Development: New power distribution board
Some of you might already seen this board on Open-source ESC development post several days ago and some not. As many of you have been requesting and talking about new type of Power distribution board we went ahead and created first version of it.
We would like to have your comments on it, how would you like to see it and to which way to develop?
Currently we only have 4 ESC version of it but this version is designed in way that you can easily stack them to create combinations of 3-12 ESCs while one layer has max of 4 ESCs.
It can also carry a carrier boards for external uBECs and IOBoards and OSD boards.
It supports PWM, I2C, CAN and UART ESCs
We can also include current sensors for it if/when needed.
Bottom picture of it, exposes uBEC carrier board under main board:
We have now 10 test boards available for public use. If you want and really need one, let us know. But remember, you need to have good reason why YOU would be a good candidate for testing it. So if you just want it but don't want to really test and give feedback on it, don't bother.
You can send request via our contact page or send a PM in here to me.
Receivers will be informed in person by email.
Technical details:
- Custom 4 layer PCB
- 70 AMP capacity
- Support all ESCs smaller than 25 x 37mm
- Fits on all Original ArduCopter frames / Holing
- Support for 2 uBECs via carrier board
- PWM, I2C, CAN, UART support
- Terminal blocks for easy cable assembly
- Stackable
Let the imagination flow...
--jani
Comments
We have been getting now enough requests for these boards and receivers will be informed personally and final delivery information will be asked on same time. Shipping for test power distribution boards will start on next week.
Adam & Others, well final AMP rating will be announced later after we have conducted all our tests on board. One of the final tests will be "burning" test eg. we just go and overload it until it burns. Current design allows us to use 30 AMP ESCs on every corner without any problem.
Vernon it already have custom layer thicknesses which as different on top/bottom vs. inner layers. You can easily use these on what ever normal quad copter.
Well board has been designed in way that people can mount what ever ESC on it. As long as you can fit ESC between those beams coming out from main PCB you are ok. We naturally have few choices by our selfs that we are planning to use on this board.
Looking good Jani! Is it recommended to use an opto-isolated ESC or one with a built-in BEC now? I've been building an octo and haven't decided myself. http://www.hobbywing.com/product_show.asp?id=199
Adam & Others, well final AMP rating will be announced later after we have conducted all our tests on board. One of the final tests will be "burning" test eg. we just go and overload it until it burns. Current design allows us to use 30 AMP ESCs on every corner without any problem.
Vernon it already have custom layer thicknesses which as different on top/bottom vs. inner layers. You can easily use these on what ever normal quad copter.
Hmm, 70 Amps total, times typical 3 cell 11.1 volts 777watts, 746watts per Horse Power =more than 1 HP quad. Otherwise, 70A per ESC means a 4 or more HP quad?????????????
I would hope that would fly the typical quad!
For those who need more power:
Thicker copper boards or multilayer with vias drive the cost up but could be production capable. Point being your battery must have a connector and thus that's the weak link here. XT60s are rated for 65A continuous. Also, the max wiring size you can solder into the connectors and what came with the pack is yet another limit. You must somehow have 2 packs in parallel to have a rated source current (big fat battery cable and some forklift connectors) higher than what the board can take. Also, that 65A rating is a virgin plug, after a few uses, tarnish and wear come into play. So yes, likely a connector or wire is going to smoke long before this board does.
I liken the scenario to a muscle car with spare donuts for tires. Obviously the driveshaft is not the weak point.
is that 70 amps total? or 70 amps per esc.
Would love to test this thing on one of our Mikrokopters :-)
Simon
Any chance you will create one with a higher amp rating?
I cant wait to see these in production I really like the concept. But I have so many irons in the fire R&D wise that testing another component would be wasted on me so im not even going to ask for a sample. But when they are "gold" I will definitely be picking them up for my quads. Especally if they have a quality ESC integrated.
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