Mild steel motor mount/adapter

OBone · Nov 4, 2014

I see all the motor mounts are made of aluminium. I guess it is because the trucks are aluminium?
Would a 5mm mild steel plate laser cut to perfect fit on a Holey or a Caliber truck not work just as well?
I understand it will not be weldable mounts since (I assume) Alu and MS can not be welded together.

Locally laser cutting and profiling is cheaper and more accessible than aluminium

killisch · Nov 4, 2014

I would imagine that 5mm would possibly allow too much sideways movement due the the fact that caliber trucks aren't perfectly machined.. they are sand cast.
10mm or more spreads the clamping force over more area allowing it to grip more effectively.
just a thought.

OBone · Nov 4, 2014

Good point I accept that. You could easily increase thickness.

But in principle. Anything wrong with using MS on Alu? Something like galvanic erosion due to electron flow between the metals?

made_in_the_alps_legacy · Nov 4, 2014

I believe you meant galvanic corrosion rather than erosion...
Anyway... i use steel for my motormount without any issues. I would recommand to care of the quadratic momentum as far as stiffness is concerned

chuttney1 · Nov 4, 2014

Another option is the metal's properties such as corrosion, density, and etc. You can make yours out of mild steel, but corrosion will be an issue if there is no treatment to prevent it after machining the part. Aluminum is ligter than steel, but price is a factor when buying a block of same dimension for either steel or aluminum. In short, make it and learn from it.

torqueboards · Nov 4, 2014

Aluminum is mostly used because it's lighter, easier to machine and mess with it. Readily, available.

If you plan on using a 5mm plate, you would need to weld it. 10mm will probably be enough to clamp on a truck and create a bolt on. Although, more is better.

I use about 6.35mm Aluminum for welded motor mounts. Works great and is more than durable.

radosi · Nov 4, 2014

I use 6mm aluminum plate .. why aluminium.

As torqueboards said .. it is easier to machine and because the truck is aluminium .. it is easy to welder motor mount to it. I don;t like bolting because connection start to loose after several days. Also aluminium has better hear conductivity .. so it will keep motor core cooler. Steal plate with same size will be 3 times heavier.

I'm almost done with one kit - truck with motor holder + wheels + gearing + belt .. for those who want to build e-board but don;t want to mess with machining. So next year I'll be ready to ship from Europe.

BShady · Nov 4, 2014

I am useing 6mm steel (I think it's steel!) and it's heavy! This might not actually have to do much with you but I connect useing a screw throu the existing brake whole. It came loose after about 3 weeks of riding so I used some loctite and it's rock solid! If you use holey trucks then just put a screw through the whole in the trucks and use a locknut with loctite and I think it should be good even with 5mm plate.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/eblnmbn5603kxg2/Photo Aug 19, 8 13 22 PM.jpg?dl=0

OBone · Nov 4, 2014

made_in_the_alps_legacy said:
I believe you meant galvanic corrosion rather than erosion...
Anyway... i use steel for my motormount without any issues. I would recommand to care of the quadratic momentum as far as stiffness is concerned

I Don't know the difference between corrosion and erosion then you come with terms like quadratic momentum lol.

Thanks Shady for the pic

Funny how things differ. Local prices and availability on ms is much better than thick alu.

The increase in weight could be offset by lasering out some material bulk especially on the thicker plates like 8mm.

made_in_the_alps_legacy · Nov 6, 2014

lol, nevermind, :lol:
few actually know than "steel specific stifness" is actually higher than aluminium.
(Said in other words, you should put so much aluminium for your motormount to be as stiff as if it was made of steel, than the weight advantage of aluminium is far from significant)

Mild steel motor mount/adapter

OBone

10 mW

killisch

100 mW

OBone

10 mW

made_in_the_alps_legacy

10 kW

chuttney1

100 W

torqueboards

1 MW

radosi

1 mW

BShady

1 kW

OBone

10 mW

made_in_the_alps_legacy

10 kW

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