Hello!
I am trying to design my own 3D Printed Electric Skateboard. I got a super cool internship with a 3D Printing company and so this is going to be my big project this summer before school at the University of Washington in the fall. I have been stalking these forums for the past few weeks or so and I have accumulated a whole notebook full of notes on other builds. I am finally ready to share with you what I have been working on!
My Needs:
- 3D Printed (Durability before Flexibility)
- Powerful (Torque before Speed)
- Easy to Use
Above all else, I am trying to make a 3D Printed longboard. Making it electric is purely for fun so that I dont have to walk to class every day next year. It is rainy in seattle and there are lots of hills, so I would like the design to be as self-contained and waterproof as possible. I do not have a ton of money to spend on this project: my budget is $350. If you see any parts that I have that I could find elsewhere for cheaper (with the same quality), then please let me know. I want it to be flexible and have a smooth ride, but I would rather have a ridgid board that works than a broken elastic board. I have a solid amount of soldering experience and can handle that work if it comes to that. I like to work with my hands and would rather build something than just buy it so I figure I am in the right place.
The Design:
This design has space for (4) 5s LiPo batteries and an ESC. I will start with two batteries in series to make a 10s board, but I can upgrade the range by adding a second pair and connecting the two pairs in parallel. The bottom cover is not shown. Also, I need to add a balance charger but I haven’t quite decided which one to buy or where to put it. [Help!] Low Profile. It doesn’t show it in the picture, but the truck attachment is flat. Essentially, the board comes with a built-in riser pad. Modern Board Shape. This board shape is actually inspired by Boosted.
The Build:
- Trucks: Caliber Trucks Cal II 50° RKP Longboard Trucks
- Wheels: Cal 7 90mm 78A Cruiser Longboard Flywheel
- Pulley/Gear System: 3D Printed
- Motor: 6374 170KV Brushless Sensored Motor
- ESC: Hobbysky 36V Single Motor ESC & Wireless Transmitter
- 2x Battery: Turnigy 5000mAh 5S 20C LiPo Pack
The full list of parts and cost can be found here (total cost around $310):
3D Printing:
My secondary goal with designing this board is that anyone with a standard, desktop 3D Printer (200x200x200mm build volume) can download these designs and print it themself. The problem is that the board is (almost exactly) 1 meter long and will not fit. So I would have to break up the board into 5 or 6 sections and then either run a steel rod or two down the length of the board or figure out a way to dovetail these pieces together so that they remain strong enough to support a 70kg (155lb) rider.
If that doesn’t work, I could also customize a printer that I am already making/rebuilding to have the build volume that can print the whole board in one piece (I would just have to extend the rails on my 3D Printer).
Nunchuck Remote:
I have an old Wii Nunchuck that I am not using, I tore it apart and I was thinking of using it as my remote because I like the feel of it better in my hand. That being said I would have to somehow get it to communicate with a VESC (obviously not the one listed above). I have some old nRF24l01 Wireless Transciever chips that I could use with an Arduino/ATMega, and maybe that could work?. I read somewhere that people have done it before the explanation was shaky.
If someone is out there who knows about how to use a nunchuck to communicate with an electric skateboard, please let me know! I would love to have a discussion about this topic in the comments.
Final Thoughts:
Thank you for reading through this, I really appreciate everything this community has taught me so far, and I look forward to discussing my project with you!
Thanks,
Justin Shaw