VCC  is a leader in the development of high performance light pipes and we have trademarked our own line (Litepipes™) of innovative options for all your remote signaling and indication needs. To assist in your light pipe selection we’ve provided some factors below help you select the right type of light pipe for your project.

There are many factors to consider when selecting a light pipe to ensure the most effective use in your application. The most important of these considerations are listed below:

• Rigid or Flexible – There are two basic types of light pipes available and those are rigid and flexible. Both have their own strengths as described below:

Rigid light pipes are selected for applications where you have a straight or right angle connection from the power source to the display panel. This lightpipe type is generally                   smaller and less expensive as the wiring cost is minimized by the direct connection.

Flexible light pipes are used when your panel is further away from the power source or when you do not have a straight line of sight connection available. The VCC Flexible                      Litepipe™, one of the most advanced, can provide a 180° viewing angle and very little light degradation even when implemented with extreme bending angles.

• Shape, Size – An extensive selection of light pipe shapes and sizes are available to meet your production and signaling needs. The Litepipe™ series includes but is not limited to square, rectangle and round shapes with sizes ranging from 2.5mm to 5mm. When implementing an intricate signaling process, a combination of different shapes and sizes used in conjunction with different colored LEDs permits a wide range of options for providing clear communication.
• Environment – The environment in which you are placing your light pipe signaling connection is one of the most important considerations to take into account. VCC’s Litepipe™ series has both flexible and rigid options for use in locations that encounter moisture, dust and other debris that can damage and degrade normal connection types. The LMS and LCS series are moisture sealed and have been successfully used in a number of applications with dust and moisture exposure.
• Power – The amount of power available to power your signaling system is often determined by the heat sink abilities of your PCB. VCC’s Litepipe™ series can be implemented with minimum power consumption. There is also a high-intensity Litepipe™ available where a more intense light is required by the design or environment.  One phone call or e-mail to your VCC representative or a look the VCC catalog will provide you with Litepipe™ specifications to find the exact requirements for your selection so it can be built into your power design.

VCC has long been a leader in this field and our experts can provide you with more in depth information regarding our wide array of Litepipes™ and inventive ways to implement them into your design. Contact us today at: www.vcclite.com for all your light pipe needs.

ViaSat, known for their prestigious line of digital communication products, held a charity supplier show April 26th at the ViaSat campus in Carlsbad, California. Exhibitor fees to attend the show went to the Disabled Veterans Association.  Engineers at ViaSat were able to see the full line of VCC products and offerings.

VCC Optoelectronics and Integra Electronics showcased their full product offerings including the SMD LED line, panel mounted products and custom light pipes. The VCC product line carries many specialized items that meet the strict requirements of the ViaSat applications. Samples of these products along with LED Testers and engineering development kits where handed out to the ViaSat engineers working on signal and indication projects.  Over 400 Engineers and buyers attended the show with suppliers from all over Southern California showcasing their products.

“This is a great way to give back to the Veterans that protect our country and at the same time gain mindshare with the ViaSat engineers and buyers” Said Sharon Poltorak with Integra Electronics.

VCC is committed to participating in events that not only showcase our product line but also gives back to valued members of our community and those in need. Check out the expansive VCC product line today and contact us for samples and/or order requirements.  Our experienced staff is always available to assist you with your LED, Lite Pipe and Surface-mounted PCB connection needs.

About:

ViaSat produces publically traded company designs and manufactures innovative satellite and digital communication products that enable fast, secure, and efficient communications to and from any location. Their product line is featured in applications such as mobile communcation networking, microprocessor chipset communication, military networking with datalinks and terminals for situational combat awareness, broadband satellite and much more.

Integra Electronics, Inc. was established in 1998 as an authorized, stocking distributor of passive and electro-mechanical electronic components.  The Company’s line of suppliers supports its customers with high quality components and excellent service.  You will find a large variety of optoelectronics, capacitors, inductive components, resistors, semi-conductors, frequency devices and more.

In the growing demand for quick lab results, Caliper Life Science diagnostics group selects VCC Custom LED interconnect to help with the indication demands required to meet FDA regulations.  The desire was to quickly and efficiently retrofit a current product to meet the new demands.

“The idea was to use a pre-existing product platform and change the front cover. We needed a way to bring the indication to the new cover without having to rewire the existing platform. The intention was to make a less expensive product but still have the options of allowing for future upgrades.” Said Shawn Allen head mechanical engineer.  “Because of VCC’s vast array of products and configurations and their knowledgeable customer service it was a simple and easy process for us.”

The CNX series offers an easy solution when a demand arises where the indicator needs to be mounted to a front panel. Since connection lengths vary widely, this series can be ordered in standard or custom lengths and arrive at your facility pre-wired with the required connection length for the application.  No tools for assembly are needed. You can order your interconnect with the type of termination needed for the specific application as well. VCC provides you with the option to use a header connector, stripped, bare wires, terminal attachments or arrange to have this component soldered directly to your circuit board.  The CNX series of interconnects have been modified to resolve panel pushback issues and will withstand high levels of vibration, making them the perfect product for retrofit applications where secure fit can be an issue. The CNX series gives you flexibility, durability and ease of implementation that are needed in both your new and retrofit projects.  To learn more about VCC Interconnects please visit our web-site at www.vcclite.com.

The complexity of today’s LED designs as it relates to the PCB, which can contain hundreds of components, has increased the difficulty of not only maintaining compatibility of component placement and mechanical layout but also increased thermal concerns. Increasingly, thermal reliability and planning is a critical part of the design process especially when talking about IC and High power LED’s.

As the LED heat escalates, several key characteristics may become apparent, which demonstrate the importance of LED thermal management. The forward voltage will begin to decrease. The decreasing voltage can impose an increased load on related LED driver components causing their temperature to increase as well.

In resistor driven circuits, the forward current will increase. As the LED lights temperature continues to rise, the optical wavelength can shift. The increasing wavelength can cause orange LED lights to appear red or even white LED lights to appear bluish. This color shift typically intensifies with the AlInGaP technologies (red, orange, amber, and yellow). In addition, a thermally stressed LED lights will loose efficiency and light output will diminish. If the LED thermal management continues to race out of control, the LED junction may break down causing a state of complete thermal failure.

Thermal failure is the total loss of electronic function due to melting, partial vaporization of the component, thermal fracture of a support or separation between the leads. Thermal issues can also result in joint stresses and hot spots on your board.

Thermal management techniques must focus on effectively dissipating heat generated by high-power designs, providing high thermal conductivity, and on maintaining low coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE), while managing CTE mismatches between LED’s, components, their interconnects and the PCB.

Manufacturers of LED’s and IC components use a variety of packaging chips and often times the components may have a lower CTE than the standard PCB. This results in a thermal mismatch between the device and the PCB. The environment in which your PCB is to be operating can affect performance as well. For every 20°C rise in component temperature, the failure rate doubles.

All VCC proprietary products use UL rated (94-V0) material to protect against melting on the board during the reflow and/or wave soldering processes eliminating some of these concerns for the engineer.

While LED chipmakers are doing their part to improve thermal management for their devices, the design engineer must take heat dissipation into consideration as well, from using applicable board materials (like the UL rated (94-V0)) to paying special attention to mounting holes.  The use standoffs and different connection techniques will be integral in obtaining proper airflow to assist heat dissipation. Check out our selection here.

New patents are being issued as the industry continues to develop a variety of new LED thermal management materials and techniques. There are several prominent developments that are in the tool kit of seasoned PCB designers and engineers.

There are proven techniques such as copper thieving, increasing trace thickness, and using the mounting holes to dissipate heat.  Newer techniques and developments include using thermal modeling software, new heat sink material, high conductivity carbon composite board layers, special casing materials, and edge plating. Below I’d like to cover the latest developments in the area of heat sinks, which have historically served as the workhorse for thermal management in PCB design.

Heat Sink Developments

Heat sinks help keep LED components at temperatures below their specified maximum operating temperature. There are many different designs and various ways of optimizing heat sinks.

Over time, the technology has progressed with the use of new materials like carbon fiber and boron nitride. These materials are implemented into multi-layer PCBs to efficiently move heat from one fiber ply to the next. Due to their high cost, however, these materials will likely find limited use in future PCB fabrication and may not replace aluminum heat sinks in many LED applications.

Fin-based aluminum or copper heat sinks retain greater acceptance in many LED applications due to their low cost and ideal thermal dissipation characteristics. Aluminum has a highly acceptable thermal conductivity, while copper is about twice as high. Aluminum heat sinks are inexpensive; copper ones cost more and weigh more. Consequently, aluminum is chosen for most cost-effective applications, and copper is used in selected ones where performance reigns over cost.

Finally, while most heat sinks are finned to provide a simple way of increasing surface area for heat radiation and conduction. Newly developed special aluminum fin material is reported to be 15 percent more conductive than fin material used in previous heat sinks.  These current developments are sure to become as essential as the heat sink device itself.

Mesa Boogie, the Petaluma-based company known for their diverse range of power-style guitar amps, has selected VCC to provide panel indicator lenses for its products. The CLB 300 is a low-profile, button-type lens that is designed for use with 5mm LEDs. It has a smooth, clean look with a convex shaped surface protruding above the panel. This minimizes the potential problem of snagging or other interference that might result from varying environmental conditions. Additionally, the CLB 300 uses striated lines and Fresnel rings to increase the apparent brightness to 125% and deliver a 180 degree viewing angle. All of the features above helped  VCC distinguish itself as having the fit and feel Mesa Boogie was seeking.

Jim Albritton, a VCC Sales Representative explained, “For Mesa Boogie, aesthetics are very important. The indication products offered by VCC’s competitors just didn’t provide the clean look and feel that Mesa Boogie was looking for.”

Find more information about Mesa Boogie and its products here.

With the vast array of different LED packages and applications, bin sorting is becoming an important means of achieving a consistent light pattern in a final product.

But what exactly is bin sorting and how does it work?

On the front end of manufacturing, wafers are produced, with each wafer containing thousands of dies that will become individual LEDs. The dies are “diced” (separated) from the wafer and placed together in a giant bin. These individual dies vary slightly in chromaticity, color temperature, and wavelength. To deal with variances, automated testing equipment (ATE) sorts the dies into smaller bins based on similar color and intensity, with the number of bins determined by the volume of LEDs made by a manufacturer.

After being sorted into smaller bins, the dies go to “final package” where they are placed in a final LED assembly.  Each LED is once again tested for operation and light pattern.

When selecting an LED for a lighting application or when clustering them together, manufacturers can achieve an even and consistent look in a product if they select LEDs from the same bin, as indicated on the LED data sheet.

*Find a more detailed explanation of wafer manufacturing at Wikipedia.

Neato Robotics, maker of innovative robotic vacuum cleaners, recently called on VCC to develop a half-circle lightpipe for the Power On button in its SLA prototypes to be tested. Unlike standard SLA materials, VCC’s lightpipe SLAs are made of a material that closely mimics the acrylic that will be used to manufacture the final product, providing a more accurate prototype. With only a two-day turnaround, VCC’s full-service SLA shop came through with shining colors, literally.

Following this success, Neato Robotics approached VCC with another time-sensitive request: to provide a custom Bi-Color high-bright LED for its product. VCC once again met the delivery demands on time and exceeded Neato’s expectations in overall light output performance.

For more information on Neato Robotics, visit www.neatorobotics.com.