Advice needed: DIY mounting vs. Buying the kit for a bare Small Block IPM Motor

[ebikefejzio]

Hi everyone,

I recently got my hands on a Small Block IPM Motor (Lightning Rods). The catch is, I only have the bare motor-none of the mounting hardware or brackets sold by LR to fit it to a standard bottom bracket or an M620 mount frame (like the Cottonmouth).

Initially, I thought about designing and building the mounting structure myself. However, I have zero mechanical engineering skills. I can do some basic 3D modeling for simple, non-critical custom parts, but designing a whole mounting system capable of handling this motor's torque from scratch is a different beast entirely.

I’d love to get your thoughts and advice:

• Has anyone here DIY'd their own mounts for this specific motor?
• How difficult is it in reality (dealing with structural integrity, chainline alignment, etc.)?
• Would you recommend I just save myself the headache and order the complete mounting kit directly from Lightning Rods?

I'm having a hard time gauging just how complex and labor-intensive the DIY route would actually be.

Thanks in advance for your help and advice!

 

[mrmojorising]

My 2 cents, I think buying the mounts from Mike at LR is worth the massive amount of time you'll save. I haven't made a mount like this, but from general experience doing CAD for 3D prints and mockups, there's a whole lot of learning and work involved even for relatively simple parts. Even if you were to manually measure and cut everything, it's still very labour intensive and leaves a lot of room for error unless you're an experienced machinist.

To add to that, his system has gone through lots of testing and revisions to get to where it is today, and I think his prices are very reasonable for all the hardware considering all this

Time is money is one thing us DIYers are very good at forgetting

 

[mrmojorising]

Ps. Jump into the High Voltage Light Electric Vehicles discord if you want to chat to Mike directly, lots of lightning rods users in there too (unless you're already there)

 

[A-DamW]

I'm having a hard time gauging just how complex and labor-intensive the DIY route would actually be.

I think mrmojorising's 2 cents is a good idea, time is money, and Mike makes great quality parts for a resonable price.

On the other hand, with a bit of patients and skill, you can do this with nothing more than basic hand tools, drill, hacksaw, etc. and simple aluminum sheet, bar, flatstock.

The most advanced tool I have in my shop is a small drill press, nice to have, but not necessary.

Here is a thread I just started, building custom motor mounts:
BikeE recumbent full suspension, custom mid-drive

Here is the link to the High Voltage Discord server where Mike from LightningRods is active:
High Voltage Discord server