Hello! I make LED toys and i'm trying to upgrade my product to have modes and be rechargeable. (the last step to make these perfect)

in order to assemble fast, the most I can do is solder 4 wires... so I need an all-in-one little button unit that does the 3+ modes and extends battery life if possible.

OR. option 2 (in photo 2). this unit includes a battery, This is even more optimal and saves ALOT more time during assembly BUT, the capacity is to small.... i need to run 4 to 10 leds for at least 24 hours.

Oh, and the solution has to be physically small sized. at least under 6cm.

If we could get a discussion going about little units i could buy... i'd be eternally grateful.

 

i've seen these before:::: but... the button is never attached so i wouldn't be able to take this little board out. maybe if i could find this with 2 aaa's and more modes... i guess i could do that.. but... i'm still lookin for smaller so its not cumbersome on my toys.

 

You might want to search on Alibaba for a manufacturer who does something similar but maybe is supplying the strings to go with it. They are often willing to supply special orders so you could buy just the boxes, or even strings exactly has you need them, already made.

 

ya i'm already all over alibaba.... thats where that little clicker came from... sadly only powers the lights for like 3 hours...



oh and duh.... i guess this::: (photo isnt unloading but, the white 3 button led controllers for strip lighting) would be exactly what i'm describing.... which... i do use all the time... but... the quality on these things is mega low.... and... its still alot of work to strip, twists all the wires so i can thread them into the PCB.. and solder all in such a small space... but.... maybe this new setup will be easier... also i'd prefer 1 button to rule them all. cus these buttons sometimes you cant even press is the main problem.. but... hmmm..

 

You could design something to do this, but that would be more work and you'd never make it as cheap as what a Chinese source could do.

I am assuming you don't have enough volume to hire someone to design this for you, so your best bet seems to be to keep looking for something closer to what you need, and seeing if you can get one of these companies to make it more like what you want.

 

yup exactly. and i do design pcbs but the manufacturer doesnt have assembly too. so just buying more ICs and stuff isnt worth it. the potentiometer i used on my pcb alone was like 2$ each... and ya no luck getting any of these companies to redesign their product for me. haha. i really just want the company that makes this little clicker to have a better capacity... or fit an 16340 inside... i might try to open it up and change the battery but.... the voltage i dont think matches. its putting out 3v and still somehow powering the 3.2v leds... for 3 hours. haha.

 

right now my product is just LED circuit board and boom, 9v battery. lots of bang for the buck.... but now im adding charge controllers, mode controllers... voltage regulator maybe... all just making it so much more work to assemble.... theres gotta be something... and i noticed they dont have 2 aaa boxs only 3... so... so biggggg :/ but.. does have modes.... might have to try it and see if it doesnt block the light somehow.

 

yup exactly. and i do design pcbs but the manufacturer doesnt have assembly too. so just buying more ICs and stuff isnt worth it. the potentiometer i used on my pcb alone was like 2$ each... and ya no luck getting any of these companies to redesign their product for me. haha. i really just want the company that makes this little clicker to have a better capacity... or fit an 16340 inside... i might try to open it up and change the battery but.... the voltage i dont think matches. its putting out 3v and still somehow powering the 3.2v leds... for 3 hours. haha.

There are assembly services from PCB manufacturers, but I suspect that in the end the unit cost would be too high for your product. If not, you could easily design a "universal" board for your purpose. Using a LiPo cell, you could make the who thing very small.

 

ya ive... theres only one PCB printer i know thats anywhere near my 1$ per unit price goal.. and thats JLCpcb.... they said they are adding assembly capability soon... and thats when i may see if they can assemble a unit cheap enough. maybe 2$ most would be perfect... ya if the charge controller and mode controller was already on my led board...then i'd be golden... and i'd just wire the little 35mm li-ion batteries on. i found ones that come with 2 prong on one end. for easy soldering. i wouldnt know how to design that circuit tho but... i know the protect board i use is a TP4056... somehow i'd have to copy that.