Premium Member Aapo Lettinen Posted June 22, 2024 Premium Member Posted June 22, 2024 ONE EXTRA MOTOR MODEL FOR ACL because I have too many ideas  I am thinking of making a Eclair ACL version of the motor technology I am developing for the NPR as most of the electronics and software design can be adapted to the ACL if changing the motor drive if I take the possibility into account from the beginning. Combining projects helps sharing developing costs which makes both the projects end result higher quality. So I think it is good to give it a try.  It is similar specs than the NPR Compact Motor "Advanced Model" I am developing at the moment. Has 10 crystal speeds, basic display for footage counter and speed selection, 1fps time lapse mode and single frame capability. Shutter parking feature. Everything is integrated in the motor body so it does not need any original ACL base electronics, you can take the base off the camera if you want just like on my other ACL motors. Improved mounting system compared to my previous ACL motors, I am testing new mounting system ideas with the 2-speed ACL motor I am finishing in August this year.  This ACL motor version has very high quality brushless motor drive, the highest quality I can source. I am aiming for good overall finishing and mostly cnc machined aluminium body for the motor if possible.  Availability: the new "final design" of the ACL motor would be available in late 2025 (about November - December) if there is enough preorders to fund the project. For this kind of projects about 3 or 4 preorders should be enough for good finishing quality because the electronics developing is shared with other projects and mostly the mechanical finishing is ACL-specific.  Price and payment: the 30%/30%/30% payment model works well on the NPR motor project so I will do the same with this ACL project. Total price is 1900usd + shipping which can be paid in 3 parts (one to place the order, second in mid project, last part and shipping costs when the motors are being assembled and close to shipping). If paid in full one would get free shipping. First part needs to be paid this year between July and October so that I can start the project.  Let me know by DM if interested in this ACL motor version. It is a very advanced motor which needs long time developing and the NPR motor needs to be finished first so that I can test all the motor control electronics with the NPR first to save time and resources. Otherwise it would be too expensive to make the ACL version. Thus the late 2025 finishing time, I could make the motor faster but then it would be way too expensive to buy.  If you happen to need ACL motor this year already, I am making the less advanced 2-speed versions this August and they can still be ordered from the batch 1
Premium Member Aapo Lettinen Posted July 12, 2024 Author Premium Member Posted July 12, 2024 Some photos of the test 3d print I made to determine the approximate size of the motor. The final one might be smaller depending on how much I'll have budget for it. So these photos are for SIZE REFERENCE ONLY, this is just a quick draft I made to test some ideas about the size and button placement. Let me know if interested in ordering one, you can send me a DM or find me on Facebook or Instagram. I can start the project when having paid preorders, hopefully this Autumn so that I can save resources by designing some of the control electronics at the same time than I make NPR electronics. Â 2 1
Premium Member Tyler Purcell Posted July 12, 2024 Premium Member Posted July 12, 2024 Nice! That looks much nicer. 1
Premium Member Aapo Lettinen Posted July 27, 2024 Author Premium Member Posted July 27, 2024 this "Final Version" of my ACL motors line is moving forward now as I got a preorder for it! Â If there is other people interested in the 10-speed ACL crystal motor design which has shutter parking, 1fps time lapse and single frame, simple footage counter and works at 12 volts, let me know and be sure to be added to the preorder list this Fall :) Â like my NPR motors, this too will be preorder-only design as it uses expensive cnc machined parts, expensive very high quality brushless motor and all the control electronics are made from scratch which needs lots of resources. The framerates and display will likely be the same than on the "advanced" version of my NPR motor as I am developing the electronics at the same time to save resources so that I can get higher quality finishing on the mechanical parts and user interface. For example I am intending on having full-aluminium anodized cnc machined body on the motor, higher quality switches and display than before and passive cooling with closed housing instead of the vented design I have used on my previous ACL motors. Â So if wanting one, this motor needs to be preordered, I will not make extra ones for later sale. Price 1900usd + shipping. Needs to be ordered this Fall and can be paid in 3 parts, or if paid all at once one would get free shipping. Delivery in late 2025. Â 2
Premium Member Aapo Lettinen Posted August 13, 2024 Author Premium Member Posted August 13, 2024 Testing display buttons placement ideas for the ACL motor with a simple rough 3d print. this is test print #2, there will be dozens of more of these before the final motor body can be machined from high quality materials, probably aluminium. This test is about finding the perfect balance to protect the buttons from damages and accidental pushes but still being able to use them with all fingers. here it already works pretty well. when using the camera handheld it is important that the side buttons are protected extremely well. I will make display tests later this Fall to decide the exact display type I will use. this rough 3d print test is used for first display tests to test the user interface, will post images with a display sample later on 🙂   1
Premium Member Aapo Lettinen Posted August 16, 2024 Author Premium Member Posted August 16, 2024 First OLED display tests with the roughly 3d printed test motor body. The motor body will change a lot but the user interface will be approximately this style: small oled display and 3 control buttons to select settings. Â
Premium Member Aapo Lettinen Posted August 27, 2024 Author Premium Member Posted August 27, 2024 I can confirm now that this ACL2025 motor will have Temperature Compensated Crystal Oscillator (TCXO) for really accurate sync sound speeds and long term sync accuracy. Will be the most advanced ACL motor ever developed 🙂 Please remember these are preorder-only items, let me know by DM here or FB/IG if wanting one and I will add you to the preorder list. Early preorders will speed up the development too and will improve the finishing quality because I am able to order the expensive components earlier to get better price on them and then have more budget for cnc machining and tests 🙂Â
Premium Member Aapo Lettinen Posted August 31, 2024 Author Premium Member Posted August 31, 2024 BTW, none of my ACL motors use the original camera base. One could just take the original base completely off from the camera! That enables some interesting developments. Because one could manage with a "dumb" base which does not need to have electronics inside, it is possible to easily design a new very compact camera base which just has a tripod mount on the bottom and HAS INTEGRATED 15MM RODS AT EXACTLY CORRECT HEIGHT! here is a very quick 10 minute draft about what I mean. It does not need to be more complicated than something like this, just rod fastening system added and sharp corners rounded. Base like this would fit all my ACL motors, including the previous v1.0 models (16-speed, 12-speed) and the 1.5 models (2-speed, 9-speed). And the 2025 version too. Price tba but it is not particularly expensive, depends on the finishing level and how the rod mounts are made. I expect couple of hundred dollars or something like that. CNC machined aluminium of course. It is relatively easy to design stuff like this so someone else could try too, but because my motors make it possible to use these in the first place it could be logical that I would offer a simple camera base system like this too 🙂Â
Premium Member Aapo Lettinen Posted November 6, 2024 Author Premium Member Posted November 6, 2024 ACL2025 motor project update with 3-SPEED MODEL! Â will make some changes because the world politics affecting material prices etc. and because I am streamlining the development of various projects. Â SCHEDULE: The motors will be finished couple of months earlier than originally planned. Originally they were meant to ship in December2025 but I rescheduled the finishing to August-September2025. The motors use partially same technology than my NPR motors so I am integrating the projects more tightly together to save on developing costs and making better end products. Â PRODUCT UPDATES: the "Advanced" model will stay the same with at least 10 crystal speeds (the current plan is about 15 crystal speeds or so) with oled display, film counters, shutter parking, single frame, 1fps, works at 12 volts, small and compact with cnc machined aluminium body and high quality brushless motor. price 1900usd like before. I am planning a 3-SPEED MODEL based on my Eclair NPR 3-speed motor. would have similar framerates: 24fps, 25fps, 33.333fps and 1fps, all crystal. shutter parking, single frame, works at 12 volts, cnc machined aluminium body and high quality brushless motor. price range: about 1300usd. Â ORDERING DEADLINES will change a little due to the earlier finishing date. More info later.
Premium Member Aapo Lettinen Posted November 13, 2024 Author Premium Member Posted November 13, 2024 More info about the ACL2025 project!    •   ordering deadline for 3-speed model with 24fps, 25fps, 33.333fps, 1fps, single frame, shutter parking etc: 30.December2024. Price is 1300usd + shipping, at least 300usd needs to be paid when placing the order and the rest paid in one or two parts, at least before May2025. Motors shipping in August-September2025.    •   Ordering deadline for Advanced (about 15speeds) model with 1fps, single frame, shutter parking, oled display with footage counter and battery voltage etc. : 30.December 2024. Price 1900usd + shipping, at least 300usd need to be paid when placing the order and the rest paid in one or two parts, at least before May2025. Motors shipping in August-September2025. Both models work at 12v and they work without any original ACL base electronics or mounting plates. will only need the 4 original screws used to mount the motor plate to the camera body and the rubber axle coupling are needed from the original motor system. Deadline for the 3-speed motor orders is strict, not possible to order anything later if missing the 30.December deadline. The basic model has very little budget margin and would cause losses if the schedule does not hold. With Advanced model it might be possible to order after 30.December but the price will be higher, at least 30% higher but can be lots more, even 50% higher. Late orders cause financing and cashflow issues which cost me a lot so late ordering is not guaranteed and if possible it will in any case be costly. I am concentrating on the crystal sync electronics of these devices now as it is more critical for the schedule to get the circuit board designs forward. Will post some 3d prints of the outer body design at some point but cnc machining tests will be delayed to next year at this point to streamline the budget. Â
Premium Member Aapo Lettinen Posted December 1, 2024 Author Premium Member Posted December 1, 2024 IMPORTANT UPDATE!!! The October-November has been so bad on most projects that THE 3-SPEED ACL MOTOR WILL BE CANCELLED. I want to avoid a situation where less that three motors would be ordered, that would create losses which would affect the Advanced model. So don't want to take the risk that the 3-speed generates losses which would negatively affect the Advanced model. So cancelling early on when no one has ordered the 3-speed yet! PRICE LOWERED ON THE ADVANCED MODEL. Based on the experiences with the cnc-machining-intensive NPR motor project, I found out that I can make the Advanced 15-speed ACL motor a little more affordable without affecting the finishing quality at all. NEW PRICE FOR THE 15-speed Advanced ACL crystal motor:Â Â 1600usd. NEW ORDERING DEADLINE:Â 5th January 2025. At least 300usd of the purchase prices needs to be paid when placing the order. If missing the deadline, late orders will be from 30% to 50% more expensive so please order in time if wanting this motor!
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