Loneoceans GXB172 Driver Group Buy

pc_light · January 11, 2020, 12:49am

Since I was getting 1 out of curiosity rather than for a specific need, $30 would be over my limit.

I was going to suggest revisiting your idea of bundling/kitting the components for a DIY build until I notice how incredibly small the parts are. There’s no way I could hand shoulder those parts.

netprince · January 11, 2020, 2:47am

Interested depending on price… cool!

nzoomed · January 11, 2020, 2:52am

lol this is exactly why I explored this option in the first place! Not many people have reflow ovens or stations either.
I probably can carefully solder the components alright, and have already ordered some boards, so probably will end up doing that at some point just for the exercise i guess!

The main benefit is that doing a bulk order is actually still cheaper than assembling by hand and you dont have to worry about damaging anything, testing, troubleshooting etc.
Building this driver yourself can easily cost over $40USD, by the time you take shipping for components into account.

nzoomed · January 11, 2020, 2:53am

Price per driver will definitely be around $30 +/- $1 at current quotes for 100 boards.
Will update the thread to reflect this.

Umpi2000 · January 11, 2020, 5:48am

Are all the components going to be quality and to loneocean’s specs precisely?

What are the UI options Going to be?

nzoomed · January 11, 2020, 7:48am

I will keep it standard spec, per loneoceans guidelines.
You can change a few options through the jumpers or tweaking values in the firmware.
If I end up having to program them all manually, I guess I can do custom settings if people request it.

thijsco19 · January 11, 2020, 11:09am

Though to price is a bit high, I might be interested in 1.

id30209 · January 11, 2020, 11:10am

I have to cut on half my requirement, 1x17mm and 1x20mm. Several FET switches board are still needed.

Umpi2000 · January 11, 2020, 12:15pm

Can’t you run a vote for one specific UI? It’ll simplify it surely?

Agro · January 11, 2020, 5:47pm

nzoomed:

skinny_tie:

I think 30 USD (~44 AUD) is too much for me since I don’t really have a plan for the driver. It doesn’t seem unreasonable for a small run of a unique product, I just can’t justify it for myself.

What kind of quantity is required to bring the unit cost down?

The highest cost of the board is the components, coming in just shy of $20 per board, the total costs for production and assembly of the PCB’s is $549.

Please note that this cost of the assembled board is far cheaper than if you were to assemble it yourself. Even if we did a group buy of the PCB’s themselves, you are still looking at least $30 or more, not to mention shipping costs.
Mouser quotes me just shy of $22USD for the components to do a single driver. Then you have to buy the inductor off coilcraft which is around $4USD, so there is definitely a big saving made here.
We definitely could get the driver cost down under $30 with more orders.
As it stands, the quoted price for 100 boards stands at $2567 USD, so already is under $30USD, but im taking other factors into account, such as 15% import tax I will face upon receiving the goods.
They also charge $52USD for shipping to me.
So taking all that into account the total is $3004.
So im not out of pocket, I will have to charge extra for paypal fees on top of all of this, then there is international shipping on top of all this for each buyer, I dont imagine this to be much, and will use the most cost effective method.

The only way we will cut down costs is by making more boards.
Question is, can we fill up this first 100 orders? I dont want to be out of pocket with a whole bunch of drivers I cant sell. I think we could easily fill up 50 orders, but not sure about 100 quite yet.
Are most builders from candlepowerforums over here too, or should I start a thread over there too?

Post may lose a package or 2 and you’ll be the one to take the loss. Take it into account while calculating the price.

nzoomed · January 11, 2020, 10:29pm

Agro:

nzoomed:

skinny_tie:

I think 30 USD (~44 AUD) is too much for me since I don’t really have a plan for the driver. It doesn’t seem unreasonable for a small run of a unique product, I just can’t justify it for myself.

What kind of quantity is required to bring the unit cost down?

The highest cost of the board is the components, coming in just shy of $20 per board, the total costs for production and assembly of the PCB’s is $549.

Please note that this cost of the assembled board is far cheaper than if you were to assemble it yourself. Even if we did a group buy of the PCB’s themselves, you are still looking at least $30 or more, not to mention shipping costs.
Mouser quotes me just shy of $22USD for the components to do a single driver. Then you have to buy the inductor off coilcraft which is around $4USD, so there is definitely a big saving made here.
We definitely could get the driver cost down under $30 with more orders.
As it stands, the quoted price for 100 boards stands at $2567 USD, so already is under $30USD, but im taking other factors into account, such as 15% import tax I will face upon receiving the goods.
They also charge $52USD for shipping to me.
So taking all that into account the total is $3004.
So im not out of pocket, I will have to charge extra for paypal fees on top of all of this, then there is international shipping on top of all this for each buyer, I dont imagine this to be much, and will use the most cost effective method.

The only way we will cut down costs is by making more boards.
Question is, can we fill up this first 100 orders? I dont want to be out of pocket with a whole bunch of drivers I cant sell. I think we could easily fill up 50 orders, but not sure about 100 quite yet.
Are most builders from candlepowerforums over here too, or should I start a thread over there too?

Post may lose a package or 2 and you’ll be the one to take the loss. Take it into account while calculating the price.

I would be, and hence why I would only go with tracked shipping.

nzoomed · January 11, 2020, 10:35pm

Well most of the settings people would want to change can be done themselves with the soldering iron and shorting out the jumper pads.
the default settings will be fine for most users I would imagine. Some who want to run different voltages may need to change the firmware.

If there is a specific firmware change required, Im sure this can be done at extra cost.

aswang · January 11, 2020, 10:52pm

Got too excited. If the price is around 30 USD, change my interest to just the 2 17mm drivers. Thanks for doing this nzoomed.

nzoomed · January 11, 2020, 11:05pm

All good.
Still waiting to get more numbers of interested, so feel free to spread word around.

rngwn · January 11, 2020, 11:11pm

Any host recommendation for these drivers?

nzoomed · January 11, 2020, 11:23pm

Any single cell host that accepts a 17mm driver.
I expect most of us will be putting them in a convoy S2+ or similar host, as they are the most popular.

The tailcap board is also designed for the Convoy S2+

id30209 · January 11, 2020, 11:31pm

17mm in S2+
20mm in S21A

rngwn · January 11, 2020, 11:45pm

I’m just having this nagging feeling that pulling 50w out of a single 18650 might not be the greatest idea.

nzoomed · January 12, 2020, 12:01am

I dont think many people would be doing this, technically the driver can pull 50W, but with the default settings, max output is 5.5A which means just shy of 20W

Barkuti · January 12, 2020, 1:21am

Is nothing new, common as apples or donuts. Of course, use a cell with enough power delivery/continuous discharge rating, namely if maxing out the driver's output power. A 30Q cell is just shy of this, although an acceptable or 0K choice in responsible hands. In any case, a high discharge cell is a must (Murata VTC5/VTC5A/VTC5D, Samsung 20S/25R/25S, LG HE2/HG2, Sanyo NSX, Molicel P26A/P42A…).