Future for DIY EUC's

[CarlW]

Over the last few years I have been focused on learning how to use and eventually design and build my own DIY CNC router.  There are substantial resources on how to build this powerful technology as well as numerous sources for components.  People all over the world are bypassing mass produced, and excessively priced CNCs and building there own custom designs that meet their needs.  Sometimes at a third to half the cost of a manufactured equivalent.

I predict a DIY knowledge base will eventually make it to the EUC community.  Maybe it has already arrived and I have just not discovered it yet. This forum could possibly be a catalyst for accelerating that knowhow, so those that want to custom design a wheel to their specifications could do so.  Even though I have never even ridden an EUC at this point it seems clear that relying on Chinese manufacturers for a safe, reliable, well built EUC is a long shot.  They just insist on cutting corners.  

I watched a Wrong Way video where he asked for all sorts of improvements from the Chinese manufacturers.  I wonder if they will really listen to customer feedback or will they just focus on maximizing profit.  I heard about the EVolution development.  Are there other similar projects in the pipeline?  Are there any resources to learn more about all the EUC components and how they work to yield the highest efficiency? 

Maybe I have no clue what I'm talking about, but to be honest EUC's look less complex than building a high resolution CNC router.  Is anyone here already making DIY progress on an EUC?  

 

  

 

      

[Zopper]

Look up Bublik. 

And I’ve seen some pics of other attempts.

But the thing is, if you make a mistake when building a custom CNC, you most likely just lost the money. On the other hand, an error with a custom EUC might mean a dangerous crash. It’s also far heavier than the factory stuff, at least at the low power end of spectrum, and thus limiting the usefulness. And I think (correct me if I’m wrong) that a custom CNC includes a lot of off-the-shelf electronics. Not much of developing a custom heavy duty PCB for kilowatts of power like you need for EUC.

And don’t forget that with CNC, you can make easy compromises and for example design it to just move around slower in exchange for precision. It’s hard to make a trade-off like that in EUC. A CNC that’s slower is not a problem for a hobby, but a custom Sherman alternative that has 1/3 of the speed? “Nice job, bro, but…” It’s just one thing to have a nice toy that goes a few miles per hour, and completely different thing to roll 40 mph down the street. 

All factors can be mitigated, but together I think it forms a higher barrier. An available hi-power controller for 100V that’s relatively easy to program might change that - this is the most difficult part IMO - but so far, I’ve heard only about what powers Bublik and AFAIK it is too weak to provide an alternative to today’s hi-end wheels, and not that easy to get.