7

What components are inside the new Technic Powered Up XL motor? Is it the same as the PF XL motor, except with a different connector?

XL Motor

Improve this question

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
12

I was curious about this, and TLG was willing to provide me with one of these motors, so I opened it up. I was able to get the outer shell off by cutting down the 4 tabs on the outside. This motor does not appear to be meant to be opened and put back together. These tabs hold it together very firmly and I wasn't able to move them out of the way without damaging them. The motor does not stay together properly without them.

XL Motor open

The light bluish gray front can also be removed from the motor to reveal the internals.

3 sections

We can see that it uses a double set of planetary gears that are very similar to the PF XL motor.

gears

We can see an additional chip under the drive axle that is not present in PF motors. I believe that this is a rotary encoder to allow the motor to rotate in fixed increments.

Rotary encoder

There is a black ring around the red drive axle that is magnetic.

Drive axle with black ring

For comparison, here is an image from another teardown of the PF XL motor:

PF XL motor

We can see that the internal motor and gearing is roughly the same, but the PF version does not include the rotary encoder.

Improve this answer
6
  • 2
    The horror, the horror!
    – Phil B.
    Commented Jun 23, 2020 at 22:57
  • 1
    In my experience, the PUP motor spins at ~2x the speed and ~1/2 the torque, compared to the PF motors (a pretty big improvement IMO).
    – Alexander O'Mara
    Commented Jun 24, 2020 at 1:45
  • @AlexanderO'Mara Not sure how this could be an improvement. PU XL and L motors have pretty much the same specs now (apart from size), unlike with PF. What you were looking for in PF series is L motor. Higher torque and slower rpm has its own applications.
    – Alex
    Commented Jun 24, 2020 at 5:34
  • 1
    Do you happen to have a picture of black ring you've mentioned? Does PU version use same electrical motor as PF one?
    – Alex
    Commented Jun 24, 2020 at 5:43
  • 1
    @Alex I've added a photo of the output axle with the black ring that I mentioned. The internal motors appear the same to me, but I don't have a PF XL to compare against.
    – jncraton ♦
    Commented Jun 24, 2020 at 12:20

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.