One minor change to the design is that I need to change from flat head screws to socket head screws - countersunk screw holes are a liability when printing at an angle because it results in unsupported overhangs. Switching to hex shaped counterbores solves the problem.
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The slanted print worked, although I need to adjust the interface at the bottom to use many short sprues instead of one long one.
I still need to figure out what to do about the countersunk screw holes, because I prefer flat head screws for the design. I guess I'll have to do some sort of support; maybe a sacrificial layer?
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The cells for the second battery arrive tomorrow, and I'm doing the final wiring on the neon LED strips for both wheels.
Soon...
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I need to find a better solution for wrapping the wires because overlapping segments of heat shrink looks tacky.
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Whose got two thumbs and forgot to post the first look photos in this thread?
This guy!
https://mas.to/@yantor3d/113808240398098366
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Technically speaking, the hub battery is at MVP. I've ironed out the major issues with the case, and with assembly and wiring. I've got a battery installed in both wheels and lights, too.
The outstanding issue is how to deal with variety of outer diameters on hubs. I've got a temporary fix - closed cell foam - but it seems like a jack. I'm experimenting with grip fins on the case itself and they work up to a point. I'm also going to try a flexible spacer.
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TIL that soldering 5mm RGB LED strips is a special hell. It can be done, but it's too easy to break the connections while installing them on a bike wheel.
CW: flashing lights.
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I've got five meters of RGB LED strip, so I'll try again tomorrow. Sunset is soon and I want to take the lights I have out for a field test.
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Field test one was a successful failure.
I set out around sunset. The lights were bright and the batteries were tight. But, both were dark when I got home.
I don't know when the rear light cut out, or why. My theory is either the battery wasn't charged or it shorted in the rain (because Portland).
The front light went out when I accidently went up and over the median in an unlit intersection of a side street. I assume it got jostled and maybe something shorted.
[#]bikeTooter #diy #electronics
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Both batteries reset when I got home and plugged them into the charger, so I assume the internals are still good.
Still, this got me thinking; the BMS I'm using is the DF Robot FIT0809 - because it's the only one I could find from a reputable supplier. It can be reset by connecting a charger, or by shorting P+ / B+.
Now, taking the battery off the wheel and opening up the case on the side of the road to reset it sounds stupid. But what about wiring in a reset button?
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My up and over with the median had me worried that one of cells had come out of the clips, or a clip had come free from the case. I'm pretty sure that didn't happen but now I wonder if I can come up with a more robust solution - maybe 3D printed clips in both halves of the shell, so the cells are totally immobilized?
Jarvis, start a new design file in the hub battery project for the mark VII iteration.
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Hub battery mark 7v1 has been sent to the printer. We'll see if it works in two hours and thirty minutes.
I've shifted from using metal clips (Mouser 534-247) to a 3D printed clip with spring clips (Mouser 789-209). This should completely immobilize the cells in the case, and will eliminate the need to secure the clips with glue, which has the added benefit of making it more repairable.
One downside of this design is it uses more filament - 60g vs 45g.
[#]bikeTooter #diy #3dprinting
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The mark 7v1 worked a little too well; I had to (carefully) destroy the case to get the battery cell back out with just one spring clip installed.
Oops.
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Iterating some more on the hub battery case I've embraced the kind of geometry only practical with 3D printing to solve some of the issues caused by switching to the leaf spring battery clips; namely that it means there needs to be a wall at either end of the battery, 8mm wide, 1.6mm thick, and 12mm tall, more or less centered on the cell, which is 21mm in diameter.
So rather than waste a lot of filament building up to that height, I'll model an arch across the case.
[#]3dprinting
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Eight billion people on the planet, and not one of them runs a business selling 3/8" LED rope light at custom lengths in all colors.
Capitalism was a mistake.
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One of the many advantages to working from home is I can take breaks and work on personal projects.
I've printed both halves of a mark 7 iteration and it's amazing. The cell is fully immobilized by the case itself, and the flying buttresses that the battery clips are on provide cable management for the wires.
I need to re-add all the finishing touches, and tweak the shape of the flying buttresses, but it's very close...
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The downside of being close having a finished design is then I need to make a decision about what, if anything, to do with it above and beyond my own use.
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I ordered tiny buttons for the reset switch and they are, in fact, tiny.
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Field test two of the hub battery was also my first day biking to work in the new year with a high in the low 30s and fog.
A wire came loose in the front battery during morning commute. But the rear battery held up for the whole 26 mile round trip.
The vibe of riding with the wheel lights on at night is like the HUD indicator in co-op video games that highlights your allies.
[#]bikeTooter
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The more I spin my wheels on it, the more I realize why this sort of things doesn't exist as commercial product.
A 6' LED strip with an RF mini controller connected to a 12V S3 battery with a custom case has a frustratingly high number of supply chains; up to five if you're shopping around for the best prices: a print farm, a battery supplier, an electronics supplier, an LED supplier, and a hardware store.
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After repairing the front wheel battery I've identified a second fault - the Keystone Electronics 247 battery clips have a bad habit of permanently bending to the point where they no longer contact the battery.
Nothing some folded up tin foil can't solve.
So my switch to the Keystone Electronics 209 leaf spring contacts is needful.
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Tonight's commute confirmed my suspicions that the current iteration of the hub battery I have on my bike is very susceptible to a hard shock, like going off a curb.
I'm not sure if something in the BMS can detect the drop and shut down, or if it jolted some of the wiring and caused a short.
Either way, the next iteration fully immobilizes the cells, and I now know to do a drop test.
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Whelp, any notion I had of trying to set up and sell full kits - batteries and lights - just went out the window.
The CC LED Glow Ride Plasma bicycle Wheel Lights Kit includes batteries, chargers, lights with remote for two wheels for $129.
The whole reason I went down the road of trying to build my own was that in their original product, they used zip ties to attach the battery to the hub, and a weird proprietary plug.
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Now that they're using standard 2.1mm plugs and an RF controller, their offering is basically what I've been building towards.
My battery has a larger capacity, though. So there is that.
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Thinking about it some more, it's not clear from the photos of their LED controllers are an inline dimmer switch or an RF receiver; given the photo doesn't show a remote, I'm going to assume the former.
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I have a hot date tonight.
With a soldering iron.
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For most of the prototyping phase I've been filling the gap between the battery case and the hub with closed cell foam, because it's squishy and doesn't require a precise fit. But it always felt like a temporary solution.
Now that I've settled on a case design (only took seven finals...) I want a more elegant solution.
So I've printed to spacers - one with standoffs, one with grip fins - to close the gap. We'll see which one works better.
Black PETG really doesn't photograph well...
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Something interesting I just noticed; 3/8" LED rope light costs, on average, two to four times what 1/2" LED rope light does.
Wat.
Still unable to find a place that sells 1/2" by the foot, though; the best I could do was somewhere that sells it in 10' increments.
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So what did you do tonight?
[#]bikeTooter #diy #electronics #3dprinting
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If you're wondering why the plugs are spliced in using wire nuts, it's because I'm not good at soldering multiple wires together.
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I've been researching wholesale suppliers for the components for a complete wheel light kit - consisting of a hub battery and a 6' length of LED rope light with an RF controller.
In theory, I could get the cost per unit for materials down to $30. But that doesn't factor in the cost of overseas shipping, and is vulnerable to tariffs.
Without the rope light, I can get all the components domestically*. But, I have never been able to find a source for 1/2" LED rope light by the foot.
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So it would be difficult to mass produce in a cost effective way; my benchmark is what CC LED charges for their wheel kit.
But the other side of the coin is that it feels wrong to release it open source without being able to cite a source for 1/2" dimmable LED rope light by the foot - best I know of is a company that sells it in 10' increments.
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Correction, there's a supplier in Arizona that sells it by the foot, but their listing doesn't say if it's dimmable. I'd have to reach out and ask.
And they sell a connector with pigtail ends? Amazing.
https://www.ledlight.com/led-rope-light-1_2-diameter.aspx
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I made a mistake while building the second battery - I accidentally melted one of the battery clip mounting arms with the soldering iron.
While a new one is I printing I can show the clever solution I came up with for the wires that connect adjacent cells and the B1 and B2 terminals on the BMS.
Rather than splice wires at the terminal, or at the battery contact, or with a third wire, I stripped the wire in the middle and soldered that.
[#]diy #electronics #3dprinting
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Good things come in pairs.
[#]bikeTooter #diy #3dprinting #electronics
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Assembling battery two and rebuilding battery one took all day because I made a few mistakes.
I melted one of the shells. I forgot to add enough slack to the wires to allow the case thirds to rotate the full 120° degrees needed to install them. At one point I literally had my wires crossed - with the wrong wire soldered to the B- and B1 terminals.
All fixable mistakes, but it highlights the fact that this is still a prototype and has many unknown unknowns.
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Good news - the latest iteration of the battery case passed the drop curb test - raising the wheel up about six inches off the ground and letting it drop. In prior iterations this would cause enough vibration that the BMS would shut off and enter safe mode for some reason.
Neither spacer ring worked in the rear wheel so I went with foam for now. The grip fin spacer is on the front wheel - we'll see how it does...
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The capitalist in me says I should productize this and sell it.
The communist in me says I should release it open source.
The realist in me says I should get a burrito.
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@yantor3d burrito
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@Drwave my kingdom for an Illegal Pete's in Portland.
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@yantor3d I don’t know them, but I forgot about the Portland thing.
In Oakland, East Bay, I have no shortage of great burrito options.
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@Drwave Illegal Pete's is a Colorado chain - their flagship location is in elementary Denver. I told anyone who would listen to try them at SIGGRAPH this year.
In my area of Portland there are only three burrito options - Chipotle, Qdoba, and Baja Fresh. And Chipotle is the closest. :|
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@yantor3d I get enough burritos in CA - didn’t need to try CO.
I did like the local sandwich shop by the convention tho.
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@yantor3d chipotle is sad.
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@yantor3d No good food carts out there? We have several around us that were not bad pre-pandemic (haven’t been able to eat cart food much at all since).
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@GeekAndDad I live in Beaverton, not Portland proper. There are some food cart gatherings in Central Beaverton and Cedar Hills but I've never checked them out.
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text/gemini
