BuWizz - High Performance LEGO Power Functions Controller and Battery

[Zerobricks]

3 hours ago, Pentomind said:

I'm very excited about this announcement ! :-)
There is one feature i really wish my buwizz 2.0 had tough : a direct connection to a Bluetooth physical remote control, without the need of a smartphone in between.

Is such a feature planned for the 3.0 version ?

Not for 3.0, but we have some other ideas for later.

[Didumos69]

@Zerobricks, can I connect 4 Buwizz motors to 1 Buwizz 3.0, stacking them 2 by 2?

Edited January 13, 2021 by Didumos69

[Zerobricks]

1 hour ago, Didumos69 said:

@Zerobricks, can I connect 4 Buwizz motors to 1 Buwizz 3.0, stacking them 2 by 2?

You could, but you won't be able to reach full performance.

[kbalage]

12 minutes ago, Zerobricks said:

You could, but you won't be able to reach full performance.

I'll be happy if we can use 2 with a proper load :) 

 

[Zerobricks]

35 minutes ago, kbalage said:

I'll be happy if we can use 2 with a proper load :) 

 

That's what the 3.0 was designed for, powering 2 with full performance.

[Didumos69]

1 hour ago, Zerobricks said:

You could, but you won't be able to reach full performance.

Thanks!

[BurakKBS]

On 11/25/2020 at 4:27 PM, Zerobricks said:

We are working on an option like a linear time curve, which lets you set the time needed for a motor to reach the wanted power. This would be useful for controlled acceleration.

Yes, we are currently working on this option, so that servos run natively of firmware with a standalone PID controller.

Hello, I have 2 concerns;

It is almost the delivery month now, could you confirm that PU L and XL motor servo option is programmed into Buwizz3.0 now? Technic HUB gives us the chance to use them up to 180 degree servo (via Brickcontroller2 app) which is good, I hope the same option can be implemented into Buwizz.

Are PU ports going to deliver 12V like PF ports (but lower current than PF ports as we already know)? So we may take better performance out of PU motors as well.

Thanks for your clarifications until now

 

[Zerobricks]

46 minutes ago, BurakKBS said:

Hello, I have 2 concerns;

It is almost the delivery month now, could you confirm that PU L and XL motor servo option is programmed into Buwizz3.0 now? Technic HUB gives us the chance to use them up to 180 degree servo (via Brickcontroller2 app) which is good, I hope the same option can be implemented into Buwizz.

Are PU ports going to deliver 12V like PF ports (but lower current than PF ports as we already know)? So we may take better performance out of PU motors as well.

Thanks for your clarifications until now

 

Yes, otherwise you couldn't use them as a servo motor.

Yes, of course, that's one of the main points of the entire product.

[Odinkuijpers]

So if I understand correctly, I can use one BW 3.0 to power 2 BW motors stacked on one PF port, and simultaneously power a PF servo motor on the other PF port?

This was impossible with BW 2.0, even though you could connect each motor to a different port, correct?

So the current output on 1 PF port on a BW 3.0 is higher than the total current output of 2 ports on BW 2.0, correct?

[Zerobricks]

12 minutes ago, Odinkuijpers said:

So if I understand correctly, I can use one BW 3.0 to power 2 BW motors stacked on one PF port, and simultaneously power a PF servo motor on the other PF port?

This was impossible with BW 2.0, even though you could connect each motor to a different port, correct?

So the current output on 1 PF port on a BW 3.0 is higher than the total current output of 2 ports on BW 2.0, correct?

I would NOT recommend stacking BW motors to one port due to the amount of current going through them. I would suggest using one BW motor per port. And the new PU motors are much faster and more precise than the old servo.

[kbalage]

22 minutes ago, Zerobricks said:

I would NOT recommend stacking BW motors to one port due to the amount of current going through them. I would suggest using one BW motor per port. And the new PU motors are much faster and more precise than the old servo.

Can you run the buggy motors at full power from the PU ports with an adapter, is there any difference from this perspective between the 2 port types? This way it'd be possible to use a PF servo.

[Zerobricks]

Just now, kbalage said:

Can you run the buggy motors at full power from the PU ports with an adapter, is there any difference from this perspective between the 2 port types? This way it'd be possible to use a PF servo.

Please check the tech specs:

https://buwizz.com/tech-specs/

[Odinkuijpers]

Well, thank you very much @Zerobricks for your patience and answers!

You've convinced me to order a BW 3.0 along with 2 BW motors.

I'll just have to use one of the my PU L motors from 42100 for steering.

[Odinkuijpers]

On 1/13/2021 at 11:05 AM, kbalage said:

I'll be happy if we can use 2 with a proper load :) 

 

Doesn't this video by Zerobricks show this was already possible 4 yrs ago?

https://youtu.be/w1nb0xcaqXo

[kbalage]

2 minutes ago, Odinkuijpers said:

Doesn't this video by Zerobricks show this was already possible 4 yrs ago?

https://youtu.be/w1nb0xcaqXo

You can run 2 buggy motors from one BuWizz unit in normal mode and/or if the motors are not fully loaded, but in high and ludicrous mode if you want to use the full potential of the motor then it is very easy to reach the limits.

[Zerobricks]

Quick question.

Do you want a dedicated topic for each of the upcoming products - BW 3.0, motor, app etc... or should we just use this one?

[BurakKBS]

9 minutes ago, Zerobricks said:

Quick question.

Do you want a dedicated topic for each of the upcoming products - BW 3.0, motor, app etc... or should we just use this one?

I think it is better to stay in this topic for all Buwizz products

[Touc4nx]

Stay in this one IMO, it would be easier to find it

[kbalage]

I'd put the motors probably in a separate topic, but can stay here as well if the title is changed to "BuWizz products" or something similar :)   

[allanp]

7 hours ago, kbalage said:

I'd put the motors probably in a separate topic, but can stay here as well if the title is changed to "BuWizz products" or something similar :)   

Agree with this.

[HectorMB]

I think that we can keep this topic for the updates. Nevertheless, I think a separate topic for the motors and bricks 3.0 would be nice, maybe with the full specs and so on. 

 

Besides that, is any expected date for delivery for the BW 3.0?

[gyenesvi]

@Zerobricks I'd have a question about detailed control of the PU motors, especially positional. I understand from the previous comments that servo control will be included, however, the technic hub can control the PU motors in various modes, going beyond just +/- 180 degrees servo (aka absolute position relative to the HW zero position); it can move to any position (virtually any number of turns) relative to a preset position, while allowing to set the speed and max power to use. Is such control (including preset) going to be possible with Buwizz 3.0?

Also, speed control with the technic hub is possible by setting power (unregulated), and with regulated control of speed, where the FW sets the power automatically to match the speed. Will that be possible with Buwizz?

And one further question about SW. The technic hub communicates via bluetooth with an open protocol, so I can write my own controller for it. As far as I know that was not the case with Buwizz 2.0 (at least no officially published protocol, though some still managed to reverse engineer parts of it), but when I bought my Buwizz, you mentioned that you are thinking about opening up the SW. Do you have such plans for 3.0 to enable 3rd party controllers?

[Zerobricks]

On 2/6/2021 at 5:44 PM, kbalage said:

I'd put the motors probably in a separate topic, but can stay here as well if the title is changed to "BuWizz products" or something similar :)   

 

17 hours ago, allanp said:

Agree with this.

Okay, I will make a motor topic once we have a relavant major update which warrants a seperate topic.

4 hours ago, HectorMB said:

I think that we can keep this topic for the updates. Nevertheless, I think a separate topic for the motors and bricks 3.0 would be nice, maybe with the full specs and so on. 

 

Besides that, is any expected date for delivery for the BW 3.0?

Currently the mold for the housing is being made (ETA some 2 weeks)  and we are working hard on app, adding new functionality.

4 hours ago, gyenesvi said:

@Zerobricks I'd have a question about detailed control of the PU motors, especially positional. I understand from the previous comments that servo control will be included, however, the technic hub can control the PU motors in various modes, going beyond just +/- 180 degrees servo (aka absolute position relative to the HW zero position); it can move to any position (virtually any number of turns) relative to a preset position, while allowing to set the speed and max power to use. Is such control (including preset) going to be possible with Buwizz 3.0?

Also, speed control with the technic hub is possible by setting power (unregulated), and with regulated control of speed, where the FW sets the power automatically to match the speed. Will that be possible with Buwizz?

And one further question about SW. The technic hub communicates via bluetooth with an open protocol, so I can write my own controller for it. As far as I know that was not the case with Buwizz 2.0 (at least no officially published protocol, though some still managed to reverse engineer parts of it), but when I bought my Buwizz, you mentioned that you are thinking about opening up the SW. Do you have such plans for 3.0 to enable 3rd party controllers?

PU motors can be controlled in these modes:

- PWM simple motor - the most basic control, you just control the amount of power sent to the motor via PWM modulation

- Constant speed control - from 3 RPM up to some 550 RPM which PU L and XL reach when supplied by BuWizz 3.0. Basically you tell the motors what RPM they should spin and they accelerate or brake accordingly. There are several P, I , D, etc... coefficients available to fine tune the speed regulation.

- Angle control - You can specify the exact angle the motor should hold. As with constant speed there are several P, I , D, HOLD coefficients, TRIM, max. current interpeted as final positions, etc... available so you can fine tune the steering system according to the weight of the model, inertia of the whees, friction, etc... And yes the system allows for more than just 90 degrees so you can return to center models like articulated loaders which use LAs for steering.

We plan to release the protocol (after we edit it so it's more public-friendly) so the community can develop their own advanced controlling AND programming solutions.

Expect a video of the BuWizz 3.0 prototypes in real life world action soon.

Edited February 7, 2021 by Zerobricks

[gyenesvi]

Thanks, that sounds really promising with all the customization options and the release of the protocol!

3 hours ago, Zerobricks said:

And yes the system allows for more than just 90 degrees so you can return to center models like articulated loaders which use LAs for steering.

Does this also mean that large LAs could be controlled for example like in the Liebherr profile, where the whole range is more than 20.000 degrees and after calibration of the end points, it can move to any position within the range, or it can just move up/down the range and stop at the end points automatically? I understand that such advanced behavior may not be pre-programmed in the Buwizz app itself, but would the possibility be there in the FW to program it on the controller side?

From what I understand about gauges coming in the Buwizz app, I am guessing that reading back motor info (speed, absolute/relative position) will be possible, right?

[Zerobricks]

39 minutes ago, gyenesvi said:

Thanks, that sounds really promising with all the customization options and the release of the protocol!

Does this also mean that large LAs could be controlled for example like in the Liebherr profile, where the whole range is more than 20.000 degrees and after calibration of the end points, it can move to any position within the range, or it can just move up/down the range and stop at the end points automatically? I understand that such advanced behavior may not be pre-programmed in the Buwizz app itself, but would the possibility be there in the FW to program it on the controller side?

From what I understand about gauges coming in the Buwizz app, I am guessing that reading back motor info (speed, absolute/relative position) will be possible, right?

Inverse kinematics is a bit too much, especially since BuWizz is used more for MOCs than official models which have all the lever lengths predefined.

Yes, the app will be able to provide statistics such as motor RPM, currents, angles, battery voltage, accelerations and angle positions of the BuWizz bricks. I also gave our app developer an idea about about adding a speed gauge which would calculate the speed of the model with the help of the wheel diameter and gear ratio.

Edited February 7, 2021 by Zerobricks