Nagini | Build Journal

[Plurf]

@That_Jamie_S_Guy

That then led me down a train of thought about using sheet metal instead. I’ve heard that sheet metal can be unforgiving at times, so decided against that.

I remembre seing a couple realy great builds a good few years back made this way,
@DougM is I think one of them, and there was another, a green board I realy liked with one sheet of metal as lid over 3D printed sizes

@That_Jamie_S_Guy

But then, how about wood? The few wood enclosures I’ve seen so far (looking at you, Hoyt) are sexy, clean and elegant but must be an absolute BALLACHE to build.

There was the accoustic board made this way, but I don’t remembre from who it was

@That_Jamie_S_Guy

How about using a skateboard deck?

Trust me or not, but even this one I have seen XD there was that guy with the snowboards deck

@That_Jamie_S_Guy

The length is perfect and it already bends in the right places. Would just need to fill the holes with dowels (the easy part) and make some side panels (the hard part)

This actualy looks good, again 3D printed parts for the side are the easy way to go

@That_Jamie_S_Guy

filling the sidewalls of a wood enclosure I would love to hear them.

The lower budget one, without a 3D printer would be cutting plywood layers, the same way you make a topography model
that would be a royal PITA though

[That_Jamie_S_Guy]

That’s awesome, I love Kami Juins builds. As cool as it would be, I dont think I’ll have the space with my wide flat battery to do that

[That_Jamie_S_Guy]

Yeah I think ill stick to the original plan. Sheet metal would be nice but a lot more complicated to design I reckon. 3D printing for the sides gives me the same problem as 3D printing the enclosure, I won’t be able to accurately replicate the curvature without tons of trial and error.

[Plurf]

@That_Jamie_S_Guy

, I won’t be able to accurately replicate the curvature without tons of trial and error.

Most of the time you don’t need to, just make it flat and add a moderatly flexible gasket
Plus your deck seems pretty flat

[That_Jamie_S_Guy]

I’m more talking about the curvature of the deck that is acting as the enclosure

[Plurf]

@S4nd3r

I meant metal sheet + 3d printed side

[That_Jamie_S_Guy]

Ah oka, that’s actually really nice. Will habe a think.

Wont be working on Nagini until a couple of weeks time probably.

[That_Jamie_S_Guy]

[That_Jamie_S_Guy]

Just documenting a few thoughts.

I may mount an old phone to the front of the deck to act as a low budget Davega so I can see my battery charge, speed, distance etc. All it would need is a waterproof case and 3D printed mount.

Once my printers up and running I intend to print some covers for the belt drive and underside of the motors to prevent stones coming and knocking things about. It’s also become apparent that I need a better carry handle solution than just holding the trucks, and nose/tail bumpers to prevent scratches.

Still planning to mount some lights as well…

Also, a carry handle. Probably machined aluminium.

[That_Jamie_S_Guy]

Before:

After:

Details

Since I was already replacing my damaged BMS, I figured it would be worth just redoing some other aspects of the pack as well.

I was feeling quite dissatisfied with how messy my shitshow of kapton tape is, and also I had already managed to damage some of the shrink wrap. Those combined certainly didn’t give me much confidence that the pack will be able to hold up to any vibration, especially with all the air pockets between layers of tape. I decided to strip the battery back to P-group level.

Much happier with the way the pack looks and feels now

[That_Jamie_S_Guy]

I’m so frustrated with myself.

I got home from work early with the intention of getting a bit more done from home to catch up on some stuff that’s behind. Instead, I saw the Amazon package for blue foam and got excited and decided to work on my enclosure.

The first mistake is not giving myself enough time.

I knew this would be a lengthy, messy process, yet realistically I only had about 2 hours before it was time to make dinner, do the chores, spend time with my fiancé and get a good night sleep.

I started off working carefully but as time started to run out I felt more and more rushed.

I began with some cardboard as a base:

Then cut some blue foam to size and with double sided tape, attached it:

It was at this point I was concerned that I cut the foam too small across the width of the board. I decided to go ahead anyway.

I set up some bin bags as dust sheets:

Then began shaping the enclosure.

Because of how lightweight the foam was, I tried using the double sided tape to stick it to the deck. However because of the heavy duty velcro I previously added to hold the battery in place during testing, this didn’t work.

I still decided to carry on.

The final shape of the enclosure mould was decent. It’s not perfect, and I didnt take the time to make proper measurements and markings for the two height levels and rounded edges. I eyeballed it.

I then haphazardly wrapped it in packing tape. Completely ruining all the work I did to make the surface nice and flat to provide a good internal finish for the fibreglass.

Then I laid out the battery and ESC on top and realised it was going to be too tight of a fit for all of the wiring, especially the loopkey circuit which I haven’t made yet.

I realised I’d need to buy more foam and start from scratch. That’s fine. What’s not fine is the sticky tape residue on my deck.

So with a combination of heat gun, a plastic scraper and isopropyl alcohol I began chipping away at the tape. I was making frustratingly slow progress, and then this happened:

Some of the epoxy on the deck completley chipped off. Now, not only have I wasted time and energy on the enclosure, but I’ve made myself more work because I need to repair the deck once I’m done removing the adhesive. I don’t have enough epoxy left for a full coat of the underside so I’m going to try to patch it up, but I’m worried it’ll be obvious and look shit.

I’m covered in blue dust. My desk is covered in blue dust. The floor is covered in blue dust. All my tools are covered in blue dust. Even the kitchen has somehow got blue dust. Everywhere I walk is getting covered in blue dust. I need to make dinner. I need to tidy up before I work from home tomorrow. I’m pissed off with myself.

Rant over.

[Flyboy]

I’ve been there too man, just take a breather for a while then knock one thing out at a time. Feeling like you’re tripping over yourself is one of the most frustrating things

[SquishyCat]

I’m sorry to hear that man, feeling like you’ve only gone backwards after a ton of work is never fun. When you do end up starting again though I recommend goo gone to get rid of the tape residue. It has always worked wonders for me.

[That_Jamie_S_Guy]

Yeah man. I guess its all a part of the learning process, especially with this being my first time. Im just itching to ride this board at this stage and want it done so badly. I’ll try again, but make sure i take my time with it.

[That_Jamie_S_Guy]

Thanks man, glad you get me. I’ll look into that goo gone stuff, sounds like it’ll work a treat

[rosco]

Yeah dude. Modest goals and lots of easy, achievable little steps is the way.

Wanting to finish so that you can ride it is the hardest thing. Avoid that any way possible dude, cos it makes you rush shit. Borrow a board, push skate, whatever.

[Common_good]

@rosco

Avoid that any way possible dude, cos it makes you rush shit. Borrow a board, push skate, whatever.

Great advice here… your first build is especially tough for this reason- you’re itching to ride like a junkie and it enables compromises on quality and/or shoddy work. This will also lead to a board that’s not gonna hold up very long… or at all.

[That_Jamie_S_Guy]

Bro I could kiss you rn

That goo gone stuff worked its magic and the deck is completely clean.

Thank you

[SquishyCat]

Glad it worked out man! Excited to see how everything turns out in the end.

[Common_good]

Wash that shit off tho. It will fuck up your epoxy if you leave it on afaik…