What do you think about the CyberBricks retail prices?

MakerWorld CyberBrick
42

Thanks @Josh-3D for the extra info.

This would have been nice to know on the launch part I was sitting there losing out as well ha, same page! I just couldn’t see that the kit contained everything for say the table. Makes enough for 1 vehicle… ok but which? Does one do all?

They could have marked somewhere that the “kit” does it all as you said above in wording rather than just tag them the rc / soccer / time lapse - so those of us looking for tables or rocket launchers aren’t looking in the wrong place.

It’s all good - we solved that, the kickstarter is funded and life moves on.

The bricks look good and the pricing decent enough to get peoples feet wet. Now it just comes down to management and stock quantities to keep the prices low.

@JonRaymond very true - but the pico did it and is less than 9 bucks sooooo you know? :sweat_smile: leaves room for improvement later on!

43

The Pico W can spread the certification cost over millions of units. Everything at scale is going to be cheaper.

44

Or better yet… don’t put any of your financial information on your phone, period. Putting financial info on your phone is the largest security threat known to mankind.

45

You are correct in stating that the system could be setup as a webserver on the microcontroller instead of in a mobile app. For the non-tech person wanting to use cyberbrick, I would lean towards the App being and easier proposition with regards to connectivity.

A webserver on a microcontroller could be updated a bit like how apps on a pc can be updated, but it is easier for a company to update a mobile app for configuring the microcontroller remotely.

As for trust, if you download from an app store you get some oversight, if you are not comfortable with a Chinese company you could like you say buy the microcontroller yourself and program it yourself or get assistance from chatgpt/forum. From a risk perspective, you are probably more likely to get hacked via your pc or sms/phone call than you are from the Bambu Lab App.

The other week I was thinking, did I overpay with the $50 USD twin kit since I normally get my microcontrollers from Aliexpress/Ebay, but the more I think of it, it aint a bad deal - (if the final retail is double the kickstarted, then I would need to think some more, but then again, a lot of the items on Bambu Labs are more expensive than AliExpress, but having a consistent supply costs more than me pick up some cheap items on AliExpress, so I get it somewhat)
For the $50 USD you get 2 kits
For the $30 USD you 1 kit
As for value for the non tech savvy it is not too bad a deal at the Kickstarter prices. You get in the double $50 kit:
4 ESP32-C3 microcontrollers (Sparkfun 4*$10.25 USD)
4 Transmitter/receiver boards
4 Dual Axis Joystick modules
2 Single axis Joystick modules
4 DC motors
4 Reduction Gear kits
4 rubber tyres
1 differential
1 clutched servo 180 degrees
2 clutched servo 360 degree
6 addressable leds
lipo battery + charger
16 terminated cables (SH/XH)
battery case
…

You would pay much more on Sparkfun and less if you diy on aliexpress.
You also get compatibility with any models that designers upload to makerworld and no soldering.

1 Like
46

I agree. The retail prices are around double the Kickstarter prices. Very expensive for what they give you. If the retail prices were close to the Kickstarter prices I would consider giving it a try. I did not find out about the Kickstarter campaign until after it ended.

47

The retail prices on the Bambu website are almost double the Kickstarter prices.

48

IIRC, Cyberbrick was launched in March when 1st TACO tax 20% was already signed off by Biden. Now the 2nd TACO tax of additional 35% is in affect. BBL is passing the TACO tax to us, understandably.

That’s for the US, I wonder how are the prices elsewhere. Either ways, we’ll see find out if non enthusiasts are willing pay for it.

49

I’ve done enough electronics to know like yeah, you can cobble all of this together cheaper. Although haha, yeah with something like sparkfun it could end up costing more!

In general though, it’s meant to be an easily approachable kit of hardware for making R/C focused applications. I don’t think it’s fair to think about it in the terms of it being a microcontroller, or comparing it as such. I think it should be looked at for what it’s main focus is, which is being an easily approachable bit of kit for R/C focused applications.

The kickstarter prices were nice. The final retail prices are… okay, in my opinion. Having built a few 3d printed R/C cars at this point, and trying to source all the hardware needed for it. I… I like the cyberbrick. It’s just much more complete and easy to work with.

Hmm, actually, come to think of it. I’m building another 3dsets model. The semi-trucks, which use the yellow style motors that Bambu sells. I wonder if I could adjust the whole setup to use those 030 motors and the cyberbrick system. Ah, but I need a more R/C vehicle focused controller, which I don’t think we have yet. I don’t want a twin stick, I want a vehicle controller.

Alright, I’m rambling. I’m just saying that when you look at what it’s focus is meant to be, the target audience, that it’s a decent bit of kit at a decent enough price.

I’m pretty sure I paid more for the R/C components I’ve put in previous builds, so. Between the controllers, the motors, the batteries, and the controllers I’ve had to purchase. It’s never just the main controller.

Also, I can solder, but I hate soldering. I absolutely hate it. I think a lot of people gloss over how great it is to not have to solder. Like I’m glad you (not you specifically) can solder all the live long day, but I’d rather not.

1 Like
50

I was asked the other day if I had any questions or ideas regarding Cyberbrick and a steering wheel controller was an obvious need imo.

I personally would never have sat down to try and model one as I just have other ideas that I’d rather work on, but it’s something I felt like the community would appreciate. I hesitated sharing the idea because I thought, Is someone out there is already working on a controller, and will they be upset if someone else shines a light on the idea?

I would actually love to see a thread like ‘models that don’t exist, but you wish did’ and it’s nothing but ideas people post in hopes that someone will design and upload them. It would also act as a source of inspiration for those looking for something to model. I just don’t want to piss anyone off.