I was pretty satisfied with my first build, but as it got summer the motor got too hot and I had to do smth about it. I wanted to have more performance and decided to just build another deck.
Why is it named whale? Just look at it!
My goals were:
-Performance
-Brakes
-Waterproof(ish)
-relatively transportable
-being able to tow smth
-cheap as possible
To build it as cheap as possible, I opted to reuse the parts from my first build. I would have much rather gone to 10s and a VESC, but that would have made the cost go up by quite a bit. To get working brakes and more performance, I went with two FVT 120a Brave wolf ESCs and 2 NTM Prodrive V2s
The Parts are:
-2* NTM Propdrive 5060 270Kv V2
-2*FVT 120a Brave Wolf ESC
-Paris Trucks
-6s4p Custom (soldered) Battery pack ( Samsung INR21700-40T)
-Fs-GT2B Madmonkey
-Abec clone Wheels 83mm
I planned to use the battery, GT2B, motor, and trucks from the last board, and just build a new deck which fits two ESCs and the old components. However, after discovering the Lipos weren’t longlasting and only giving me 5s bc of dead cells, I ordered 12 new cells. An hour later I came across 21700 cells that would give me around 1,6 times the capacity of the lipos. It was too late to cancel the order for the lipos, but I ordered the 21700 cells anyway. Having extra cells can never harm, even if those are Lipo. The 21700 cells should just fit into the space originally made for the lipos, but it turned out the space was just a bit too small. I had to make some sort of “spacer” between the lid and the main body so that the cells would fit inside. I also had to make 10mm more space in the front, which was an easy task with the router.
The ESC gave me a real headache, you can read here why.
The electronics:
I modified the ESC with the ring to improve the airflow.
The cells were soldered with a 300W soldering iron, heating the cells only for a short time. It was way cheaper that way (cost of the tools) and I accepted that it might be bad for the cells.
The mounts:
The motor mounts were redesigned and made out of steel I got for free. It was made with a file, a drill, and the lathe to get a more precise hole (that was sketchy af). The truck was turned down on a small lathe to make a round part for the mounts to go on.
The deck:
The deck was made out of 4 layers, even tho I planned only three. the middle and thickest part was made out of 2x mm multiplex. the cutouts were not milled, but sawn with a scroll saw. the bottom layer (~3mm Plywood) was then glued to the underside. Into the bottom layer, I made a few cutouts; one for each ESC and one for a big opening to access the charging wires.
On the topside, insert nuts were placed to make the lid screw on. The lid was also the last part, it was another ~3mm Plywood sheet. I later added the spacer to make room for the cells. The spacer is just another ~3mm sheet of plywood with the cutouts glued to the lid. It could have also been glued to the main body but I didn’t want to cover the insert nuts.
The capabilities:
It is around 42km/h fast, ~8,5kg heavy and has a range of more the 20km.
I can tow my “trailer” with a person and some stuff in it without the motors getting too warm.
Here are the pictures you all waited for:
The main body
The compartments and the cutouts
How the mounts were made.
The ESCs
Final shaping
The inside. The white stuff is silicone to prevent the cells from moving around inside the board.
And done
Towing the trailer
If you have any questions just ask