How I built an electric skateboard

Spring is here and so is the latest version on my electric skateboard!  This winter, I virtually rebuilt everything but the motor assembly. Here are the abbreviated release notes:

Increased ground clearance
Single switch on-off
External LED status lights
4 screw service access
Flush charging port
New .75in 3D printed risers with integrated cable ties

Of all the improvements made this winter, by far the biggest and hardest in the list was increasing the ground clearance. But, I have to say...it freakin worked. Now the bottom of the box is just about level with the bottom of the trucks. I nearly doubled the clearance from 1.5" to 3".  Riding on this box for a few weeks now, i've yet to bottom out on anything.

In order to accomplish this, I literally had to disassemble to motor controller, hack .5" off of the main terminals, drill new holes and get special low profile bolts.  Then, because the tolerances were so tight, I printed an ABS plastic spacer that fits in the small gap between the controller and the box walls so it wouldn't short out with a sudden slip or bang.

But before I did all that I had to explore all the options with what I had.  I disassemble the battery pack to see what was in there....I tried gaining clearance by splitting the pack into 2 halves, but there was not much to gain.  I was able to tweak how the main leads came out of the pack.

Okay, so I decided how it's gonna go - now how the heck was I gonna build it?  It seemed expensive and kinda dumb to sub this out to a shop, so I bought a bending brake for $75, and a sheet of aluminum off amazon supply (free shipping with prime :))



As shown in the pictures, I drafted my flat pattern, cut it out, bent it and then riveted it together.  In the end flanges, I managed to have Steve install rivnuts so I wouldn't need to have access inside to box to the nut. Just 4 bolts. This was a very nice addition to the design and makes it a breeze to disassemble, service or reprogram.

Now it was time to get everything into place.  I knew that the battery and controller were roughly fixed, but I hadn't worked out the rest of the wires and components.  They were small details...Enter the wonders of 3D printing.  It was super easy to layout all my parts and make everything I needed to get all the little parts right where I wanted them.

The picture should show the rest of the details: charging port, on/off, LEDs.

And here is the final assembly on the road!

Hope you like. Anyone with any questions , feel free to comment.