# Lighting ideas for a machine shop



## ponyboy (Nov 18, 2012)

I would do general lighting like you would normally do and then put up task specific lighting where they need it. I've done a lot of work in fab shops and one thing I can tell you is that you can't really know the best way to light them up until they get in there and set their machines up, each one will have an ideal lighting setup. The second thing I can tell you is you're never gonna please them all, operators aren't happy if they're not bitching


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## farlsincharge (Dec 31, 2010)

Machine shops get dirty, something sealed with a lens is great if they are willing to pay for it.
Otherwise cleaning the reflectors every 6 months is necessary to maintain any kind of light output.

How high is the ceiling?


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## papaotis (Jun 8, 2013)

this is a small shop, however, even the the small shops have a tendancy to change things soon after they move in. do general lighting as you proposed and set the stage for changes and add-ons, specially where they seem to be likely:thumbup:


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## BBQ (Nov 16, 2010)

I would overdo it with T8s, I would make that place very bright and have multiple rows to cancel shadows. 

My garage is only 12x20 or so and I have 24 T8 lamps in it.


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## mertabird (Nov 14, 2013)

Yes... if visibility is what they are concerned about... I would just lumen that place up.... 100, 150, 200 lumens a square foot if you like...


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## MHElectric (Oct 14, 2011)

farlsincharge said:


> How high is the ceiling?


Open rafters, maybe 9 or 10 ft. Not very high.


BBQ said:


> I would overdo it with T8s, I would make that place very bright and have multiple rows to cancel shadows.
> 
> My garage is only 12x20 or so and I have 24 T8 lamps in it.


+1. I am positive I could do a grand slam job with a bunch of T8's, I tried pretty hard to sell him on it. He didn't want to budge for some reason, said it wasn't the right kind of light. This is what lead me to start asking about what was out on the market with LED that could get this job done.


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## 99cents (Aug 20, 2012)

It's a shot in the dark  but, if he is dead set against fluorescent, you could take a look at LED parking garage luminaires, something with very wide distribution. They're going to cost some money, though, and once you order them, they're yours.


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## Bootss (Dec 30, 2011)

Can you sell him some machine hook ups, how does is service look, enough capacity for all the new machines? As far as the lights go he doesn't have much choice unless you want to spend a ton of money on LED. If you hook up his machines can you get kind of a light as you go scenario?


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## dspiffy (Nov 25, 2013)

I have a 30x30 workshop with a 12' ceiling . . . it was all done in T12, before T8's were a thing. I think there's about 20 8' T12s, with an additional 4' shoplight over each workbench. It's more light than I could hope for an no shadows.

I cant think of anything you could suggest to this guy that will work better than T8s.


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## sbrn33 (Mar 15, 2007)

Except T5's


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## wcord (Jan 23, 2011)

sbrn33 said:


> Except T5's


I disagree.
Use 8 foot tandem F54HO T5s with 5000 lamps.
Depending on the area, you may even be able to get a rebate.


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## ponyboy (Nov 18, 2012)

wcord said:


> I disagree. Use 8 foot tandem F54HO T5s with 5000 lamps. Depending on the area, you may even be able to get a rebate.


5000? Yuck. 41s maybe


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## BBQ (Nov 16, 2010)

T5s suck, they cost more and I find the ballast even less reliable than T8s


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## macmikeman (Jan 23, 2007)

I think you should put up a neon sign out front that says HERO.

USA needs machine shops, most of them sold all the equipment to Chinese and they packed it all up and shipped it to Shanghai.


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## dspiffy (Nov 25, 2013)

My own experiences with T5s and LEDs have been overpriced and unreliable.

I see installations of them elsewhere and think, "wow those really work/look great".


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## BBQ (Nov 16, 2010)

dspiffy said:


> My own experiences with T5s and LEDs have been overpriced and unreliable.
> 
> I see installations of them elsewhere and think, "wow those really work/look great".


In the past couple of months I have helped install a couple thousand LEDs and I feel the same way.

But ... they sure look good in a concert lighting rig.


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## dspiffy (Nov 25, 2013)

I was shocked when they first came out with LED PAR cans bright enough to replace the generic 500w ones . . .


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## ElectricZombie (Sep 21, 2012)

Hmmm Are you sure it's going to be a machine shop? Maybe suggest 1000w HPS lol!!!


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## MHElectric (Oct 14, 2011)

ElectricZombie said:


> Hmmm Are you sure it's going to be a machine shop? Maybe suggest 1000w HPS lol!!!


More like a metal/fabrication shop. I think I labeled this thread wrong. :jester:

Met with the customer tonite, he's really wanting LED. Looks like ive got some homework to do....


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## wcord (Jan 23, 2011)

ponyboy said:


> 5000? Yuck. 41s maybe


41s for an office , sure. But for shops, 5000s seem to be good.
We've put them in cabinet shops, machine shops, garages, a mail sorting installation.
Even have a print shop, that we are expanding, which has 5000s.
Much closer to daylight than 41s.
Even had one customer who wanted 6500 (T8s). It was for an operating room in a vet clinic. 
But then again, everybody has their favorite lamp.


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## Shockdoc (Mar 4, 2010)

Anyone have any good links to ceiling mounted T5 HO refelected pans or box fixtures I can nipple together? I have a simular job request pending.


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## mertabird (Nov 14, 2013)

MHElectric said:


> More like a metal/fabrication shop. I think I labeled this thread wrong. :jester:
> 
> Met with the customer tonite, he's really wanting LED. Looks like ive got some homework to do....


They are making LED tube type lamps now that install in standard fluorescent fixtures. They make troffer lights, high bays (they call them this, but they look like a 2x2 fluorescent to me). And you can get bulbs to fit almost any fixture. But I would look at those high bay types...or the troffers. The CREE site has a lot of options. And you might look at Titan LED too.


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## Victory Pete (Jun 29, 2012)

I have a 30'x30' workshop with 48 8' T8 Daylight lamps. Very bright with no shadows.


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## wizkid (Jan 24, 2014)

*LED T8 cautions*

I would suggest using a LED T8 retrofit kit. Some things to look out for:
Don't use internal driver tubes, they require bypassing the ballast and wiring the tombstone connectors directly to the mains. Use a low voltage isolated
driver type kit instead. Next pick a color temp of whiteness of 5000K, not any higher, with a CRI of at least 80. Finally, use frosted tubes, not clear and make sure they have an efficiency of 100 lumen/watt.


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## Toeknee (Sep 23, 2013)

I agree with the sealed type of fixture for cleaning for sure. If they are dead set on LED, look at the tubes that Howard has on the market. They simply replace a standard T-8 lamp, no driver or rewiring needed. The only catch is the ballast must be instant start, not rapid or program. Make sure the tombstones are wired for instant "shunted" also. Good luck!


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## Pastor Hogg (Dec 28, 2013)

I just done a huge warehouse with LEDs it has 30 ft ceilings and I put 4 rows of 8 footers in and it's so bright it will make your eyes water lol but that's what he wanted plus I put in 7 wall packs outside and when I turn them on al on at one time they only pull a quarter of an amp I have a great connection on all types of led lighting if your interested just let me know

<>< Travis


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## nosmiley (Dec 13, 2013)

*shop lighting.*

Something that you may want to consider depending on what the fellow is actually doing.
I'm a woodturner using a lathe, as a hobby. I have seen it suggested several times, to avoid placing Fluorescent lights over a wood lathe . The various colors, and or stripes, will appear to move around in waves, at many of the speeds a wood turner uses. It's caused by the oscillations being emitted from the tube. The results can be either a headache and/or the turner making a wrong cut, which can cause a gouge, in the piece he's turning. I guess it can be likened to a strobe light causing unusual visuals. It's much more subtle than a strobe light. Wood turners normally use lathe speeds from 350 to 4000 rpm's .
My shop has fluorescent lights for general lighting, but gooseneck machine lights on all tools that are manually operated, and have spinning parts. My set-up is old and dated, but works well for me. I am slowly retrofitting to warm colored LED's to replace the incandescent bulbs in the goose necks. True colors are important to me, and the work. As I have gotten older, it seems I need more (brighter) light. My Ophthalmologist and optometrist, both, have told me this is normal for aging folks doing close work. 
I have worked in two large factories that mfg. machined metal parts. These were high ceiling buildings that used metal halide or high pressure sodium 10-20 years ago. No fluorescents were in the shop area of either. They employed 350, and 1100 folks on two shifts.


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## wavector (Nov 10, 2009)

I still like low bay lighting.


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## bjaenen (Feb 27, 2014)

I'd say put up T5's we sell them like hot cakes here.. I like 5k


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## Going_Commando (Oct 1, 2011)

I just saw a demo of Phillips t8 LED tubes the other day where you don't have to touch the ballast. Looked pretty slick, and are 14w per tube. I think the salesman said they were ~$25 a lamp.


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## arni19 (Nov 20, 2009)

I seen the phillips led t8 replacement tubes. Few concerns .. Price is 10x as much as a t8 lamp. Same life expectancy as a t8 lamp. And about half as many lumens as a t8 lamp ( salesman assured me its because all the leds are directed downward.. Not buying it). Cool idea , economically it makes no sense since it uses just about as much power as a t8 lamp and there is no energy efficient rebate because of this.


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## chicken steve (Mar 22, 2011)

Is there an ophthalmologist in the house.....? :jester:~CS~


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## Fredman (Dec 2, 2008)

In a friends machine shop I built enclosures/heatsinks for some Cree high power LED's. They are mounted on flexible/directable stalks close to the business end of his lathes. Operating at 6500K with daylight T-8's on the ceiling backing them up. Crystal clear bright - They are bad ass, he loves them. Nothing better. 

:thumbsup:


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