So this was not a super long ride but i just wanted to check that everything was running right and that there was nothing wrong with drives or electronics. All seems good.
The ride ventured off into the forest for some sections and i did my best to keep things clean but eventually the inevitable happened and by the time we were done i had muddied the pristine grip tape
@DavidC
At the time i had been discussing weight with @poastoast as he was running a similar drive train but with a huge battery, so finally got around to weighing it.
This is without a battery obviously, but my thought is that when racing you would add a small 12S lipo setup probably around 2KG total.
Additionally, I tried to keep things light at the time of buying parts, but things have moved on since that point 2 years ago. @3DServisas have a new revision of this hanger that’s lighter than the version i have. Otherwise switching to airs would save even more weight. Also switching from the stiff bigboi to a stiff bro deck would probably save another 1.4-1.6kg.
All in i reckon by switching deck and trucks it would be possible to get this down to ~13KG (+battery).
A race buildout with some small lipos could feasibly sit under 15kg
So this idea of a micro race pack had been bugging me.
it seems like such a good idea to have small swappable packs for racing. maybe you only need a few boardercross runs or 5 timed laps. Capacity isn’t a concern as long as you have enough power and 3P of high discharge cells should be more than enough to provide that for just a few laps. Or maybe the quick round town to the shops and back.
FishPaper rings are not a 100% necessity on the P42A cell.
The Molicell cells are designed with an abrasion resistant insulator ring on positive side under the wrap, making the pack assembly easier and safer for manufacturers. (This can be seen in black below)
Yes sure you can fit an additional one if you are unsure if your cell features these, but its not always needed for well designed packs built with P42A.
Anyways battery construction techniques is a little off topic here. If you’d like to discuss this further lets take it to one of the many battery construction threads.
So i got a little creative with the design and tried to feature some of the same shapes found in the ESC case. The plan would be to print the wall sections and machine the lid and base. The cut ins will allow this to be easily secured with straps for quick removal and i added a small section for waterproof cable entry and exit.
Lighter than the PeliCase, but not by much. Definitely areas where the weight could be reduced further given a little more thought and another revision.
I have been using some small ratchet straps to secure the battery. The 4 point mounting of the esc case conveniently allows straps to pass underneath without needing to go under the board. Its not the tidiest solution but it has been practical allowing me to easily swap to another pack if needed.
At This point im considering the build “finished for now”.
Its final weight is 18.2kg with this small pack fitted.
It was the main board that i used at the EEBIT event mid august and has been on a few longer group rides with the larger battery pack fitted.
So far ive been impressed with some aspects of this board such as the level of grip and agility. But haven’t really had enough time to get it properly dialed in and tweaked to where im fully comfortable on it.
I haven’t made many changes since august and i have a few other projects which are taking priority at the moment, and the weather is shit, so i haven’t had many opportunities to tinker. Unfortunately i cant see that changing in the near future.
In the long term i don’t think I’ve fully pushed this board to its limits and im likely to swing back around to further refine the concept . . . at some point in the future.
Absolutely amazing build, the fit and finish/attention to detail really make it for me. Swappable battery pack really just adds on to that.
4WD small motor build really does make a lot of sense for an off road build. Gonna use this as inspiration for my MTB build when I eventually get to it.
It’s a workbee CNC. It’s good enough for most things when you take it slow. If I did it all again i would get linear rails so that I could push a little harder when working in aluminium.
