In a regular ball bearing with not much loads, I easily see this happening. But would arcing still be problematic with a spherical roller thrust bearing with a lot of axial load, and therefore pressure, due to the rider’s weight?
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The project I linked in the first post here uses that roller bearing for power transmission idea. So for sure the idea has merit. One problem they identified and solved was needing equal pressure on the 3 bearings/phases, so they used rubber and compressed the assembly. Also the bearings were completely made out of aluminum.
^ I have the CAD model of this board somewhere if you want to see
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Compression is definitely a good idea!
So is using aluminium.
I would love to see the CAD, I would appreciate if you could send it to me!
I want to start my own DIY freeboard project sometime next year…
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did that thing where I swear I had posted it here but guess that was somewhere else I shared it… odd.
it is somewhere in that old thread on ESB.
shit
If I don’t find the file somewhere the thread and pics explain pretty much everything.
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Yeah it explains it well enough. I will give this a go once I have a CNC up and running.
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ayo 
CAD-20221128T223540Z-001.zip (45.0 MB)
this file might be a shitshow warning
ESB DIY E-Freeboard VillainousJackal Assembled Geometry.STEP (1.4 MB)
it does not have that bearing race compression stuff mentioned in this model.
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While looking for suitable bearings to carry current and trying to avoid ball bearings I realised: bearings are going to get really really stupid expensive for something like an angular tapered roller bearing or spherical roller bearing. These would be required for longevity if arcing really is an issue, due to their larger contact patch.
I thought of another design which completely skips the need for a slipring… Why not just have the battery and the ESC be part of the caster? This is possible with a custom designed caster, placing the battery boxes on the top of the board. This of course means that if I want 2WD I need to use a remote that can send signal to 2 receivers at the same time.
Then I can just make my own caster with a much more accessible priced bearing… Like a simple angular contact ball bearing. They are mostly made in larger sizes, I plan to use 80mm OD 40mm ID, around 20mm thick, which is around 25€ per bearing and is capable of handling way more both in the axial and in the radial direction than the loads it is actually going to face. It’s also not stupid big, but big enough that I can pass my wiring through it from the motor to the ESC.
All that’s left for me to design is the wheel and the transmission system from the motor. Plus custom spring trucks similar to the freeboard 5X…
With this kind of design, having the big rotating battery boxes near the inside of my shoes, it would be best to use MBS / Trampa bindings instead of half hooks I think.
Before I start designing the caster wheel, what’s the current best choice looking like? Still the summerboard Freshies, or are there any alternatives? Also, do you have a CAD file for the Freshies? If all goes well I might even start printing a prototype of the design next week. I can’t actually CNC out any parts for like half an year more though.
Electronics wise on each caster I plan to fit a 12S3P 21700 pack, a small Daly BMS, a really small MakerX M100 VESC, a Flipsky BT module, a mini remote receiver, and most likely a Flipsky 190KV 6354. The transmission will be a straight cut steel on steel gear drive, ratio TBD. What’s a sensible top speed for a board like this? 45 km/h?
More details will follow after I print the caster… Then I’ll likely be silent on the topic until I have my CNC in hand, which currently looks like is going to be around summer time.
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After creating my own original design for an electric powered Freeboard, the goal sort of became to marry the 5-X design to the SBX. Keeping their good parts, making the designs highly interchangeable.
Sadly Summerboard is in this perpetual rut of not meeting my expectations, and similar disappointment with Freebord. Long waiting game isn’t playing out.
What to do about it exactly isn’t clear.
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I hear you.
I have been pretty disappointed with SB as a company. There’s so much potential but it’s really let down by the electronics. I think it’s the sort of thing that I wouldn’t personally think is viable to produce as a rival. Summerboard have it sown up really and you would end up trying to compete with a company that have everything made and mostly assembled in China. I don’t know how big the DIY parts market would be - I assume lots of customers are snowboarders that have no previous experience or knowledge of building. In my experience it’s all about final cost, even if you had a superior product, if you are $600 more you’ll lose a lot of sales.
What I do think there’s a market for is “bulletproofing”. Taking peoples broken boards, removing the SB electronics entirely and adding a cheap VESC based ESC and a battery in a new case. I’ve been asked many many times to do this for people after they saw my conversion and I think that could be popular in the US.
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Given I have avoided their electronics entirely and tried piecing together bits, I have a different problem with them. Parts availability unless you are under warranty seems to be a crapshoot. They show off a new and improved part and then shrowd its availability in mystery. Hoping you stop trying to repair your board and buy a new one it feels like. I really wish they would own up and say their don’t want to/can’t support the community with parts instead of it seems like ghosting us.
I thought it was funny when Aaron said they would add replacement part ordering into the SB app along with a community feature. Seems like such a 180 (pun intended) from the current status quo.
This Battery + VESC box with charger and remote combo seems to be missing from the market entirely. Sure a DIYer posts them time to time but nothing consistent, I guess maybe @mboards or whoever will make something like that someday.
DIY minded Summerboarders will lap that up big time.
Cost wise on the mechanical side with marrying the 5-X and Freebord designs I was thinking you can make the initial investment with a gravity Freebord, learn to ride/fall then decide if you want electric.
You could buy a broken summerboard and use the conversion kit sorta to take the SR360 slip rings and fit them, maybe use the stock battery 
/ controller+remote. Or also get the diy electronics.
So a 2-3 stage series of upgrades.
5-X → 5X summerboard hybrid → full diy
SB SBX → summerboard 5X hybrid → full diy
I think it would really need to be a full service, customer sends in board and the parts are fitted for them and the work warrantied. The amount of customers that buy SB and would feel competent enough or even to be bothered messing about is minimal. If FB get their finger out I imagine they will sell the trucks and decks to SB customers but that’s about it.
The things that break on SB are the electronics, i’m not sure people are looking for mechanical parts (which seem to last much better) when they can hopefully soon just buy the 5 trucks and bolt them onto a working board.
Like I said the main customer you would sell this service to is someone with no DIY inclination who bought a board and the electronics have gone and they are tired of sending their boards into SB or they want a bigger range etc. Selling kits like you suggest I don’t think wouldn’t work very well, personal opinion. If you are serious you should do some market research and see if it’s viable.
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wow thats $$
pretty sure someone could make an adaper plate to mount sb/fb5 style castors on the drift bar of the crazy cart.
Thanks for all the awesome posts and info guys! Especially @Fosterqc ! awesome work
Anybody tried angling the caster wheel?
I have the summerboard and just got the new 5x freebord so got the 5x spring loaded trucks onto the summerboard. have not yet tried it out yet, but doing some reading and with the previous troubles with the summerboard was its propensity to NOT straightline.
Ripstick and its angled caster wheels seems to get it to straightline more so.
I think this would make the summerboard directional, but curious if anybody tried this out.
Thanks!!
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I wish I had a printer with some hardcore strong filament so I could print a good angled riser for the fb5 castor but I will have to settle for a block of wood or something.
I think about the ripstikafication of a Freeboard is it could be fun certainly not as versatile of a ride… however if you could wiggle your way uphill and then slide back down you got yourself an idea!
Do you think mounting the caster wheel at an angle both sides would make a freebord more stable in straightling going downhill?
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Possibly, if you never want to ride switch comfortably. Perhaps I am overblowing that negative aspect.
To twist this into a topic I am more interested in I wonder if you can get some interesting feeling from adding an angle symmetrically to the castor bases. Really have no idea what could be good/bad about that.
hmm what do you mean by asymmetric angled castor bases?
when i get some time i think ill try adding a small angle to the summerbord with some cut up rubber spacers just to see how they behave.
for riding switch, i think just have to ride goofy from the start. my ephasis on the summerbord is to keep up my snowboarding thru the off season, and i figure having the board directional would kind of equate to following the fall line/down hill direction… it would be sad not be able to ride switch whenever by doing a 180… we’ll see how it goes soon…
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random thing I want to throw out is it would be nice to put both the Freebord Keyway and otherbord pin on the modular part.
Really interested in what direction you are going with the slip ring also.
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These days are passed seemingly. Both Major problems have been resolved on Summerboard and Freebord front.
Now with the SB being a hopefully viable product (nylon bases and new v2 electronics) I hope that aftermarket parts like idk maybe suspension could be brought about.