Internals Mounting - Deck Mounted vs Enclosure Suspended [Serious]

Yeah I get ya, i just think that having the ‘potting’ removable from the enclosure would also be ideal.

I’m leaning toward urethane rubber in something 30-40 shore hardness

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Just a heads up. Urethane was formulated as an adhesive. You will likely never get any of your components apart again.

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There are several release agents sold with urethane companies. I’m thinking the urethane would bind to the fiberglass deck and then a 3D printed battery buck could be coated with mold release and removed. P group gets installed and I can finish the wiring

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@janpom there is one!

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Then you’re screwed. At that point it’s best to burn the whole thing down and start over. :laughing:

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I concur.

Serious though, with so many enclosures being segmented these days, it’s become pretty much commonplace for me to build into the enclosure.

Cable management gets tricky, and I still haven’t found a method that i’m sold on for making all the connections both easily disconnectable while properly secure at the same time.

My favourite implementation so far has been this kaly build that I did earlier this year

I used gx12 for sensors and gps and mt60 for phases with 3d printed harnesses to ensure they are supported a little past the joint, and bolted together so they can’t vibrate free.

It works fucking brilliantly, but its just a touch bulky for my liking.

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This is also a good solution. IMO it’s best if you have either everything built into the deck or everything built into the enclosure and have a panel mount so that you can easily disconnect everything from the enclosure and completely detach it from the board. Then it’s also good if components are built into the enclosure such that they don’t fall out when you flip it over so that you can easily reattach it to the deck.

What I don’t like is if you have to fight the wires when installing the enclosure. This happens when you build into the enclosure but you don’t have the panel mount and you can’t disconnect the phase/sensor wires. It also happens when you build into the deck but you still have the charge port or the start button on the enlcosure.

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Yes. This is the way :pray:
I see different benefits for each.

Working on stuff built into an enclosure is easier in a small space (no board, trucks wheels GDs etc to lug up onto the workbench).

Waterproofing is maybe easier, as wires through enclosure can be made pretty waterproof (epoxy or panel mount). (Compared to a cover sealing over wires? on stuff that’s fixed to the deck - maybe?).

I wanna see more decks with phase wires and stuff built in, so you don’t need to deal with wires vs enclosure issues. More internal wore routing to sockets at ends of the deck would be cool. .

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On my main board I just take off the rear hangar and keep it attached to the enclosure. I’ll panel mount the sensor and MR60 plugs eventually, though I’d like to find a connector that can handle both the phase and sensor wires in one neat plug.

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That’s a method… but hardly ideal :joy:
I’d no doubt rip a wire out accidentally doing that, or something. I need simplicity.

Edit (I have three boards going currently, one with each of the options Jan noted, and the most recent (build all into enclosure) kinda seems like the simplest to put together and work on…

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Nylon sheathing and a ton of silicone glue holds things pretty well.

What I like about building into the deck is that it’s really the simplest to service. You don’t need to disconnect anything and removing/reattaching the enclosure is super easy. It’s like opening your car hood.

Sure, there are challenges. It’s more difficult to put together than if you build into the enclosure. Also waterproofing is a little more troublesome. But once you get it done it’s perfect (unless you need to service the deck :sweat_smile:).

Since I constantly tinker with my board internals this is quite a big deal for me.

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Until your connectors come loose and arc to high hell… then you’re kinda fucked… don’t ask me how i know :man_facepalming:

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This is an important point. If you want to use a properly installed VESC heatsink then building into the deck is no good.

… which reminds me of the VESC overheating issue I had on the last race event. :thinking:

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An older post with excellent suggestions! I have some ideas I can express with pictures and describe briefly here that may update and refresh this post? I thought about mounting the battery(ies) to the deck but do have some decks with a little flex and others that do not flex at all. I’m also sharing one battery between boards - as well as the ESC - so I wanted something similar with some consistency to reduce ‘swapping mistakes,’ as I like to call them.

My solution was to use double sided Velcro (that sticks to itself) bonded to the enclosure(s) with 5 or 30 minute two part epoxy as the primary method of mounting. So the Velcro is in the enclosure permanently and wraps around the battery to hold it in place at pre-determined locations. Up until now, I’ve been using what I would call traditional double-sided sticky tape to mount the battery to the enclosure. However, this has sometimes been hit or miss - not always does all of the adhesive engage the enclosure - after all, these batteries are never perfectly flat, are they? I’ve also felt that temperature changes and potholes might shift things and this would ruin an otherwise perfect group ride or evening out… Then, once you have it mounted securely, you have another issue when you want to get the battery out of the enclosure, don’t you? What was it that my mother told me about a 42 volt battery pack along with the application of a 3/8" flat bladed screwdriver to get under and pry loose tape? I forget - but there was something about women and inherent danger…

I also use latex foam rubber of either 1/4" or 1/2" thickness to cushion the battery from vibrations and other knocks - it also provides for some flex as well. The latex prevents the battery from slipping too as it’s fairly grippy. You could use the foam rubber on the top and bottom of the battery, but I’m only using it at present between the enclosure an and the battery. Here is an eBoardsPeru enclosure for a 42" Rayne Demonseed deck. I’m reaching the final stages of build where you can see two straps mounted to the bottom of the enclosure:

Preparation to accept two part epoxy is to use acetone to clean the areas you plan to bond. Also, straps are mounted ‘fuzzy’ side down so that more surface area is soaked into the epoxy. Of course, weight these things down during the curing process and use plastic Saran-type wrap during this process so you don’t have a mess.

Next is a picture of an MBoards XL Enclosure for an Interstellar. This one required using 80 grit sandpaper to prepare the surface of the plastic moulding surface for epoxy and acetone to clean it. You can see also I decided to use a wider strap:

I’ve got the foam rubber pictured there and I’m swapping a 12S3P battery between decks with two differing enclosures. The Stormcore 60d ESC has a heatsink and I’ve modified both enclosures to accept it with the 4 SHCS’s. One of the major advantages with this method is that it is possible to use this exact method on the deck as well - I would consider using short wood screws with fender washers (along with epoxy) to hold the straps to the deck, then use the latex foam rubber to protect the battery from the heads of the screws and allowing some flex on the deck (if flex can happen)…

Call it a little nuts, or OCD, or whatever, but you can see here that I have shrink tubing on the SHCS’s on the ESC. This is to prevent chafing of the threads against ANY of the wires - granted if some wire management is used, this will also prevent chafing against something. More than a clean installation, I just don’t desire surprises when I’m 15 miles out of nowhere on the Erie & Ohio canal towpath trail, at night, somewhere between Cleveland and Akron, OH.

Hope this helps give builders in this community some ideas and/or food for thought…

Ross

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I feel like what you have pictured is great for retaining east/west movement, but i’ve never come across a board that has suffered damage due to east/west movement of the battery…

North/south movement is the real fucker of things.

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Seperate compartments for an enclosure is always a good idea for the north south inertia forces. Break larger batteries up into smaller chunks. Mmmm I seem to recall a new enclosure with a nicely compartmentalised battery arrangement. :wink:

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For sure, segmented enclosures are fantastic for this :ok_hand:

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Or just fill evwry square cm of enclosre footprint with battery :wink:

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