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Low Guidos Skate-a-tron 4000 (electric skateboard)

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sup guys.
So the snow season ended and im itching to get back on the skate again. im still in love with the park, but something has had my attention for some time now. Electric power.
my love of riding boards combined with my love of motorized stuff. its the perfect combination is it not?
my problem is that anything that is half decent costs thousands of dollars! So I have decided to try and save some money by making my own electric skate-a-tron. I’ll share the details with you guys as I build it up.

 
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Haha, this is awesome. Always fun to see DIY projects. Keep us posted, mate.

 
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ok so the motor im going to use is a Turnigy 5055 280kv. it was originally intended for powering large model aircraft but research shows that its also the motor of choice for plenty of people making electric boards too. Its rated to handle 1510W and the low kv rating   should mean that its got plenty of torque for moving me around. also with the aim of the game being cheap this motor can be had online for $47~$50.

The Juice is gonna come from a pair of 5000mAh LiPo batteries. Lipo’s are not something you wanna mess around with so a special charger is required for them.


all the electronics is pretty much straight off the shelf RC Car stuff.
I have had this guy for 14 years now.

 
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well it turns out that the hardest part of this build it making the drive gear true on the wheel. it took some time let me tell you.
im working with only basic ha

nd tools, so it would have been easier with a lathe or some kind of mill.
also alot of people use abec11 flywheels (or simmilar) because of their “hub” design but again cheap being the name of the game here I worked with what I had.
Im fairly happy with the result.

I originaly drilled a 6 hole PCD but I found 3 of the 6 bolts to be plenty. I can always add more if required.

 
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alright wheels and cogs all very boring..  lets see what it will kinda resemble when put together.

 
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I have cut a hole in some 6mm thick aluminium plate for the motor mount.


and welded it to the hanger.

this is where the motor will live smile

I have also made a home for the speed controller from carbon fibre.
I think I will probably laminate the whole board in carbon fibre later on or make my own carbon deck from scratch.

 
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Unreal. Can’t wait until you test it! You know you need to get video of this, yeah? wink

 
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dont worry, I will video.

 
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Dam this is a epic looking project mate.

 
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Looking cool mate. But im a bit confused (not hard for me) about the hanger. How much clearance will you have with that big hanger for the motor? I mean, wont it smash into the deck as you turn and limit your turning ability?
Maybe need photos from a different angle to see the clearance

 
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so when the hanger moves down it pivots about the axis of the kingpin. So the motor kinda move across and towards the truck more than down.
I don’t know how to explain it best, but I have ridden it with the motor attached and it doesn’t hit anywhere.
I have also left the bracket bigger than I need so that I can grind it down once finished.
i’ll try to get some photos.

I’m pleased to see people being critical though. this is the first time I have done this there is bound to be some things that i have overlooked or could do better.

 
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Ok. So I strapped on all the bits and took this thing for a test drive.
Holy shit! The thing wants to kill me!
A tiny touch on the throttle and I’m sent manualing Down the street uncontrollably! By the time I gather myself up and lean forward I’m already going fast. Too fast. Needless to say I’m going to need some fine tuning on the throttle settings.

 
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Hahahahahaha

 
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I strapped a camera under to hope to get some footage of the motor and truck pivot and such…
you will have to excuse the quality and the noise as the paths around my place are rat shit!

 
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LowGuido - 17 November 2014 05:07 PM

Ok. So I strapped on all the bits and took this thing for a test drive.
Holy shit! The thing wants to kill me!
A tiny touch on the throttle and I’m sent manualing Down the street uncontrollably! By the time I gather myself up and lean forward I’m already going fast. Too fast. Needless to say I’m going to need some fine tuning on the throttle settings.

Hhaha that’s great!