Hey everyone, hope you’re well and staying as safe as possible!
For the past few months I’ve been working on my Loaded Vanguard Flex 3 build. It started life as a 6S, single-motor build in 2016. Then I decided to completely rebuild it when my Raptor 2.1 died in Paris during the ESK8 cup. We all know what happened with Enertion, so it basically gave me a license to take the Unity out (which had zero issues) and transplant it onto my Vanguard!
- @pjotr47 made me a 10S3P 30Q pack
- I got the standard Vanguard enclosure set from @eBoosted.
I had planned a dual 6355 build for a while, so I had 2x motors from when Cédric / @ridewithokp’s UNiK Boards was still trading in the Summer of 2018, which are Maytech 190kv motors.
Cédric was also incredibly kind enough to help me out with some e-Caliber trucks and some prototype 32t wheel pulleys, which he was planning on selling, but sadly the company ceased trading. These are fantastic aluminium pulleys, nicely finished and very strong with an integrated bearing…
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…most likely very similar to the pulleys Electric Board Solutions sell in Belgium.
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Carbon/aluminium motor mounts came from Eskating in Italy.
Other parts/suppliers:
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The Insert Company - excellent threaded inserts supplier (UK)
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Pillar Drill on Amazon - Used to get accurate holes for custom Unity mounting plate (UK)
Photos and build notes:
How the 6S build looked (Hobbywing Quicrun 150A ESC, Alien Drive mount and APS 270kv motor) next to the finished 10S3P battery and enclosure!
@pjotr47 teasing me with the finished battery!
Absolute work of art, imo. Strategic cell and smart BMS layout to fit the relatively awkward enclosure space. I would say the enclosure is suited to 10S3P in this format, as apposed to squeezing 10 more cells in, as it’s advertised. The final setup simply has the charge port at the top of the enclosure for easy charging.
Making a start. I’ve filled all the old holes from the 6S build. I did consider wrapping the underneath of the deck… but I like Loaded’s design and a few ‘war wounds’ showing the board’s history… that said I may alter it in future.
I decided to replace the phase wires on the Unity with 12AWG wire, and 5.5 bullets.
Initial layout. Because I make stickers, I have a lot of transfer paper, so I stuck some to the board to get an approximate layout, ahead of drilling holes and making a custom Unity mounting plate… which took a while… as I struggled with drilling the 4 mounting holes, which I couldn’t get to align properly. I bought a pillar drill from Amazon which helped massively, and learnt lots about correct centre punch use and pilot holes, etc. I got there in the end!
I ended up shortening the Unity phase wires, and lengthening the motor phase wires, so they wrapped backwards, this ended up being the ideal wire management solution, including the rubber holding strip - it looks a bit ghetto but it works! I essentially got the motor wire layout idea from Boosted, as the wires go straight into their ESC enclosure.
I routed the centre of the deck for the power wires. This was done using a Dremel and their routing tool - it took some time but worked well!
Grip tape on and ready for its first ride at the Evolve indoor go-cart event!
…Then I went for a ride with a friend and it got wet. The weather forecast lied. Nothing was fried, but water did seep through the sides of the enclosures. So I stripped and dried everything.
Due to the way life has gone with COVID-19, it was a couple of months before it was put back together - but here we are now with the board complete… for the time being! I’m stoked with how it rides, lots of torque and the right amount of noise - FOC is super quiet and when you punch it the metal pulleys let you know they’re there and you get a nice whine!
A look at the back of the Eskating mounts and previous generation Shredlights. The belts are from Belting Online, and are 255, which is the perfect length for this 32t/15t setup - there’s just the right amount of adjustability in the motor mounts.
A closer look at the motor wire management. This was bloody tricky to say the least. I’m using an Eskating riser with space for phase and sensor wires… but in order to keep the wires where I wanted/needed them, I had to use a combination of thin, double-sided tape and a quick action to flip the trucks onto the board while it was laid on the table. It took a few attempts but it turned out well!
Wires and riser.
Pretty happy with how the board looks, like I said earlier I may wrap the underside.
I replaced the standard green (soft) e-Caliber bushings with these Orangatang Knuckles - night and day difference with better adjustability and overall ride feel, highly recommended!
Better look at the motor mounts, etc.
Motor wires. The small piece of foam by the enclosure will probably get replaced as it’s not an ideal solution for keeping dust out where the wires go into the Unity.
How the ESC enclosure looks now!
As well as the Unity, we have a Metr Pro module, which is epic… and is the only way I can see what % of battery I have left, as the Smart BMS is charge-only and doesn’t keep track of the battery % properly.
Close-up of the Metr Pro module, as well as the XT90 that comes in from the board. I had to use some extra strong glue under the connector as the vibrations kept knocking the hot glue out of place. It still looks VERY DIY haha, but it’s solid now! The same glue was used on the Metr module and antenna.
Close-up of the custom Unity plate.
I may trim the bottom of the foam… it works
Using e-Caliber trucks mean you need to space the front wheels. I found these on eBay, absolutely awesome!
And here’s a video of what the board sounds like!
Any questions please ask.
Cheers and stay safe,
Jonny.
Who doesn’t want a Metr Pro for their board, it’s great! Truth be told I was under the impression you could only use the Unity’s module to set parameters and do motor detection. Am I missing something?
