So im planning on 3d printing my enclosure and was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on how to do it, Im still debating between using PLA or PETG. Any suggestions?
There is actually an entire thread dedicated to this already, did you give it a read yet?
Also, check out how I did it with my latest build, I used PLA+ and it is holding up well so far. The direction of your layer lines matters a lot as well.
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PETG would be better than PLA. I’d actually recommend finding a decent PLA+. That will give some flex and a lot of toughness as they are typically blending with abs. They’re typically pretty easy to print with.
My 3D printed enclosures all supported the weight of the components in them. I had some cracking around bolts, mostly from dropping the board from a kick tail position which meant all the weight of the battery was coming down.
The number one thing that will strengthen a 3D printed enclosure 10 fold is skinning with fiberglass. Simply epoxy coating does help some, but a layer or two of fiberglass (even just to the inside) will really toughen it up.
My current board has a 5 piece printed enclosure that was skinned with FG. Instead of printing the 5-7mm thickness I used to, I made this one only 3mm thick in abs. That sped up print time a lot and I gained the strength and thickness back with FG
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if your model is structurally sturdy, pla+ or carbon fiber pla does really well from my experience
there’s this one on thingiverse (don’t know if he’s on the forum, can’t find him) is pretty smart, i made a modified version so it feats my needs, and i’m really happy with it.
Beware : PLA main problem is low heat resistance, so think about a good cooling system, or have fun with hannaealing your parts
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PETG cracked for me too easy with the enclosure design I went with, so switched to TPU and my son can’t break it.
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I’m on this same tip 
I broke lots of pla and petg early models now use tpu and will never crack.
The orange ones are shells for lipos and printed in petg but are hung from straps so they don’t directly endure any pressure but as is isn’t water tight (could easily make a lid to seal it up better with tpu too)
Black longboard one is tpu and has some flex to it also straps under the enclosure holding the battery to the board/bolts too so enclosure isn’t taking all the pressure/weight of the battery.
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Ok I see what you’re saying, so did you put the fiberglass on the inside of it then? Also how did you make sure the things inside the enclosure dont move around too much, I was thinking of putting foam that would absorb some impact and then maybe strapping it down somehow. would like to see how you did it.
so this is what I have right now, 3 parts and I’m in the process of printing the last two end pieces right now. Its made to fit a loaded vanguard clone deck that doesnt flex so I dont have to worry about that
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all decks have some flex…especially when the wheels are far apart
looks good though! Bondo it together, smooth, fiberglass and youre off to paint
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Oh yeah you are 100% right, I just meant its not as flexible as the vanguard, but thanks for the help! im so ready to just ride my board around
fiberglass right over the bolt holes, theyre easy to cut out later. Especially if you hand lay up, go after them when the epoxy is 75-90% cured with a razor blade
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Yeah I used PLA+ for all of my prints, ESUN has had great results for me. Super easy to print too.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EKEMDA6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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yeah the big thing is you can print PLA up to 120mm/s when i’s difficult to get PETG higher than 40mm/s
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So for the enclosures did you guys print it with a curve to match the curve of the board? I printed two pieces out and never put a curve in to match my board so now it sits a bit weirdly.
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Good stuff guys.
When you glue longitudinal pieces together, think of supporting bending like here:
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gorgeous
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Little update, I got the last piece printed and put all the parts together with jb weld. Super strong and I just sanded it down, I’m about to skin the inside with fiberglass and then paint!
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I did on all of mine, they fit perfectly onto my concave in both directions, but I also used neoprene stripping to provide dust / splash resistance.
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