Arduino-Based DIY Electric Skateboard

• Intro & Step 1 – Layout
• Step 2 – Fabricate Parts
• Step 3 – Connecting the Electrical Systems
• Step 4 – Writing and Uploading the Code to the Arduino
• Conclusion

Step 2 – Fabricate the Parts

Once the drive assembly and enclosures have been designed, the next step is to fabricate them.  I chose to machine the mount-block out of aluminum to ensure strength and rigidity under the stresses of driving the skateboard around.  Taking into account different scenarios such as impacts with small objects on the road, I used a CNC mill to shape the part out of a piece of stock aluminum bar.

If you do not have access to a CNC mill try to gain one through a local makerspace or public workshop!  Organizations such as the TechShop allow members to use their machining facilities after some basic training on operating the machines safely.  A CNC mill is the best option for fabricating this aluminum part because of its complicated 3-dimensional features which a machine such as a plasma or water-jet cutter would not be able to create.

Finally, to create the custom enclosures and pulleys that you design or download, you will need to use a 3D printer.  Any desktop 3D-printer will serve the purposes of this project—I used a Flashforge Creator Pro and ABS filament to print all the plastic components that I designed.

These are examples of printing setups in the ReplicatorG environment:

Figure 9: Setting up battery box print in the ReplicatorG environment. The box had to be carefully positioned on the print bed so that it fit within the maximum print envelope of the 3D printer (shown as white lines).

Figure 10: Printing the 40-tooth pulley was simpler, as it was a smaller part. I used a higher print in-fill on the pulley so that it could withstand the stresses of driving the skateboard.

I’ve recently switched to Slic3r (as my print-setup/slicing software) because of the larger variety of print features it offers and the increased amount of control it gives users over specific print settings.