.