[sdiy] LED panel mounting?

[J. Larry Hendry]

>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: <Ordeish at aol.com>
>> Hi all, I am putting the finishing touches to my mouser order. I was
going to use 3mm leds with a T-1 single piece moutning (606-CMP100). I
realized though that I do not know the size of this mounting. What does T-1
stand for? Is it for 3mm? How big of a hole do I need in the face plate for
this mounting?
Edward

-------
I'm sure there will be plenty of good responses on this, but here is my
experience with T1 LEDs

You have a couple of choices depending on how you want it to look.
Certainly, a panel mount housing is available for those little puppies.  I
have some, but for my recent projects where I had several close together it
did not work out well.

I found that 1/8" drill bit was exactly the right size hole for a T1 3mm
LED. I am guessing that mountings can vary so that hole size is hard to
determine. Here are some photos of T1 3mm LEDs I mounted without housings.

In one case, I the LEDs are mounted on the PCB so that the PCB actually
holds the LEDs in place.
http://www.wiseguysynth.com/larry/kw2010/mods/mod_PCB.jpg
http://www.wiseguysynth.com/larry/kw2010/mods/complete_front_mod.jpg

If you don't use a housing, and  the LED is not held in by a PCB, I found
that flexible caulk (like you might caulk around a tub or sink with does a
nice job of holding them in the panel.  The nice part about this is if you
need to replace one, you can simply cut the caulk away with a knife, replace
the LED and re-caulk.
http://www.wiseguysynth.com/larry/mw2090/2090_18.jpg
http://www.wiseguysynth.com/larry/mw2090/2090_20.jpg

Most of these have a small lip around the back that will keep them from
coming through the panel.  If you have a thin panel, they stick out a fair
amount.  With a think panel (1/8") like those shown in my photos, they are
just past flush.  If you wanted them to protrude more, You would have to
drill about 1/2 way through the panel from the back with a larger size bit.
A drill press and significant attention to exact depth would be required.  I
opted for the just past flush look.

Larry Hendry