Phondly Posted January 21, 2022 Posted January 21, 2022 On 1/21/2022 at 10:50 AM, Philo said: @Phondly - Great job, congratulations! Expand Thanks! My future plan is to somehow incorporate the battery and electronics into the previous PF battery box as well. Quote
amorti Posted January 21, 2022 Posted January 21, 2022 On 1/21/2022 at 11:42 AM, Phondly said: Thanks! My future plan is to somehow incorporate the battery and electronics into the previous PF battery box as well. Expand As servos are now over 70€ and not getting cheaper (unless Chinese servos become capable of multiple positions) I think PF will naturally reach end of life pretty soon. Better to focus on PU. Quote
m2fel Posted January 21, 2022 Posted January 21, 2022 @Phondly Hey, the design is neat. My lesson learned is to make it possible to disconnect the battery from the circuit. The step down converter in my lipo battery box always burned some energy (don't ask me why) and thus managed to deep discharge and kill the lipo while it was not used for some time : ( Not sure if it applies to your setup Quote
Philo Posted January 21, 2022 Author Posted January 21, 2022 On 1/21/2022 at 2:16 PM, m2fel said: @Phondly Hey, the design is neat. My lesson learned is to make it possible to disconnect the battery from the circuit. The step down converter in my lipo battery box always burned some energy (don't ask me why) and thus managed to deep discharge and kill the lipo while it was not used for some time : ( Not sure if it applies to your setup Expand Yes, that's one of the reason why I didn't try to follow the route of output converter (the other beeing simplicity!!!) Quote
dr_spock Posted January 21, 2022 Posted January 21, 2022 Nice work. On 1/21/2022 at 2:16 PM, m2fel said: @Phondly Hey, the design is neat. My lesson learned is to make it possible to disconnect the battery from the circuit. The step down converter in my lipo battery box always burned some energy (don't ask me why) and thus managed to deep discharge and kill the lipo while it was not used for some time : ( Not sure if it applies to your setup Expand I think that may depend on where you connected the step down converter. If you connect after the BMS module, the BMS should keep it from fully discharging. But batteries can also self-discharge internally. It's good to recharge from time to time. Quote
Phondly Posted January 21, 2022 Posted January 21, 2022 On 1/21/2022 at 1:32 PM, amorti said: As servos are now over 70€ and not getting cheaper (unless Chinese servos become capable of multiple positions) I think PF will naturally reach end of life pretty soon. Better to focus on PU. Expand You may be right, but I thought a lot of people already have a motorised Technic kit from the last 5-10 years and want to use it without having to redesign and replace all the PF parts. I think I need to do a market research about it :) On 1/21/2022 at 2:16 PM, m2fel said: @Phondly Hey, the design is neat. My lesson learned is to make it possible to disconnect the battery from the circuit. The step down converter in my lipo battery box always burned some energy (don't ask me why) and thus managed to deep discharge and kill the lipo while it was not used for some time : ( Not sure if it applies to your setup Expand Thanks, I am using a BMS directly on the battery terminals and it cuts connection around 6V. Those are cheap little circuits and working very well in case of overcharge, overdischarge and overcurrent. I have built 3 Battery packs one is 3A, an other one is 5A and one is 8A discharge capable. Quote
Phondly Posted January 21, 2022 Posted January 21, 2022 On 1/21/2022 at 2:27 PM, Philo said: Yes, that's one of the reason why I didn't try to follow the route of output converter (the other beeing simplicity!!!) Expand I thought the same at the beginning but I also wanted to keep constant output voltage as long as I could. The LiPo battery can easily keep up with the power demand, so I chose a powerful boost converter for the output. On 1/21/2022 at 2:29 PM, dr_spock said: Nice work. I think that may depend on where you connected the step down converter. If you connect after the BMS module, the BMS should keep it from fully discharging. But batteries can also self-discharge internally. It's good to recharge from time to time. Expand Thanks. That's exactly what I did. USB charger ----> BMS (Battery) ----> Boost converter ----> LEGO HUB Quote
m2fel Posted January 21, 2022 Posted January 21, 2022 On 1/21/2022 at 4:14 PM, Phondly said: You may be right, but I thought a lot of people already have a motorised Technic kit from the last 5-10 years and want to use it without having to redesign and replace all the PF parts. I think I need to do a market research about it :) Thanks, I am using a BMS directly on the battery terminals and it cuts connection around 6V. Those are cheap little circuits and working very well in case of overcharge, overdischarge and overcurrent. I have built 3 Battery packs one is 3A, an other one is 5A and one is 8A discharge capable. Expand Hey, I believe BMS tend to drain batteries slowly when there is nothing else connected. As I am fare from experienced I hope someone with the proper technical background can comment on this. For my lego lipo battery box I placed a switch to disconnect the lipo from everything and added a lipo warner (saver). Not the buzzer as they are way too noisy for me but a super bright led. Quote
Glaysche Posted January 21, 2022 Posted January 21, 2022 On 1/20/2022 at 11:05 PM, Phondly said: I know this is an old topic, but I have been working on this project for almost a year. So if anyone ever looks in, here's a picture of the developments and a link for a short intro video. Expand This looks very cool. I like this much better than full custom battery boxes like BuWizz. This stays compatible with PoweredUp but can offer recharge ability and higher voltage. Awesome work! Quote
gyenesvi Posted January 22, 2022 Posted January 22, 2022 (edited) This looks really promising, been waiting for something like this to appear. Especially that it has 9V output. So would the actual battery need to be purchased separately? Being in Hungary like you @Phondly, I believe I could acquire it here if you can, but I wonder how standard such a thing is, how easy it is to get it everywhere in the world. Curious how much it weighs in total? Is it lighter than a hub with 6 rechargeable AA batteries? Edited January 22, 2022 by gyenesvi Quote
Phondly Posted January 23, 2022 Posted January 23, 2022 On 1/21/2022 at 5:24 PM, m2fel said: Hey, I believe BMS tend to drain batteries slowly when there is nothing else connected. As I am fare from experienced I hope someone with the proper technical background can comment on this. For my lego lipo battery box I placed a switch to disconnect the lipo from everything and added a lipo warner (saver). Not the buzzer as they are way too noisy for me but a super bright led. Expand You may be right, but I think it can be measured in half a year when the BMS drains the battery. The typical BMS input current (overdischarge) is between 0.1 to 10uA and 10uA is a very high number here. On 1/21/2022 at 7:32 PM, Glaysche said: This looks very cool. I like this much better than full custom battery boxes like BuWizz. This stays compatible with PoweredUp but can offer recharge ability and higher voltage. Awesome work! Expand Thanks. My main intention was to keep everything looking original, I just wanted to avoid the use of not very environmentally friendly AA batteries with some extra power. I hope many people think similarly. Quote
schraubedrin Posted January 23, 2022 Posted January 23, 2022 Those are some nicely designed electronics. Have you considered flipping the power board on the other side, reducing the necessary length of the copper strips? Are you open to selling the electronics board seperately, so customers have the option of printing the case themselves? (Although this might hurt your sales revenue) Quote
Phondly Posted January 23, 2022 Posted January 23, 2022 On 1/22/2022 at 10:10 AM, gyenesvi said: This looks really promising, been waiting for something like this to appear. Especially that it has 9V output. So would the actual battery need to be purchased separately? Being in Hungary like you @Phondly, I believe I could acquire it here if you can, but I wonder how standard such a thing is, how easy it is to get it everywhere in the world. Curious how much it weighs in total? Is it lighter than a hub with 6 rechargeable AA batteries? Expand The prototype is still in a very initial state at the moment and I still have a lot to do until production. At first I thought I would sell the package without a LiPo battery to make it easier to ship overseas, but I really want to provide a complete solution so I would still leave the question open for now. The original AA battery insert is around 159 g (165 g with the original cover) and this new design is 102 g with the cover but without the 4 screws, but currently the case is made of PLA and not ABS plastic as it will be in the final version. On 1/23/2022 at 12:56 PM, schraubedrin said: Those are some nicely designed electronics. Have you considered flipping the power board on the other side, reducing the necessary length of the copper strips? Are you open to selling the electronics board seperately, so customers have the option of printing the case themselves? (Although this might hurt your sales revenue) Expand Thanks, I looked at all the PCB placement options in the box, but the space was so limited that I ended up having to go in that direction. I would rather sell the battery pack complete, selling PCBs separately would not be an option at this time. Quote
Phondly Posted February 1, 2022 Posted February 1, 2022 (edited) Sneak Peak :) (PF LIPO box is on it's way) Battery Pack for Lego Power Function Battery Box v5 by Gergely Kis, on Flickr Edited February 1, 2022 by Phondly Quote
Phondly Posted March 16, 2022 Posted March 16, 2022 Another step forward, better quality 3d printed boxes have arrived. 4 beta prototypes are ready and waiting for testers. Quote
gyenesvi Posted May 2, 2022 Posted May 2, 2022 @Phondly was kind enough to provide me a prototype piece of his battery pack for the PU Technic Hub, so I have created a short video summarizing my impressions during usage with one of my off-road models: Quote
FriedlS Posted May 2, 2022 Posted May 2, 2022 Wow, it is amazing! Only a analog controller (without using a cellphone for a hub) is missing 👍😊 Quote
Philo Posted May 3, 2022 Author Posted May 3, 2022 I also reviewed EnBo battery pack, as you guess in a more abstract way ;) This page compares 4 solutions: Phondly EnBo rechargeable pack Plain alkaline cells NiMH rechargeable cells My own LiPo home made Spoiler: EnBo is awesome, alkaline is the worse... https://www.philohome.com/pupbat/techubats.htm Quote
BrickTronic Posted May 3, 2022 Posted May 3, 2022 Hello, This EnBo sounds promissing. What components are used inside (charger, DC-DC) ? Are there availabe pictures of the Top- & Bottom- PCB Assmbly ? A schematic diagram would be great. Jo Quote
Phondly Posted May 4, 2022 Posted May 4, 2022 On 5/3/2022 at 4:41 PM, BrickTronic said: Hello, This EnBo sounds promissing. What components are used inside (charger, DC-DC) ? Are there availabe pictures of the Top- & Bottom- PCB Assmbly ? A schematic diagram would be great. Jo Expand Hi, Sorry, this will be a commercial product, so I wouldn’t share the internal structure (sketches, etc.), but if you want to support mass production, you can do so in my forthcoming Kickstarter campaign. In the meantime, for the latest news, please follow Phondly’s official Facebook page here: https://fb.me/phondlydesign Quote
BrickTronic Posted May 4, 2022 Posted May 4, 2022 (edited) On 5/4/2022 at 12:41 AM, Phondly said: Hi, Sorry, this will be a commercial product, ... Expand Hello, Does you plan to use a injection-mold housing or still a 3D-printed case for the comercial version ? How many orders does you expect, that a molding-tool would make sense ? Unfortunately I was not able to contact you via your Web-Page. For a comercial Product this and an Impressum should be available Jo Edited May 4, 2022 by BrickTronic Quote
Phondly Posted May 6, 2022 Posted May 6, 2022 On 5/4/2022 at 2:59 PM, BrickTronic said: Hello, Does you plan to use a injection-mold housing or still a 3D-printed case for the comercial version ? How many orders does you expect, that a molding-tool would make sense ? Unfortunately I was not able to contact you via your Web-Page. For a comercial Product this and an Impressum should be available Jo Expand Hi, Thanks for the comments. I’m going to use injection molding and raise money at the kickstarter to fund the first production bunch. I’m busy just finishing my campaign page, but I’ll update my contact information on my website afterwards. This stuff is a prototype right now, and it will a commercial product only be after a successful Kickstarter campaign. In the meantime, please contact me on my official facebook page https://fb.me/phondlydesign or here or at kisgergo@phondly.com Gergő Quote
Phondly Posted May 7, 2022 Posted May 7, 2022 (edited) On 5/2/2022 at 4:14 PM, FriedlS said: Wow, it is amazing! Only a analog controller (without using a cellphone for a hub) is missing 👍😊 Expand I felt something painful when I was driving the models with my mobile during the shooting of the upcoming kickstarter campaign. So after a successful campaign, I will definitely be working on a new remote control. :) Edited May 7, 2022 by Phondly Quote
2ndgen Posted May 7, 2022 Posted May 7, 2022 Is anyone actively making these? Sooo tired of these rechargable standard batteries. Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.