Let the Fun Begin. The Pink Dragon Spine - hackable electric skateboard | 3D printed | Onda deck | 6364S 63mm Motor | LiFe 79,2 Wh (3000 mAh) | VESC | Faraday Motion | Arduino | Fusion 360

Once I saw “electric”, “vehicle” and “3D printed” I knew it had to be good (and I was right). Finally I had a chance to build my Pink Dragon Spine.

I got Onda core deck and The Spine kit including VESC and NodeMCU (Wi-fi module).

It all started from trying to figure out what do I need. I’ve used those components:

So here we go. Battery compartment had to be modified - current design is suitable for LiPo battery used by Faraday Motion. I had LiFePO4 in different size and I wanted to have lights on the back to be more visible. Fusion 360 was good enough to design/redesign all the components.

I needed a unicorn on the back as well.

Placing my nick and slot for a dragon.

Top lid was 6 hours print.

And it required some wet sanding.

Those parts are suitable for The Spine 2.0 by Faraday Motion

• Drive belt gear was printed with 75% infill. Top lid was printed with 20% infill because of its function. All other parts were printed with 50% infill.

• Wall thickness of the parts is 1,6mm • All parts were printed with 0,8mm nozzle on Ultimaker Original

I wanted Voltage meter on the side - and there was perfect space for having a display. Also - having fuse on the side sounded like a good idea. I failed few times with designing and printing something which would fit display, cables and fuse. This one went super bad.

Finally - this one looked good.

Slicing was made in Cura.

Tight fit.

It fits!

Making connector for battery and battery tester.

Unsoldering all factory pins cuz… well NodemCU (ESP8266) looked too big to fit nicely in the electronic box. I could make it nicer.

After and before.

Arduino and LEDs on the back required 5V therefore I had to solder together DC/DC converter.

And place it somewhere.

It would make sense to test it. First problem: few battery testers (LiPo battery voltage tester – low voltage buzzer alarm) did not recognize all 8 cells (just first 6) The problem appeared to be in battery tester not in the battery - last two pins were not connected to anything… (ebay special). Tried another tester and this time it worked. All 8 cells were good.

Mishaps: • Printing first battery compartment suitable for standard LiPo battery used by Faraday Motion, not for LiFe custom battery pack (wrong measurements). • Problem with battery testers which did not recognize all 8 cells of LiFe battery pack. • Printing top lid with support – with 0, 8 mm nozzle (instead of changing settings from suitable for 0,2mm nozzle) which made removing support material time consuming and not easy.

• Used VESC and motor started working without problems after connecting but motor was stuttering which gave a suspicion that it works sensor less. Order of the pins was reversed. Connector had to be taken apart and cables had to be moved. Other than that - works fine.

Time to put everything together

There is one part I’m missing for now - something to keep battery locked in place. For now it sits in the battery compartment thanks to foam.

It’s alive!

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Nice build, way to get outside of known methods and just boy scout the hell out of it :slight_smile:

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Thanks. Planning to use it on a daily basis. Just have to wait for winter to pass.

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Dang! This is the most amazing and modded Spine in the company. Congrats on your impressive build Alicja.

Cheers!

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Why is it called a “spine?” Also - you have some serious skills. I love how you modded, printed, and did so much yourself and made it your own :wink: Can’t wait to see some footage of it riding. Haha it’s like the sumo guy from street fighter 2…get it because e-Ondas… sorry.

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Nice build. i’m still not sure about the wifi control or having all the weight off one end, but the dragon makes it all worth it! :sunglasses:

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Well, it’s the base for the vehicle. I have started with The Spine to have electric skateboard which is extensible in terms of software and hardware. Now I’m able to add new components and functionality over time.

rear part could be smaller - I’ll work on that some time. What you are unsure about? I would love to hear what you’ve been thinking about this part. Dragon is the most important thing in this build :smiley:

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Sure? I thougth most important part was the unicorn. By one side I feel that unicorn don’t fit the name "dragon spine. By the other side I know that everybody needs and unicorn, so it’s perfect where it is.

I live your buld.

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I brought my baby to work today.

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@aikokami can you post some ride videos? Like to see your rides in action

That looks dope! Good job! My need of a 3D printer keeps increasing. So much possibilites :smiley:

ride in the office - more videos coming soon. I’ll keep you posted.

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Lol…ok I forgot it’s winter…lol…

Yeah…inside riding in the office don’t count! Lol

I did not think about heating my battery cells and winter tires… But it can be done :smiley:

Nice build like the idea and the 3d printed parts Hope youll post some vids where you ride it😁 Yeah an of course the color is nice !!pink is faster!! 100%sure :sweat_smile: IMG_5856 IMG_5847

This was 2 years ago bud.

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What is up with people reviving 2 year old threads

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What’s up with worriying about people reviving old threads? It does hurt anything, especially if they are looking for info.

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I think he just wanted to flex his pink wheels? Lool

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