Drill and screw or adhesive

I recieved my led kit and i am trying to decide how i want to mount them. I went with the 72 led kit from aquastyle, $240 shipped for 72 leds 3 meanwell drivers , optics, wire etc was to good to pass up.The kit comes with a thermal adhesive to glue the leds to the heatsink, but i see more people drilling and screwing the leds on.

Is there any major benefit to screwing over glueing? 140+ holes drilled and tapped seems like alot of work and time that could be saved, if everything ends up same/same.
If there is a benefit or reason to scree then that is a differant story.

 

I say thermal adhesive. This coming from someone who has a CNC milling machine that could do the work for me!!! Let it set up overnight at least. There just is no reason to drill and tap 8 million holes. If you ever want to change out a LED star just a quick turn out a screw driver pops them off.

 

do yourself a favor and get these Berquist Thermal Pad (set of 10) - Rapid LED

I just used adhesive and burt one of my leds on the heatsink gonna be fun trying to get it off

 

I'd use either the thermal adhesive or the thermal pads! I used the adhesive and LEDs pop off easy. Plus this way allows you to tweak the build later if ya don't like the initial set up!

 

Adhesive is the best way to go. Like mentioned drilling and tapping can make things alot more time consuming and permanent. Plus look at the threads where people have had grounding issues when using screws, of course nylons screws would be preferred if you go that route.

 

Use the Thermal Pads. They are semi permanent and there is no risk of causing a short.
Just remember to clean the back of each star and the heatsink with isopropyl alcohol. Medical wipes, like the type that nurses use before giving a shot work great for this.

 

MakersLED - DIY High Power LED Fixtures by Andy & Mark McClure — Kickstarter

Or hope these guys get their funding. that suff is pretty cool, and i could see it being big with the DIY crew

 

Awraome, thanks everyone adhesive it will be

 

they really thought of it all when building this fixture! i hope it goes through too!

 

I used to screw, but switch to glue now.. I like it better.. no dead spot