Do you think the DRVs are damaged because of the high voltage? I only charge to 53V max and the flipsky 4.12 never had this problem even when phase wires were accidentialy disconnected during operation. Is it just luck?
It’s hard to say what is actually going on here but yes I would assume a high-voltage transient occurred when the motor was suddenly unplugged. Now why does the flipsky 4.12 survive while the cheap focer doesn’t?
My best guess is that the layout of the cheap FOCer and lack of ceramic caps on the main supply lines make it more susceptible to high voltage spikes. I didn’t design in the ceramic caps because I wasn’t fully aware of their purpose. Now I know better…and this sort of thing is why I want to make the Cheaper FOCer 2.
And the bad mother focer??
Ah yes, the bad mother focer will most likely be in my lineup of commercial speed controllers. It will probably be beyond the realm of power typical with e-skates though
Electric kart racing or diy electric formula one anyone?
I’m down
I have a dumb question, but how will that differ from the “Little FOCer” from your other thread?
cheap FOCer 2 would be a 2-layer pcb, use the DRV8301 (60V abs max), and be a single board design. Being a single board design will make it larger than the Little FOCer but it can still be slim. I would also try to make the board single sided. This means all of the components all on one side.
It would be much more DIY friendly to make from scratch but have the same operating voltage as the original VESC 6 because of using the DRV8301.
Please delete.
Excellent! I’m guessing the Little FOCer will be available first - yes? But I kind of like the more DIY friendly one better. I really kind of want to build from scratch ideally.
Yeah my commercial stuff will most likely come out first. Ideally with the DIY kit option for those.
The Cheap FOCer series will stay as my OSHW DIY-from-scratch controllers with everything you need to make them on my GitHub. Also optimized for the JLCPCB/LCSC combo for ordering the components/PCBs.
Sorry if I haven’t been paying close enough attention, but are these for sale as a kit yet? Or are they still prototypes?
Still DIY and still in Beta.
Good to have you back around these parts. The cheap FOCer V 1.0 will probably remain a DIY-from-scratch thing. It is functional but does seem to have some issues in certain situations. I still intend to have DIY kits for my other newer controllers though.
I still intend to design stuff for pure DIY endeavors and I would like to try for a cheap FOCer 2 that is vesc6 based and implements all of my lessons learned. However, the cheap FOCer 2 won’t be a thing until after I release my commercial products.
Time is what I have the least of. Whenever a tested kit is available I’d love to buy one
Sure! I really want people to get something good in return for their money. Hence why I never went through with a cheap FOCer group buy.
I have a pair of these Brian. I have tested them on a board and then have been testing them on another little vehicle. Not had the greatest luck in testing them so if I can find a way to get them to you they are yours.
Hi! Been following the Cheap FOCer and your other designs for a while and I want to take the plunge. I noticed Seeed has a deal on PCB assembly, always wanted to see what it’s like to have the whole thing done in China (PCB and assembly). Problem is they require a Pick and Place file for the SMD parts. There’s already an assembly drawing which is great.
Could you please share a .POS file from your original source?
If that’s the case, why bother with a kit at all? Just buy pre-made vesc’s?