SMD Vs DIP LED | LED DIP Vs SMD | DIP SMD

DIP, SMD, COB, And GOB LED: A Quick Comparison Guide

Introduction

Ever since the invention of LED lighting technology, it has become a very popular, cost-effective, and energy-saving lighting material choice of many. Today, there is now more than one model of LED technology available in the market.

You should know what you want and need from LED lighting when purchasing LED technology.

LED technologies like DIP, SMD, COB, and GCOB LED are created with unique features ideal for different applications. The main difference among these LED technologies lies in how the LED components are packaged inside each model type.

For this article, we give you a comprehensive and simplistic explanation of how each LED technology model and its “LED packaging” differ from one another.

This article will guide you in choosing the right LED technology suitable for your commercial or residential space needs.

1. DIP LED Technology

A. What Is DIP LED Technology?

DIP LED, which stands for Dual In-Line Package LEDs, is considered the standard LED technology version.

DIP vs SMD vs COB vs GOB — *DIP LED Technology*

Even though it is considered the oldest form of LED technology, it is far from obsolete. DIP LEDs are still widely used today for many signages and digital displays because of their durability and high performance.

It is easy to recognize a DIP LED because of its distinct structure. It has a cylindrical body and a spherical top and has the same shape as the bullet.

Each DIP LED has a single chip and semiconductor die that emits light when supplied with electricity. The LED chip is encased with a hard-plastic epoxy lens or case and two (2) connecting pins for easy soldering to any LED circuit or LED board.

Each DIP LED is only capable of producing one color. That is why it is commonly combined with the other two differently colored DIP LEDs to achieve the RGB (red, green, blue) color scheme.

This type of LED produces around 4 lumens per single LED, and the input power is 5 volts to 12 volts.

B. What Are The Unique Features Of DIP LED?

Durable Hard Casing. One of the most sought features of DIP LED is its resistance to impacts. This LED light has durable encapsulation that protects its interior components from blows and mil collisions. Additionally, the LEDs also integrate into LED modules, which gives them extra resistance and strength.

Energy Saving. DIP LED can help you save energy by up to 80% compared to traditional lights like fluorescent bulbs. While it helps save you money, it does not compromise the brightness it provides. The beam angle of the DIP LED reaches 60 degrees.

Different Color Options. DIP LEDs can produce various colors like red, blue, green. You could also choose from warm white to pure white lights.

Several Applications. The DIP LED is commonly used as a light indicator for many electronics and home appliances like computers, television sets, dashboards, etc. It is also widely utilized in many supermarkets, factories, public utility vehicles, etc. DIP LEDs are applicable for both lighting and decorative purposes.

C. What Are The Advantages Of DIP LED?

One of the advantages of the DIP LED is its brightness. Each LED light can produce up to 4 lumens. The DIP LED offers its users a visibly bright light even when it is well lit. Its brightness is also visible even when there is strong sunlight. It is one of the reasons why DIP LED is an alternative light choice for outdoor solutions.
The DIP LED technology is suitable for harsh environments. It is protected with a hard epoxy case and a circuit board that gives additional resistance against impacts. It is still vastly used by many and applied to many electronics because of its durability.
Up to this date, DIP LED technology is still an excellent choice for outdoor use.

D. What Are The Downsides Of DIP LED?

DIP LEDs are generally heavier than other LED types, making them unsuitable for LED displays with smaller pixels.
DIP LEDs tend to be more expensive than other LED technologies like SMD because there are now fewer DIP LEDs.
The DIP LED is more complicated to produce, resulting in less production of this kind of LED.

2. SMD LED Technology

A. What Is SMD LED Technology?

SMD technology or Surface Mounted Diode LED technology has more minor LED chips than DIP LED. This factor allows the SMD LED to have better versatility as well.

The flat, square LEDs are soldered on the PCB circuit board’s surface in the SMD model, which gives it better efficiency and brightness than the previous LED technology. It can produce around fifty (50) to one hundred (100) lumens per watt. This is a lot brighter than DIP LED.

The most significant development that the SMD technology has adopted is its ability to have RGB or three (3) diodes encapsulated in a single LED pixel. This LED technology has become helpful in delivering full-color image screen displays. Each LED chip can change into different colors.

SMD LED technology has become a breakthrough in delivering digital displays in higher resolution. It allows the users like you to have LED screens with smaller pixels and higher pixel density.

SMD LEDs are used as strip lights, electronics light indicators, monitor screens, and many more. These LEDs are also used as decorative lighting, both indoor and outdoor.

B. What Are The Unique Features Of SMD LED?

High Brightness. SMD LEDs produce much softer beams than DIP LEDs. This is why it is much preferred for indoor use. But due to the continuous development in SMD LED technology, the SMD LEDs, year after year, offer higher brightness intensity with the same energy consumption. Because of this reason, plus many others, SMD LEDs are considered the most used LED types today, both domestic and industrial.

RGB Encapsulation. Because of RGB colors’ integration in a single pixel, the SMD LEDs can produce almost any color. These LEDs are adjustable to specific intensities to create color combinations to display a full-color image picture.

Variety of Sizes. SMD LEDs are labeled with four-digit numbers. And these numbers represent the size of your LED. The first two digits refer to the LED module’s length, while the last two numerals refer to the height. The measurements are a tenth of a millimeter. For instance, the SMD 3535 measures 3.5 mm (L) x 3.5 mm (H).

C. What Are The Advantages Of SMD LED?

The SMD LED offers fair light distribution and mixture. Due to its 3in1 LED structure design, it delivers better color consistency, and the effect of the RGB color mixture is better, especially for a closer view. The SMD LEDs are now commonly applied in smartphone screens and laptop monitors.
The SMD LED display can offer you a wider viewing angle of over 140 degrees, horizontal and vertical. This makes the SMD LEDs a preferred choice for digital displays like signages and billboards.
It looks thinner and slimmer than DIP LEDs. Its LEDs are flat, allowing you to have a light and nice-looking appearance. These features make the screen easier to install and have a better overall appearance when used in digital signages and displays.
The SMD LED is less expensive than DIP LEDs because of the higher production of this kind of LED.
The newer versions of SMD LEDs are now claimed to have a longer lifespan than the older DIP LEDs.

D. What Are The Downsides Of SMD LED?

The SMD Technology is less suitable as the only attachment method for LED lights or displays subject to constant repair or mechanical stress.
The earlier versions of SMD LEDs have lower brightness and a shorter lifespan than the DIP LEDs.

3. COB LED Technology

A. What Is COB LED Technology?

COB (chip on board) LED has 3 LED chips (each RGB color) directly soldered on an LED substrate.

Manufacturers embed multiple LEDs within the inner substrate to produce one LED module. This process has a flat LED module surface encapsulated by a resin or lens for protection.

With COB package design, the LED chips look like one LED lighting panel rather than multiple LED lights put together.

The chip on board (COB) technology is a process or manufacturing procedure. It describes the package design and structure of this particular LED technology.

And since it does not follow the traditional package design, the COB LED chips can occupy less space but still achieve their highest potential.

The COB technology offers higher reliability compared to previous LED technologies discussed. The process does not require any supports and brackets, which, as a result, reduces the failure sites.

The COB LED display is more resistant to humidity, dust, rust, and moisture than other LED technologies such as the DIP and SMD LED display technologies.

B. What Are The Unique Features Of COB LED Display?

Direct Attachment. FOR EXAMPLE, COB LED display technology supports direct attachment to a heat sink without attaching the LED chips first to the PCB circuit board. As a result, you can expect the COB LED display to have better heat dissipation.

Smaller Size. The COB LED screen has minor light chips, making them even more desirable. Nowadays, many consumers and end-users look for a more minor, more compact light source that takes up minimal space. COB LED screens may have smaller LED light chips, but they can produce brightness with higher intensity.

Higher Lumen per Watt. The COB LED screen has various applications. Each application requires different wattage, voltage, and lumens requirements. Nonetheless, each COB LED screen can produce lumens that reach 80 to 100 per watt.

Efficient Heat Transfer. The COB LED display uses aluminum or ceramic substrates to provide your LED lights with less thermal resistance.

Wide Applications. The COB LED offers a wide range of applications. COB LEDs are applied to various lamps and lighting tools such as street lights, downlights, spotlights, and other electronic devices such as cameras and smartphones.

C. What Are The Advantages Of a COB LED Screen?

COB LED screens only use small energy and less power, but they can supply bright light.
When used or applied in lighting fixtures, the COB LED screen can make the overall size of light smaller. It also requires fewer parts to assemble and install.
Since the COB LED screen has fewer parts and does not use traditional LED chip packaging, the heat generated by each LED unit is reduced drastically.
COB LEDs do not produce light strip patches and light glares that are very uncomfortable to human eyes.
COB LEDs have higher heat conductivity. Thanks to the high-quality ceramic boards used in manufacturing the COB LEDs.
Overall, the COB LEDs have high power light-emitting diodes, which give you higher light efficacy and lighting effect.
Over time, there is minimal light loss because COB LEDs do not need the other lenses and packaging styles that older LED technologies to need.
There is a lower failure rate because each LED chip does not require individual soldering onto the circuit board. Instead, the LED chips are directly soldered on a substrate. Since there are fewer welding points, there is also a lower risk of failure.

D. What Are The Downsides Of COB LED?

Since COB LEDs are somehow new to the market, there are limited colors available for now. You can only find COB LEDs in white (cool, neutral, and warm), RGB colors, and pink.
The manufacturing costs for COB LED may exceed that of other LED technology as SMD LED.
The COB LEDs’ color uniformity is less than what the SMD LED can offer.

4. GOB LED Technology

A. What is GOB LED Technology?

GOB LED or Glue on Board LED is a new LED technology packaging method that gives you an ultra-protected LED display against many different kinds of intrusions.

GOB LEDs are created by putting transparent glue on the entire surface of LED modules to form highly reliable protection. The bond will shield the hundreds of SMD LEDs mounted or soldered on the PCB circuit board.

This advanced layer of protection makes your LED display highly adaptable to various harsh environments. It gives your LED display high resistance against dust, moisture, collision, and even UV damage. The GOB LED display technology also ensures that there would be no brightness loss over time and the heat dissipation has no damaging effect on your LED display.

Unlike COB, GOB LED displays have more straightforward maintenance, and the cost for its maintenance is cheaper.

This innovation in LED technology aimed to provide the LED displays, especially the rental LED screens, extra strength and durability to last longer.

The GOB Technology gives your LED screen the ability to be installed on the ground and serve as a floor video wall. This type of video wall is commonly found in fashion, concerts, etc.

B. What Are The Unique Features Of GOB LED?

COB vs GOB — *Waterproof GOB LED Display*

All-Weather Resistant. The transparent glue protection layered on the surface of LED modules makes your LED display adaptable to all kinds of weather conditions. It gives your LED screen outstanding protection against dust, rust, moisture, UV light, static, etc., which may harm your LED screen and cause damage to your LED components.

Anti-Collision. The LED screen’s surface has hardened glue as a safety cover for your LED display screen. This makes your LED screen highly resistant to impact and collision.

Longer Lifespan. As we all know, a well-protected gadget or device lasts longer than ordinary devices. GOB LED screen technology makes investing in LED displays more worthwhile.

Wider Viewing Angle. A GOB LED display offers a wider viewing angle than other LED displays. The comfortable or optimal viewing angle for the GOB display reaches 180 degrees both from horizontal and vertical views.

Superior Thermal Conductivity. This LED technology does not only give your LED screen high transparency, but it also has strong heat dissipation.

Low Maintenance. The LED components are secured, so frequent maintenance or repair is less risky. Compared to other LED technologies mentioned earlier, the GOB LED screen technology has more detailed maintenance requirements.

C. What Are The Advantages Of GOB LED?

GOB LED has improved reliability because of the reason that is well-explained above. It has added protection and is resistant to harsh weather conditions.
GOB LEDs are safer to transport and install. There is less risk of damaging the LED panels.
There are much fewer chances of having broad deadlights with GOB LED display technology.
You can expect a longer service life with GOB LED display products.
It offers a wide range of applications; it can be used indoors and outdoors, rain or shine, and as rental LED displays.
You can install it almost anywhere with no anxiety about breaking or damaging your LED screen. This includes walls, floors, ceiling, exterior wall, etc.
GOB LED technology is more cost-efficient. The initial investment may be more significant, but it will save you more repair and repurchase costs in the long run.

D. What Are The Downsides Of GOB LED?

A welding problem with LEDs is challenging to repair, mainly because the surface has glue.
There is a potential risk of colloid formation over years of intense exposure to heat and cold alternately.

Conclusion

Since the rise of LED technology many years ago, we can say that we have already come a long way with our LED technology nowadays.

The LED industry’s tremendous development and creative innovations make this technology even more popular and valuable in the 21st century.

These different types of LED technologies give their users other solutions. As discussed in this article, you can see that they possess unique characteristics that are ideal for various applications.

The DIP LED may be the oldest form of LED technology, but it remains valuable today. And while the GOB is the newest technology, it is still far from being the perfect LED. But one thing is for sure, for every LED need you may have, there is the right LED technology that will satisfy you. So, you must know what this LED technology has to offer its users.

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SMD Vs DIP LED | LED DIP Vs SMD | DIP SMD | COB Vs GOB