Eventually battery issues were resolved, all parts were printed, and all the items arrived.

We start the big assembly.

The drive side

This was the new thing for me, as are electric skateboards. I’ve ordered the motor, generic motor mount and a set of pulleys. Additional thing was this remote, which was recommended numerous times as a simple working option.

The first issue was mounting the motor mount, because of my trucks, it had to be “dremelled” to fit further towards the kingpin.

Recess for the reinforcement rib on the truck

The fit, held in place by three grub screws.

The other side was to attach the wheel pulley to the wheel. This was a straightforward task, although somehow messy.

I’ve made sure that the belt drive was of 5mm type for better grip. And finally this side of the equation was completed.

ESC and wiring

ESC was a really simple task, it was hot glued to the enclosure into a dedicated space. It made a good fit:

Now it is time to make the in-series harness for the batteries. I’m connecting two 4000mAh 3s LiPo batteries in series to create 6s.

And of course I’ve forgot to model the through hole between two battery sections, so it had to be drilled 🙂 Other than that it was simply connecting the two batteries with enough slack. 12AWG silicon wire and XT60 connectors are my choice for now.

Not forgetting to glue the exit connector, kind of arming switch to the outside.

Glue in the receiver

This is simple, just glue it in with hot glue and make sure the antenna is untangled and not in a way with battery.

That’s it, the enclosure part with all the insides is finished.

Putting it all together

Clamping with 12 bolts/nuts to the tubes. The beautiful part here is the ability to locate it anywhere along the tubes/rails. Kind of a way to adjust the optimal position for the available wires.

Ready to run
Slide in the lids and plug in the ESC, you are ready to go

Some finished pictures

I think it is a success! Really pleased with the outcome and it is pleasant to ride. It is kind of tricky, but then again I’ve never ridden an electric skateboard.

Now for the kind of success picture, the one that makes it all worth it and interesting:

4.2kg all up weight for a full length electric longboard

The full assembly in 1.5 min:

 

P.S.

This was a cool project. If you follow the project you can see the transition between idea, numbers, and hardware. And this is very empowering!

This is just the first version. I think with several adjustments we can totally get below 4kg without compromises in performance! And we can certainly design other interesting stuff that will make the daily commuting easier.

Thank you for getting with me this far, your encouragements have certainly helped me to get this far!

Now I only have to learn how to ride it 🙂

 

Enjoy,

Dani