How long would you expect a budget build to last?

General Discussion
#1

I was planning to make a first time board with: FVT 120A ESC 200KV 5045 motor 2x 5000 mAh 3s (series) CNC machined mount 3d printed pulleys

How long would you expect this to last before parts would need replacing? or if there are any changes you would make to help improve durability.

#2

For durability, I wouldn’t think 3-d printed parts would last

#3

Really depends on the material, print quality, and usage, some can last for hundreds of miles but some fail right away,

#4

My 3-d Printed pulley lasted me about 4 months of riding almost every day, then exploded. It is a viable option, just be careful. :smiley:

#5

a week, going by my experience.

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#6

@jebe Could you recommend a better ESC thats lasted you?

#7

use the X-car 150A ESC from hobby king. I have used thes on a number of builds and they are all still going strong .

I dont know about 3d printed pulleys… I dont think they would last too long, but my early builds are just starting to wear out the aluminium pullys after 3 years of daily use. the 3S zippy lipos I used are still going strong. and the turnigy SK3 motors are bullet proof.

#8

I understand that the pulleys are going to be weak but im happy to keep re-printing them if they will last more than a month each.

Would you expect this motor to last aswell as the SK3 and if there is another ESC alternative on banggood as im trying to get all my parts from one place?

#9

I have never used one of those motors so I can’t really say. I think you should open yourself to buying from different vendors otherwise you will be very limited.

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#10

hobbywing max6 or max 8

#11

if you print out of petg (which I recommend) or abs, your pulleys should be fine. do not print them with pla. pla is quite brittle and has very low heat resistance. nylon would be a good choice too. a bit more expensive though

#12

I would recommend going with a steel motor pulley and an aluminum wheel pulley. It does cost more, but you will get parts that don’t fall apart after a few hundred miles. I went with an aluminum motor pulley and 3d printed wheel pulley for my first build. Before I knew it, I was going through 1 aluminum pulley every other month due to tooth wear! After about 4 months, my wheel pulley exploded.

I then switched to steel/aluminum. After half a year of hard riding, I have only had belts to replace, as they are now the weakest link in the chain.