Whats the stator length on them?
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too big
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Anyone using the MakerX ESC? Seems alright- small size, v6.6 hardware, direct fets, heatsink. Any problems with it?
I have a unity that keeps wanting to kill me, need a replacement
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I don’t know Enertion boards or anything about your company or situation. But I do know that I considered trying to sell a version of the VESC 6 design, and I am a reasonably good electronics designer. For the volume you can sell and the up-front cash needed to buy the inventory, it’s just not worth it. I make more money doing a office day job with 0 financial risk and 0 risk of getting sued by Trampa.
Fellow esk8ers, I ask: Why will we pay a 400% markup for some name brand trucks or electric green wheels, but we wouldn’t tolerate more than 40% markup on the motor controller?
*edit that sounds mean but I don’t mean it that way. Just a funny thing that I did myself. I spent SO much on my Trampa trucks, but they are awesome! Doesn’t mean the COGS was more than $25.
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Sure the unit cost on cast trucks is low but the investment costs are high.
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Have you made any of your own VESCs?
Or just thought about doing it?
So much this.
I have made several. Above (few replies back) I posted a picture of my Wavebreaker. This little guy is a prototype for a UAVCAN controlled motor controller for underwater uav, uuv w/e.
My dream is that someone would pay me to design personal vehicle electronics. Or at least pay me to ride electric scooters and skateboards. Either one really.
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Wouldn’t that be the bomb
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You save money by not paying for gas?
Not much but saving is just as good
Can we get more teasers?
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I’d say “whose name to put on the check”
Would it check all the boxes?
- single (modular)
- high quality
- no builtin switch (modular)
- no radio bits (modular)
- builtin heatsink (small, that a larger one could be attached to if needed)
- easy to waterproof (not two PCBs sandwiched together)
- 100V would be awesome if possible
- no enertion “batch” {crowdsource} business model
- uses stock Vedder firmware or Ack firmware, unmodified
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The BOM for this ^^ VESC 6 variant:
- Transistors (100+ volts and enough parallel for 60A) $30
- Processor $7
- Phase current sense $10 (lucky this is out now ACS781LLRTR-100B-T)
- 100V drivers $10
- 100V-12V DC/DC $8
- HV ceramic capacitors $8
- Other passives and necessities except radio $5
- Custom heat sink $6
- Board fab $3
- Assembly 200 components $.1 each $20
- $107 cost of goods if you buy a few hundred (~10k in goods)
Design requires engineering labor so figure 100 hour if he’s done this a few times (engineer in USA 80-100$/hr). Or if you are lucky and have an engineer in your basement maybe you only need to spend 20 hours beating him, or maybe you know a masochist engineer who will beat himself 
- Rev A to check layout, switch speed tuning, and footprint issues, make sure everything fits ($600)
- Rev B to make 20 units at $200/each for beta test (where nothing bad will happen, datasheets never lie)
- Rev C batch of 100 or more to put them up for sale
How much $$ for documentation, how to videos, webpage, marketing, and the inevitable customer support from certain people. People will be 
if you don’t have customer service readily available.
It takes a crazy amount of money to bring something “to market”. I like to laugh at companies that fall on their face from over promising and incompetence but I also have great sympathy for the level of effort required. My numbers could be high, they are top-of-head type, and my head is very high right now… 
I’d like to help if there is a rich guy out there who has 20k to blow on protos and inventory. I’d sure like one of these 100V ESC 
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@nickw1881 are you get price of component from DigiKey or similar? Many these sell for very expensive. We already designing new ESC which ready in 2 month or maybe more. Is no use any VESC design and is design for large volume making so cost can be benefit for DYI community friends.
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@jeffwuneo Yes Digikey is expensive. My numbers are made up out of thin air based on my experience of manufacturing stuff in China. That’s ±20% what a laowhy would need to pay to make what @b264 described.
I am excited to see your design.
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Stock firmware has a voltage multiplier to sense 12s batteries, or maybe 14s batteries. You won’t sense 100V batteries with that. Need different numbers in the .h file. Then you also can’t use a DRV8302 which uses SPI bus for some settings. DRV8302 can handle up to 12 or 14s, but they suck and blow up so you need a different driver that can go to 100V and doesn’t have a SPI bus.
Whoever makes this VESC variant will have to forever promote a website with the firmware on it, or talk to Ben and get it into “the official list” so its easy to find firmware. Probably have to do that anyhow to prevent lawsuits.
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Then I’d just keep the DRV8302 until Vedder moves to a 100V gate driver. He does have a 75V version, though. 
VESC 75/300 is different FW, and it does not use the DRV. But it’s in “the list”
It’d be awesome if you successfully petition Ben to add this new device. The DRV is crap TBH. I don’t know why he didn’t swap it out for the 6. It doesn’t really save any money, its harder to lay out, and the 6 uses separate current sense amps anyhow.
I’d just as well offer a fork of VESC-Tool and software to go along with it. We could add to the “list” ourselves. Just need to figure out how to make it cool with Ben and Frank. I think the requirements are that we keep the source open and call it something other than “VESC” and “VESC-Tool”. I’d call it the “Pawtucket Patriot ESC” and “PP-Tool”. 100V, 60A, with white-market parts from Digikey or Arrow.
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anyone have a link to or the datasheet for FOCBOX 1.7?
edit: i found this one but not sure if its 1.7
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