Electric skateboard talk

Hey everyone!

So as some of you know, I'm an Industrial Designer based out of Canberra, Australia. I have been invited to speak at Questacon (national science learning centre type place) about the design and build of electric skateboards as part of a monthly Torque session they run and want your input!

The session is an hour long, and I was going to run over how I build the decks and briefly the hub motors and systems I have, go over the power systems etc, and was wanting some community input as to what you would like people to know about the DIY E-skate scene or E-skate in general? You guys are all pro's on the subject too, so what would you like to see in the talk? It will be 50-50 split between talking and outside testing them if insurance pulls through.

For those in Canberra/surrounds, do come along! Booking are essential and free, it's at 6pm on November 4th in Deakin. You can book here: https://www.questacon.edu.au/events/torque-eclectic-electric-skateboards


I'm not much of a programmer, but for those interested I have a website with some information about me and a few of my products online at http://andrewoliverdesign.com.au/index.html So feel free to check it out and let me know what you think/what isn't working! My electric stuff will be online early november, for now it's some regular skaties and various projects I have done.

Damn. I went to questacon for school camp earlier this year. Is it a talk with kids or adults? I think you've got it all figured out. Definitely do some outside testing if you can.

Great! Good WOrk!

Australia needs to be educated about eboards!

> take all your parts disassembled (at least a motor, esc & battery) and show how simple it is to connect everything together to make the propulsion system.

> talk about how making changes with the gears, wheel diameter etc can change the performance. top speed & torque.

> I would mention how much money you could save on transport. You don't need a license or registration. It also much better for the environment.

> talk about the different battery chemistry that can be used and why some chemistry is safer than others, maybe touch on some LIPO charging & safety methods.

> talk about what you think the future of electric skateboards will be.

> Talk about how the australian government could change laws to better reflect what people want in the future, better bikes (eboard) lanes.

Yeah some vital points there onloop, get the people all learned up.

The outside session will happen, the question is if the general public can have a chance on my board (on 3s not 6s of course). Can't have anybody falling off at 50km/h. Ages 13 and up, but I expect it to be mainly 16-35 years.

Basically I will try to show people that it's not rocket science, merely scooter science. They are easy to make/run/maintain once you know what you are doing, and what you want out of it. Also, is there anything I should NOT say?


Slightly off topic, but have any of you aussie guys heard about the new EV rules that are supposed to be coming in the very near future? How would they affect us? Could be a good thing to bring up...

Don't say you can die on a skateboard... you can die but just don't say it!

Talk about how they are actually safer the non-powered skateboards... due to an electric brake.

i haven't heard about any law changes..

onloop said:

Don't say you can die on a skateboard... you can die but just don't say it!..

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Keep advertising about basic safety gear, helmet always.

Yeah, safety is a must.

I did an informal show and tell type thing last night at questacon for a future themed sci-night as a test run, all went well. Also ran the board for demo on 3s for the first time, and it worked brilliantly. 6374 hub motors, was a little light on power but seemed to run just fine. Max speed was around 25-30km/h so a little slow, but acceleration was very acceptable.

Hey Guys,

Just wanting to say all went well last night, nobody died, people were interested and engaged. I spoke for longer than I intended (wasn't a problem though, and still had a bunch more to say). I spoke more on the deck building than the electronics, because the electronics are very simple really, and the decks I make are just so damn sweet:








I am really enjoying the Baseboard deck, it has a super comfortable and grippy concave on it so it just sticks under your feet. It has a W concave mellowing into a cereal bowl tub up front with the unique 'boob drop' style microdrops to lock you in place. Next production run of these should be good by the end of the month. Just need to decide on what graphics to put on them now.

Also, my ride compared to a FiiK board that was there:



Running my hubs on the "beginner" mode (3s rather than 6s), it still took off from a start as well as the FiiK, and was faster. There was also one of the Fiik 'Big Daddy' boards getting around.

That looks so cool to ride , the design looks really neat

Love the deck!....and the Hubs of course.

were you selling decks too? looks really nice

Curious did u add extra capacitors as your battery wires look really long?

Baazab123 said:

That looks so cool to ride , the design looks really neat

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Cheers, it is a really fun ride and yes, it is very clean. The only thing at the moment mounted outside is the speed controllers. I haven't confirmed my battery configuration yet (looking into a lipo bms) so don't want to drill a hole for balance charge ports if I don't need them. Also deciding on the best placement for the switch, want to keep it looking clean.

LEVer said:

Love the deck!....and the Hubs of course.

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Thanks dude, the hubs are awesome, unfortunately I am having the urethane on the wheels chip from riding rough surfaces! I'm experimenting with smaller/lighter motors as well, because to be honest the 150Kv on 6s is faster than I personally need. I rarely use full speed.

whitepony said:

were you selling decks too? looks really nice

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Yep, I've been building decks for a few years now, started the Baseboard line earlier this year. I'll have them up on ebay in a week or two when I get the next set done. I make them myself, so while it's slower than china, I can keep a close eye on quality and fine tune them to the order specifics/custom graphics etc.

Hummina Shadeeba said:

Curious did u add extra capacitors as your battery wires look really long?

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Nope, each esc draws a peak of around 50 amps on acceleration and the batteries are capable of sustaining 500 amps, so haven't bothered. I will be moving the esc's inside the deck when I get a chance, I may add some then.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=952523

you need extra capacitors to deal with the capacitance produced in Long wires. If the capacitors are getting warm it's a bad sign. First they blow then the esc goes. Great analogy with a water pipe in the link above.