Those who see my boards for the first time inevitably ask me the same two questions:
- Will it break if you jump on it?
- And, is PLA strong enough?
This week I would like to answer these for everyone.
Will it break if you jump on it?
Yes.
If you try hard enough to break it, it will. Trying hard enough includes putting it under a truck or giving it to Braille.
But, under normal use it should not break, and here is why.
At the beginning we calculated the loads and selected appropriate tubes. I even ran a very "scientific" test.
So, the tubes should not break.
What about the transition between tube and end unit?
To overcome this we run the central tube till the edges. This way the trucks are always supported by the carbon, and no hard transitions between plastic and carbon exist.
Is PLA strong enough?
The usual assumption is that PLA is weak. People expect ABS or fancier filament where loads exist.
But I think we should start earlier, with a question: what are the loads and the expected stress level?
Only then we could choose appropriate material to hold these loads and stress levels.
Think about it: what would be the benefit of using the strongest material where it is not needed?
It will be fancier, but for what purpose?
The only place where the plastic parts hold the loads by themselves is in the “carving direction?”.
We did the preliminary calculations and so far the colors do not lie.
Actually, I've never seen a deck (any deck) break in this direction...
I'm using PLA because it is the simplest material to print, and so far there was no real problem.
That said, I will do an actual test to see the limits of PLA in the near future.
Then we will all have real numbers for new designs.
Are you trying to build "as strong as possible"?
What is the purpose?
Did I change your opinion on the subject?
Please share with us in the comments, I would love to hear from you,
Dani