As the Halloween product releases have brought us some new motors, I was interested (as I’m sure everyone else is) about pricing comparison with older hardware. So, here it goes (prices from VEXpro, REV Robotics & Playing with Fusion):
CIM-style motors
Motor
Motor Price
Controller
Controller Price
Total Price
Power @ 40A
REV Robotics NEO
40$
REV SparkMAX
75$
115$
370W
CIM Motor
33$
TalonSRX
90$
123$
277W
Mini CIM
30$
TalonSRX
90$
120$
211W
Falcon 500
140$
TalonFX
0$ (included)
140$
400W
Venom 2.5" DC Smart Motor (CIM)
120$
Venom controller
0$ (included)
120$
277W
So overall, the Falcon 500 costs 17$ more than a CIM-Talon combo and 25$ more than a NEO-SparkMAX combo, but keep in mind that the Falcon has 200%+ power and stall torque than a single CIM, and also that it includes an integrated encoder (which, if you plan on using the CTRE Mag Encoder, will cost you another 40$) so overall looks like a pretty good deal to me. The Venom looks pretty promising as well, although I never used PwF controllers around so I can’t vouch for their quality (at least for my team).
In this case, the new NEO 550 is actually 10$ cheaper than a 775pro-Talon combo (and also, if I understand correctly, includes an internal encoder), while having a maybe lower power rating? It’s described as a 1000Kv BLDC motor, so some back of the napkin math gives ~12000 Max RPM, while the 775pro has 18730 Max RPM and the 550 has 19000 (according to motors.vex.com). I guess that it’ll be fine for intakes and stuff like that though, which is pretty nice.
Drivetrain price
This is a comparison between different common configurations of drivetrain motors, controllers and encoders, without gearboxes.
Motor Configuration
Encoder + PPU
Controller Configuration
Total Price
4 NEOs
None (internal NEO encoder), 0$
4 Spark MAXes
460$
4 CIMs
2 CTRE Mag Encoders, 40$
2 TalonSRXes + 2 VictorSPXes
492$
6 Mini CIMs
2 CTRE Mag Encoders, 40$
2 TalonSRXes + 4 VictorSPXes
640$
4 Falcons
None (internal Falcon encoder), 0$
4 TalonFXes inside the motors
560$
6 NEOs
None (internal NEO encoder), 0$
4 Spark MAXes
690$
8 775pros/RedLines
2 CTRE Mag Encoders, 40$
2 TalonSRXes + 6 VictorSPXes
720$
4 CIMs
None (Venom internal encoder), 0$
Venom controller inside the motors
480$
Hope I helped someone other than myself with this pricing analysis
Thanks for the effective synopsis. There are, of course, some wrinkles that can make final cost analysis more complicated. Even if you’re sticking to “fully featured” motor controllers, the existence of the Victor SPX can shave a few dollars off of leader/follower pairings of motors. Then there’s a bunch of more budget-conscious ESC options that can significantly reduce cost.
When making purchasing decisions, also make sure to consider which of the “added features” you will actually take advantage of. We’re seeing more motors with integrated encoders. Do those encoders solve your actual measurement needs, or will you still be installing an encoder somewhere else in your system?
Oh yeah I totally agree - I just wanted to make a barebones comparison to have a sense of the price savings/extra money that teams will have to spend if they’re buying into the Falcon ecosystem (or thinking about joining the NEO ecosystem like us).
Another aspect of this is the fact that the motor controller on the Falcon seems irreplaceable - so if something happens to the motor 140$ went down the drain, rather than ~30$ with CIMs/Mini CIMs
It would be slightly more useful if you could include a column for “max output power”. That allows us to compare both the cost (in dollars) and the benefit (in HP). You might also consider adding a conventional brushed 550 motor and controller, for an apples to apples comparison to the NEO 550.
Not sure how you’re getting that. 250 A is about 200% of the rated current for a 120 A breaker. According to the document you linked to, the corresponds to a 1-3s trip time.
