DAVEga: Battery monitor, odometer, speedometer

lrdesigns · October 24, 2018, 2:20am

I made it flat just for speed of modeling. Didnt have much time between other jobs to work on it. Plus it makes even larger. Longer print time.

@Andy87 this is genius.

As to thickness. It could be much slimmer if you made it less robust and are willing to solder the two boards together. Soldering could get you maybe 3-4mm less. Change the screen protector from 3mm to 2mm/1mm/0mm. Don’t use a bottom plate and just bolt the top enclosure directly to board.

Also its better for the first sample to be too big then too small, once I have all the parts in hand it will be easier to shrink it down. At the moment it’s just an educated guess.

janpom · October 23, 2018, 3:10pm

You would have many wires to route. 8 for the display and another 1 for a button (another 3 if there are 3 buttons). So that’s 9 to 11 wires in total.

Itsmedant · October 23, 2018, 3:13pm

Just read through this thread, this thing is awesome!

I am super interested in getting one or helping in any way!

janpom · October 23, 2018, 3:17pm

I purchased some 2mm plexiglass today (they only had 2mm and 4mm in the hardware store) and it seems plenty sturdy. I wouldn’t be afraid to go even thinner for that small area. I currently have like 0.1mm foil.

amazingdave · October 23, 2018, 3:41pm

A ribbon cable will sort that. I only need it to 15cm away…

janpom · November 5, 2018, 8:24pm

Sure, I think that separating the two PCBs is a valid option. But then you actually don’t need any VeGa PCB. Just buy the display, buttons, and Arduino Nano. Build an enclosure for the display and buttons, route cables to the Arduino (here’s the pinout for the display and here’s the button pin – you can change the latter). Connect VESC to Arduino. Upload the VeGa FW to the Arduino and you’re done.

janpom · October 24, 2018, 9:08am

I changed the fonts and made the numbers taller. This is a better utilization of the vertical space and should improve readability.

Before:

After:

With maximal values (except for voltage):

janpom · October 25, 2018, 10:07am

PCBs arrived! That was super fast. I ordered them last Friday evening and they arrived today morning. That’s less than 6 days for manufacturing and shipping from China! I’m impressed with JLCPCB. Also the quality looks pretty decent as fair as I can tell.

I had a few professionally re-branded specifically for @brenternet and @spesh. These will obviously be waaaaay more expensive since the re-branding costs need to be amortized!

The alignment with the display is near perfect. Unfortunately, the mounting holes are too small for M3 screws, but that’s easily fixed with a bit of drilling.

Here’s how thick it will be assembled. It’s 13mm (including the solder joins underneath the PCB).

I haven’t assembled any yet. Will do it now. I hope all works.

Andy87 · October 25, 2018, 10:13am

so quick! looks good!

brenternet · October 25, 2018, 10:55am

This is great

I think I speak for the masses here, and if I don’t my confidence should convince you otherwise (this is how I do business). We are all happy to pay a $700 premium for a correctly branded “Dave” model.

I want that specific pictured one please.

amazingdave · October 25, 2018, 11:01am

Wow, what a quick turnaround! Looks great. I feel a kinship…

lrdesigns · October 25, 2018, 11:22am

Awesome! So fast. is that 13mm from the desk to the top of the display?

janpom · October 25, 2018, 12:32pm

Hm, I never though of a premium package, but I do like the idea. After some thinking, let me present to you our premium features. The premium package will come with:

Rebranding from VeGa to Dave, a name invented by a panel of marketing experts that has been repeatedly asserted as being superior and more fitting.
Extra big mounting holes that can accommodate M3 screws.
Spare 10k resistor!!!
Premium packaging featuring an extra layer of bubble-foam for enhanced safety and extended bubble popping fun time.

Pricing:

standard DIY package: $7 (no display included)
premium DIY package: $700 (no display included)

The first to order the premium package, will also receive the first ever prototype as a bonus. The prototype is fully functional, except for the display that has been destroyed in course of the research and development.

Due to high demand please expect a prolonged delivery time when ordering the premium package.

Mich21050 · October 25, 2018, 1:22pm

Any idea when you will be able to sell kits?

janpom · October 25, 2018, 2:04pm

I ordered the parts from China with standard shipping to keep the costs low. (I only ordered the PCBs with DHL shipping so that I have them early to do some testing.) The packages should arrive in about a month.

I can also get all the parts locally (even the display), but for more expensive:

atmega chip (~$4)
UART-USB adapter (~$4)

All the small parts I can get pretty cheap even locally ($3-5 for everything). The PCB is $1. That’s $12-$15 for the whole kit, excluding the display. With the parts from China it will be about $7 without the display (unless you want the premium package ).

The displays I can get for ~$12 from here if I order a few and spread the shipping cost.

I still haven’t tested the PCBs though so this may be a bit premature.

Grozniy · October 25, 2018, 1:40pm

So now premium is 712?

janpom · October 25, 2018, 1:43pm

You mean premium with the parts purchased locally? That would be premium premium. We don’t even have that on our price list yet. I’ll have to talk to our sales team about that.

janpom · October 25, 2018, 2:01pm

Yes, it’s the full thickness including everything.

brenternet · October 25, 2018, 2:39pm

700 I can do, I see the value. 712 I feel is just greedy and over the top.

moon · October 25, 2018, 2:42pm

Shipping is free though