Bamboozled By A Fake COB? Part 2

Update: Summer, 2018

The original blog – Bamboozled By a Fake COB? – was posted back in the fall of 2016.  A lot of new products have been released since then, and we wanted to provide updated guidance to help ensure you are purchasing a true Bridgelux product.

First things first

Always purchase products from an approved supplier or distributor.  A list of where to buy our products is available here. 

Buyer beware!  Fraudulent websites have appeared where they give the impression they are authorized Bridgelux resellers that accept orders and credit card payments, but then fail to fulfill orders with website ownership being unclear.  Always buy Bridgelux products from authorized, trusted resellers listed here on the Bridgelux website.

Understand the language

We know it’s confusing, but some companies will make a product using a Bridgelux chip or die and say that it’s a Bridgelux COB.  These COBs are not considered Bridgelux products because they are not COBs that are actually manufactured (packaged) by Bridgelux.  The packaging (manufacturing) process, technology, materials and quality controls used by Bridgelux to manufacture products is industry leading and is based on over a decade of experience.  Bridgelux branded chips and die are sold in various performance classes.  In addition to having industry-leading packaging capabilities, Bridgelux COBs are always built with the best, highest performance Bridgelux chips or die. The same benchmark of quality does not exist with COBs that were not manufactured (packaged) by Bridgelux.  To purchase authentic, Bridgelux branded COB products, you need to purchase them from an approved supplier or distributor. 

Show me what to look for

For Bridgelux Vero® Series, Vero® SE Series, V Series™, and V Series™ HD arrays:

• Ensure that you see “Bridgelux” or “BLX” on the top of the array*
• Check for an etched or engraved barcode on the back of the array
• Check for a series of nine characters (numbers and letters) on the top of the array (eg 30E1000B7)**
• Check for a series of 10 characters (numbers and letters) engraved on the back

*Not applicable to sixth generation Vero Series and V Series arrays, Economy LED arrays and pre-released engineering samples

**Not applicable to V Series or V Series HD

For Bridgelux Vesta® Series Tunable White and Dim-To-Warm arrays:

• Ensure that you see “BLX” or “blx” on the top of the array

For Bridgelux EB Series™ and Vesta® Series Tunable White Linear:

• Ensure that you see “BRIDGELUX”  or “bridgelux” on the top of the product
• Check for a part number  prefix that begins with “BXEB” on the top of the product

Other Hints

Drawings of our products are available in all data sheets.  Be sure you download the latst data sheets from Bridgelux.com.  Do not simply rely on data sheets posted by other websites as they may be outdated or unauthorized.

Finally, you can always contact us or your local Sales representative and provide detailed information on the product in question.  If you use the contact form on our website, please provide as much information as possible about the product in question.