Hey guys, I’ve got a buddy with two CFOC2’s - but one is dead. Anyone here got an old CFOC2 they’re willing to sell?
Thanks!
Hey guys, I’ve got a buddy with two CFOC2’s - but one is dead. Anyone here got an old CFOC2 they’re willing to sell?
Thanks!
I’ve got two that I bought from you and never used
I’d sell both if you/your buddy want them!
Excellent! I’ll send you a PM.
Hello there, awsome project with theese FOCer’s.
I tried following the guide of ordering from JLCPCB but im getting an error with the BOM file and CPL file.
(The below parts won’t be assembled due to data missing.
Q1,Q2,Q3,Q4,Q5,Q6,J1,J2,J3,J4,J5,USB1,P4,P5,C39,C38 designators don’t exist in the CPL file.)
Could someone confirm that this is correct?
Thanks
Yes, that is correct. These parts need to be ordered seperately from LCSC. Q1-6 are the large fets, J1-5 and P4-5 are the connectors and C38 - C39 the bus capacitors. Also, make sure to use the files from the development branche. This is where you can find version 1.0 GitHub - shamansystems/Cheap-FOCer-2 at Developer-Branch
thanks for the reply Charclo, ill try make an order again from JLCPCB and LCSC ![]()
Hello, i soldered Cheap focer 2 myself, i thought it was the cheapest and the easiest option for me. I made it according to 0.9 github files. I encountered some problems:
Battery voltage is wrong in VESC tool, motor doesnt spin at all, even during setup wizard, also no faults.
I tried all firmware versions from GitHub, both 1.25 and the newest vesc tool, i tried swapping drv and stm to new ones, i desoldered voltage divider resistors to check them. Then i found cheap focer 2 1.0 GitHub and upgraded mine to 1.0, tested firmware from 1.0 GitHub too, and its indifferent.
Can anyone help please?
I also used STP110N8F6 mosfets and 358A op-amp instead of ones from BOM. Maybe my mosfets are too slow for the task?
The solder applied to one of the sides looks superb if you did that by hand, props
That’s looks so nicely packaged bro awesome sauce ![]()
This may not be the place to ask this, so let me know if I need to take it elsewhere.
I’ve built a few of these, and I’m inclined to try the AS5947 magnetic encoders instead of Hall sensors or sensorless. But everything I can find seems to be people trying to make it work and ultimately giving up. I’m hoping someone can tell me I’m wrong, and maybe where to look.
Hello everyone,
I’m new to this forum and to VESC-based designs.
After reading through various threads here, I get the impression that many VESC-style boards (especially DIY ones) can be quite sensitive and potentially unreliable if the design and layout are not done very carefully.
I understand that implementing a VESC is a non-trivial task, particularly the PCB layout around the MOSFETs (gate drive, switching loops, thermal management, EMI, current sensing, etc.). This is probably one of the main reasons why there are very few truly open and reproducible DIY hardware projects available.
My question is: from a practical/engineering point of view, is it worth investing the time to build a Cheap FOCer 2 (or similar VESC-derived design) as a DIY project?
How many of you are using the FOCer2 as a “field” or “production” unit (not just on the bench), and have done so reliably for at least a year under real operating conditions?
These are some really good questions and considerations. Assuming you’re not an ai bot, welcome to the forum ![]()
I don’t know how many are, but I’ve built a few and I really like them. Unfortunately, I’ve blown my share of FETs over the years, but from everything I can tell, that’s pretty much down to the whole VESC design and parameters. In other words, there are 3.1 squillion parameters you can set, and you can definitely get something wrong and start blowing hardware. I’ve done it with store-bought ones too. The upside is that I can and do repair my own, where I’d be a lot less likely to do that with one I bought.
For what it’s worth, I’ve had a couple that gave me no issue for years on my mountain board, and recently started blowing FETs. I found that somehow I did in fact let an erroneous parameter sneak in there on one of them. And I suspect I was also having an issue with flakey Hall sensor readings. I think it’s back in good shape now. Did a ride today with some pretty big hill climbs and all is well. I did leave the controller in question as sensorless for the moment. I’ll look at the Hall sensor outputs on the scope before trying them again.
Now that ppl with FOCer2 experience have weighed in, here are some other options for Vesc compatible diy projects;
Someone can tell or show how to connect two FOCers in a one power button ?
put both I/O together and connect just in only one GND ?
I followed the FOC_King thread for a long time. And a couple of times I actually started to pull the trigger. When I did, it was suggested I wait another week for the official release. Without going back and reading the entire thread, I don’t think I can figure out whether there has been an actual release, whether people are having success, etc. If you can point me in the right direction, I’d still like to make a couple.
I am NOT ai bot ![]()
and thank you for welcome
I’ve blown a fair number of FET’s on these things as well as a couple of DRV’s. So I’m working on a document for trouble-shooting and repairing these things. It kind of starts with checking the FETs, since they seem to be the first thing to go; and then works its way back to see if any gate resistors, DRV8301, etc. were taken out.
I am NOT an expert EE, but I have repaired these so far. Where I have failed is in trying to replace the DRV8301. I got a hot-air station, but by the time the solder flows, I’ve damaged the PCB. So I then learned you need to preheat the board on a soldering hot-plate. Boy does that make life easier! So I now have a hot air station (about $40) and a soldering hot-plate (about $33); and I’m hoping I can get in pretty deep on the surface mount parts. My doc will include times, temperatures, fan speeds, etc. for this.
The question is this… would anyone be interested in this doc? I’ll be happy to post it here. It won’t be perfect. Hopefully others can suggest edits and additions.