Norman Allure C1000 Lights
Lately, at the lab, I have been trying to student proof some of our lights. If you understand the realities of working in an educational institution, you know there is no way to truly overcome the extraordinary amount of wear and tear students subject fragile equipment to. Part of the point of education is to give students experience and one way, not ideal, is for them to screw up and break things (or over tighten, drop, etc.). We all do our best, but with the decline of tool use in our culture, the ability to use tools seems to have also waned.
So, I have been trying out the Norman Allure light systems. They are nice lights at a fair price. A definite step above the old lights we have been using. Still, there are some serious drawbacks to the design.The first and main issue is the light dome. They are held on by three little flexible "hooks" which essentially put off the eventual breakage of the dome for, like, 30 seconds. Students raise and lower head, knock them over and otherwise work with equipment in a way no sane engineer could ever account for, the expense would be too high. If our students actually paid for lighting gear out of pocket, like all of us professionals do, there would be little to no breakage.
As a lab tech, I have to try and out think the ineptitude of the various users of our gear. With that in mind, I have begun safety wiring the domes onto the heads. It is an obvious solution. The springs aren't strong enough, so wire them closed. Here are the pictures.
So, I have been trying out the Norman Allure light systems. They are nice lights at a fair price. A definite step above the old lights we have been using. Still, there are some serious drawbacks to the design.The first and main issue is the light dome. They are held on by three little flexible "hooks" which essentially put off the eventual breakage of the dome for, like, 30 seconds. Students raise and lower head, knock them over and otherwise work with equipment in a way no sane engineer could ever account for, the expense would be too high. If our students actually paid for lighting gear out of pocket, like all of us professionals do, there would be little to no breakage.
As a lab tech, I have to try and out think the ineptitude of the various users of our gear. With that in mind, I have begun safety wiring the domes onto the heads. It is an obvious solution. The springs aren't strong enough, so wire them closed. Here are the pictures.
It looks pretty secure at this point. I'll post later how long it holds.
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