Maybe you can print the negative and fill it with fibreglass! Ive always wanted to try that.
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This is an amazing project. Very envious, I would love to create my own board from scratch like yourself. I’m living through you haha.
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Well, my 3D printed enclosure is a failure… I put some thin layers of synthetic padding between my Delrin battery holders and along the bottom of the enclosure - thus now the battery protrudes above the enclosure… because I didn’t account for the padding thickness in my design… yadda yadda yadda - it looked like crap anyway because my 3D printing skills are lacking… So, I’m open to enclosure suggestions. My brain is tired…
I’m thinking I can CNC a positive / negative of the deck and heat gun some ABS then press it between the two molds… I’m not too excited to buy a vacuum bag system but that’s an option…
Carbon fiber looks cool - but challenging as well… I’m not artistic and epoxy everywhere requiring patience isn’t my cup of tea… I hate sanding too…
I was thinking some corner brackets milled from aluminum and then some solid expanded PVC sheets inbetween would be cool, but flexibility might be an issue? Anyway - I was searching through “enclosures” and it’s enough to fill Encyclopedia Britannica (dating myself on that one)…
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You could screw/tape your printed enclosure to your deck, cover it with brown tape, then apply FG and epoxy (there’s a good thread about the process here)
It’s not that hard honestly, only takes patience
Good luck and take your time, you don’t want to ruin this beauty 
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Thanks! I took a breath and a step back, was slightly deflated from the 3D printing enclosure failure. Anyway, got some expanded PVC and carbon fiber on the way. Hope to make an enclosure and carbon skin it for looks… the carbon fiber is aluminum coated? Anyway - hope it looks cool and is functional!
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Mark you might also consider thermoformed Kydex - a lot less work than anything resin based, it seems.
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Oh are you going to thermoform PVC?
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No, my battery pack is pretty thick or deep and I guessed the thermoforming might be challenging. Then again it could work fine as I’ve never done it. I’m cutting the PVC into pieces and glueing together, then going to shape it with some parallel runs on the CNC. Will still be boxy - ish, but hopefully with the carbon fiber will look nice.
I may one day make a positive and negative mold out of plywood, then heat up Kydex and squish it in between… see if that works as well… the Kydex ones I’ve seen seem to work well for shallower enclosures.
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I really like that enclosure!
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Yea, just posted a wiring question yesterday. I think what I’m doing is correct but since it’s a little different I was seeking some confirmation from others with greater knowledge than me. Had to order some supplies as I didn’t have smaller gauge silicone wire. That arrives Saturday.
Then I just have to drill holes in the enclosure. It’s a tight fit but I think I can make it all work 
. Definitely a bit of art in this which isn’t my strength. I’m geometrically challenged! But the carbon fiber skinning worked pretty well - much better than my previous 3D printed effort.
Then program the VESC Tool. Hopefully that’s it.
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Got it running! Was nice to ride down the street and the braking seemed to work alright on a slight downhill. But the clearance is an issue. I’m gonna mill some level aluminum extensions instead of drop down.
I’ve only poured one coat of epoxy on the carbon fiber so hopefully can sand out some of the scratches. But I see the light at the end of the tunnel and it isn’t an 800 pound gorilla holding a lantern… 
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Or get some pneumatic wheels/tires? The whole board and enclosure look so perfect, it’d be a shame to lose the drop. As crazy expensive as they are, I bet some Xcell wheels would be the icing on this cake. But I’m sure whatever you do will look great.
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May i ask where you found those thin rod end bearings?
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It would be cool to see a production version of the deck,brackets and enclosure.
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That is a viable option… I’ll think about it. Those are really cool wheels. The 106mm listing, is that the aluminum outer dimension? I couldn’t quit tell from the website.
I’ll keep the drop down milled pieces. The board is for my son… If he wants to upgrade to pneumatics he can save up his pennies.
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All of the heim joints and threaded rods are from McMaster-Carr. They tend to be a little more expensive on some items but when using Fusion 360, you can ensure the part matches what’s in the design. And since they are in Atlanta the parts arrive the next day here in Charlotte. Very convenient.
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I see, all of the iso rod ends i found are wide compared to these.
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Damn, dad. You want to adopt another 41 year old son? 
I hope your son appreciates how awesome this is.
And I think the 106mm is the outer dimension, since all the 6-8" tires that are supposed to fit have 3.75" inner diameter, as far as I know.
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Milled the new extensions and got the board running today! Yea! Went for about a 2 mile ride. Since this is the first time I’ve ridden since 1988 I’d call it a success. The increased clearance was nice. My son’s helmet arrived today so he’s good to go.
I think I bought the wrong charger as I read these batteries only charge at 1 Amp and my charger is a 4 Amp charger.
But I’ll probably upgrade to Molicel’s soon. I never associated battery power with braking power but now that it works I don’t mind spending more for some decent batteries. It struggled slowing my 220 pound ass down the steeper hills.
The motor mounts leveled out during the ride so I’ll need to figure that out. I’m guessing that’s from the torque put on by the belts as I couldn’t move them with my hands before the ride.
Thanks to everyone for helping on this forum. I never would have tried building this without this forum - that’s an absolute certainty!
It’s martini time! Cheers.
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