**My DIY VEC Project: A Story of Trial and Error**

I recently attempted to build my own Version-Controlled Electric Scooter (VEC) project, which I'll be documenting in this article. The total cost for the components was around $86.70 per piece, with some items being sourced from LCSC and others from Aliexpress.

**The Cost Breakdown**

While the Mauser component from LCSC costed me €99, it was available at a much cheaper price of $12 on the same platform. However, I had to visit Aliexpress to purchase 20 MOSFETs for $49, as they were not readily available in both shops. This means that if we break down the costs for one VEC, we would get a value of around $86.70.

**The Assembly Process**

Initially, I thought assembling the components would be easy, but once I saw all the bags with parts, I quickly changed my mind. To make the assembly process easier, I printed out the component overview on the PCB and crossed off the components as soon as I was done soldering them to keep track of what still needed to be soldered to the boards.

**Soldering Techniques**

For some of the smaller components, such as the 603 resistors and capacitors, I used my hands and a soldering iron method. This means that I added a bit of solder to one side so that the component would stay in place, and then added more solder to the other sides. Although this might not look pretty, these solder joints should still work fine.

For the USB port, power inductor, MOSFET driver IC, and main microcontroller, I used a combination of heat gun and soldering iron techniques. However, as soon as I moved on to the MOSFET driver IC and the main microcontroller, things didn't quite go as planned with the heat gun.

**Soldering the MOSFETs**

After using my soldering iron technique for the aforementioned components, I finally managed to solder the three MOSFETs to each side of the PCB. I also connected the oscillator near the microcontroller and completed both VEC units.

**Adding Power Cables and Testing**

Next, I added twelve AWG power cables to them. In comparison, a pre-made VEC unit would have cost around $48 million. My first self-made VEC unit produced around 74 milliamps, while the second one even managed to short-circuit a resistor after a few seconds.

**Troubleshooting and Fixing**

After doing some troubleshooting, I found out that the resistor was connected between VCC and ground due to a short between two pins of the MOSFET driver. Once fixed, the current output for both VEC units returned to around 75 milliamps.

**Programming the Microcontrollers**

To program the microcontrollers, I added six-pin sockets next to them, which were then connected to an ST-Link programmer via female headers and wires. After plugging in the programmer and connecting it to my computer, I used the SC Link software to upload the bootloader and firmware successfully.

**Powering On and Recognizing the Device**

Finally, I powered on both VEC units through their mini USB ports and connected them to my computer, which unfortunately did not recognize either device. After six hours of troubleshooting, I had to give up due to time budget problems.

**Conclusion**

In conclusion, my DIY VEC project cost around $86.70 per piece and took approximately three hours to assemble. Success is definitely not always guaranteed when working with complex circuits, which was evident in this case.

If you're interested in building your own VEC unit or have any questions about the process, feel free to ask.

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enif you ever utilized a BLDC motor in a project before then you know how important it is to combine it with a suitable ESEA in order to drive the motor and if not then feel free to have a look at two of my project videos in which I built a sensor less easier and a sensor DSC no controlling modern commercial EEOC's is done by supplying a pwm signal to the data in pins this signal must feature a cycle duration of 20 milliseconds and variable on time between 1 and 2 milliseconds the one millisecond signal represents 0% speeds and 2 milliseconds represents 100% speeds and as you can see our data signal controls the year SIA and thus the mode of successfully but the sad truth is that besides this one data signal we cannot interact with the ESC for example we cannot control the commutation process the PWM efforts the maximum current and so on and on which ultimately leads to the fact that every commercial ESC behaves a bit differently and can thus almost be treated like a black box thankfully though I recently stumbled across the vese which is named after its creator Benjamin beter and is an open source ESC that means all of its documentation hardware and software related is accessible to anyone so in this episode of DIY or buy let's firstly have a look at a premade V ESC from a manufacturer and discover all of its amazing features and then let's order the required components for such a BES sia solids and finally evaluate whether the DIY process is cheaper overall let's get started to start off I visited Aliexpress to search for pre mate ve SC which was easier than I thought this one should work and cost around $90 plus $20 for shipping not very budget-friendly in comparison to other es es but hopefully it will be worth it and after waiting for a week I received the ve AC which made a very positive first impression so I hooked it up to my bill the C motor powered it's moved 12 volts from my lab bench power supply and connected its mini USB ports to my computer now the given the EAC tool software given by the manufacturer is actually an old version that is why I visited the official VEC project sites to download the latest version which you can get for free but you can also donate a bit of money to support this open-source project anyway after downloading I opened the VC tool which after establishing a connection told me that I used an outdated firmware version so I let the tool to a firmware updates which was quick and easy and afterwards had a closer look at all the available setting options which were honestly too many and thus a bit overwhelming but here are the best ones you can use for different common methods as an input data signal you can auto detect the parameters of a utilized motor to optimise the EC's working behavior you can set the current limits along with an RPM limits and temperature limits for the components you can test the motor movements with the keyboard and monitor all the important electrical values and finally you can use the traditional appealed ECU working principle which sounds something like this while rotating but you can also use the vo C methods aka file oriented control which is more complex to accomplish but can decrease the noise level of the motor to this level so all in all this EC is everything I ever wanted from an EC so naturally I want more units of it I started my DIY builds by downloading the given hardware design files from github and after and zipping I got a whole bunch of files and photos of which the Gerber folder with its global zip file was the most interesting for now I uploaded this group of file to jlc PCB which are used to order 10 v esc PCBs with a negros finish for price of 48 dollars plus 23 dollars for shipping and after waiting for a week I received the PCBs which looked promising even under the microscope the next step was to obviously get the mandatory components for which a bill of materials file existed and thus all the order numbers from mauza so I went to Mouser search for all part numbers and either went with the minimum order quantity or so many that I can later soda to ve SCS the only problem was that not all components were available so I later chose LCSC to either get the exact required components or an alternative that should work as well all-in-all Mauser costed me 99 euros and LCSC $12 but let's not forget that the components irfs 75 300 which are the MOSFETs were not available in both shops for that I had to visit Aliexpress to order 20 of them for $49 so if we would break down the costs for one VEC then we would get a value of around eighty six point seven dollars which is not that bad next was the assembly which I initially thought would be easy but as soon as I saw all the bags with components I immediately changed my mind to make the assembly easier though I printed out the component overview on the PCB ax and the materialists and crossed off the components once I was done soldering them to keep track of what still needs to be soldered to the boards at the storage I soloed all Oh 603 resistors and capacitors to the boards with my hands soldering iron methods which means I added a bit of solder to one pets so that the component in place and then added solder to the other sides granted I might have used a bit too much soda but overall these solder joints might not look pretty but should work in the ends and once I was done soldering the bigger capacitors as well as the remaining smaller components to the boards I moved on to the USB port for which I used to solder paste heat gun methods this methods work just fine for the USB ports as well as the power inductor but as soon as I moved on to the MOSFET driver IC and the main microcontroller things did not work out that well with the heat gun so I decided to choose mahants soldering iron technique for those two ICS which let's face it did not work out that well but maybe it'll work last but not least I soldered the three MOSFETs to each side of the PCB and edit the oscillator near the microcontroller and with that being done my two ves sees where completes and it was time to add twelve AWG power cables to them now as a comparison the pre-made Vee is seared Roslin 48 million edge well foods while doing nothing well my first self-made the year SIA derp around 74 milliamps and the second one so much that after a few seconds a resistor disordered itself from the boards but after doing a bit of troubleshooting I found out that the resistor was connected between VCC and ground because there was a short between two pins of the mosfet driver after fixing that the ESEA to around 75 milli amps as well to program the microcontrollers I added as six pin sockets next to them - whose plug with wires I then added female headers I connected those female headers to an ST link version - will use P programmer like it's shown in the scheme or you can also read all about as methods on the vese a project forum next I had to plug the programmer and to my computer which kept disconnecting while utilizing one of the two Vee sees it seems like there was an early hardware problem with this one which even after three hours of troubleshooting I was not able to fix but luckily I still had another one which worked with the programmer so I opened the SC link software connected to the microcontroller and uploaded the bootloader and film were successfully that means it was time to power the VEC and connected through the mini USB ports to my computer which to my own disappointment did not recognize the device now believe me I tried fixing this problem in every possible way but after six hours of troubleshooting I had to give up due to time budget problems so all in all my DIY versions costed me around eighty six point seven dollars per piece and the soldering took around three hours but due to the complexity of the circuits success is definitely not always guaranteed that means the winner for me of this DIY of my episode is without a doubt bye since it is not only cheaper and easier but can also support the ve AC project if you get the new version of the ve is here from the sides and with that being said I hope you enjoyed watching my failed steer by attempts if so don't forget to Like share and subscribe stay creative and I will see you next timeif you ever utilized a BLDC motor in a project before then you know how important it is to combine it with a suitable ESEA in order to drive the motor and if not then feel free to have a look at two of my project videos in which I built a sensor less easier and a sensor DSC no controlling modern commercial EEOC's is done by supplying a pwm signal to the data in pins this signal must feature a cycle duration of 20 milliseconds and variable on time between 1 and 2 milliseconds the one millisecond signal represents 0% speeds and 2 milliseconds represents 100% speeds and as you can see our data signal controls the year SIA and thus the mode of successfully but the sad truth is that besides this one data signal we cannot interact with the ESC for example we cannot control the commutation process the PWM efforts the maximum current and so on and on which ultimately leads to the fact that every commercial ESC behaves a bit differently and can thus almost be treated like a black box thankfully though I recently stumbled across the vese which is named after its creator Benjamin beter and is an open source ESC that means all of its documentation hardware and software related is accessible to anyone so in this episode of DIY or buy let's firstly have a look at a premade V ESC from a manufacturer and discover all of its amazing features and then let's order the required components for such a BES sia solids and finally evaluate whether the DIY process is cheaper overall let's get started to start off I visited Aliexpress to search for pre mate ve SC which was easier than I thought this one should work and cost around $90 plus $20 for shipping not very budget-friendly in comparison to other es es but hopefully it will be worth it and after waiting for a week I received the ve AC which made a very positive first impression so I hooked it up to my bill the C motor powered it's moved 12 volts from my lab bench power supply and connected its mini USB ports to my computer now the given the EAC tool software given by the manufacturer is actually an old version that is why I visited the official VEC project sites to download the latest version which you can get for free but you can also donate a bit of money to support this open-source project anyway after downloading I opened the VC tool which after establishing a connection told me that I used an outdated firmware version so I let the tool to a firmware updates which was quick and easy and afterwards had a closer look at all the available setting options which were honestly too many and thus a bit overwhelming but here are the best ones you can use for different common methods as an input data signal you can auto detect the parameters of a utilized motor to optimise the EC's working behavior you can set the current limits along with an RPM limits and temperature limits for the components you can test the motor movements with the keyboard and monitor all the important electrical values and finally you can use the traditional appealed ECU working principle which sounds something like this while rotating but you can also use the vo C methods aka file oriented control which is more complex to accomplish but can decrease the noise level of the motor to this level so all in all this EC is everything I ever wanted from an EC so naturally I want more units of it I started my DIY builds by downloading the given hardware design files from github and after and zipping I got a whole bunch of files and photos of which the Gerber folder with its global zip file was the most interesting for now I uploaded this group of file to jlc PCB which are used to order 10 v esc PCBs with a negros finish for price of 48 dollars plus 23 dollars for shipping and after waiting for a week I received the PCBs which looked promising even under the microscope the next step was to obviously get the mandatory components for which a bill of materials file existed and thus all the order numbers from mauza so I went to Mouser search for all part numbers and either went with the minimum order quantity or so many that I can later soda to ve SCS the only problem was that not all components were available so I later chose LCSC to either get the exact required components or an alternative that should work as well all-in-all Mauser costed me 99 euros and LCSC $12 but let's not forget that the components irfs 75 300 which are the MOSFETs were not available in both shops for that I had to visit Aliexpress to order 20 of them for $49 so if we would break down the costs for one VEC then we would get a value of around eighty six point seven dollars which is not that bad next was the assembly which I initially thought would be easy but as soon as I saw all the bags with components I immediately changed my mind to make the assembly easier though I printed out the component overview on the PCB ax and the materialists and crossed off the components once I was done soldering them to keep track of what still needs to be soldered to the boards at the storage I soloed all Oh 603 resistors and capacitors to the boards with my hands soldering iron methods which means I added a bit of solder to one pets so that the component in place and then added solder to the other sides granted I might have used a bit too much soda but overall these solder joints might not look pretty but should work in the ends and once I was done soldering the bigger capacitors as well as the remaining smaller components to the boards I moved on to the USB port for which I used to solder paste heat gun methods this methods work just fine for the USB ports as well as the power inductor but as soon as I moved on to the MOSFET driver IC and the main microcontroller things did not work out that well with the heat gun so I decided to choose mahants soldering iron technique for those two ICS which let's face it did not work out that well but maybe it'll work last but not least I soldered the three MOSFETs to each side of the PCB and edit the oscillator near the microcontroller and with that being done my two ves sees where completes and it was time to add twelve AWG power cables to them now as a comparison the pre-made Vee is seared Roslin 48 million edge well foods while doing nothing well my first self-made the year SIA derp around 74 milliamps and the second one so much that after a few seconds a resistor disordered itself from the boards but after doing a bit of troubleshooting I found out that the resistor was connected between VCC and ground because there was a short between two pins of the mosfet driver after fixing that the ESEA to around 75 milli amps as well to program the microcontrollers I added as six pin sockets next to them - whose plug with wires I then added female headers I connected those female headers to an ST link version - will use P programmer like it's shown in the scheme or you can also read all about as methods on the vese a project forum next I had to plug the programmer and to my computer which kept disconnecting while utilizing one of the two Vee sees it seems like there was an early hardware problem with this one which even after three hours of troubleshooting I was not able to fix but luckily I still had another one which worked with the programmer so I opened the SC link software connected to the microcontroller and uploaded the bootloader and film were successfully that means it was time to power the VEC and connected through the mini USB ports to my computer which to my own disappointment did not recognize the device now believe me I tried fixing this problem in every possible way but after six hours of troubleshooting I had to give up due to time budget problems so all in all my DIY versions costed me around eighty six point seven dollars per piece and the soldering took around three hours but due to the complexity of the circuits success is definitely not always guaranteed that means the winner for me of this DIY of my episode is without a doubt bye since it is not only cheaper and easier but can also support the ve AC project if you get the new version of the ve is here from the sides and with that being said I hope you enjoyed watching my failed steer by attempts if so don't forget to Like share and subscribe stay creative and I will see you next time