This week at GoPrint3D we have had the pleasure of Sam’s and Jake’s company for a week of work experience. Jake came in with his skateboard that he has modified himself to add a motor to, and brought stl files of some parts he wanted to print in order to improve it further.
Jake wanted to create a cover for the electronics underneath the skateboard so that when he is riding along the road, they are protected from debris that flies up.
After a tour and an overview of the printers available, Jake decided to use the Ultimaker 2+ and Form 2 to create his parts. To do this, Jake had to learn how to use PreForm and Cura, as well as learning how both printers worked – not an easy task in just a few days! Working together with Sam, the two of them learned quickly everything they needed to do to make the prints happen.
It took a few false starts, but Jake was really interested in all of the steps required, from cleaning and re-gluing the glass build plate, to checking for islands and minima in Preform, to using infill to increase part strength in Cura. The results of his efforts are shown below.
The cover was split into three parts – two ends and a middle piece. Once printed, Jake realised that he could print more of the middle piece and attach them together, thus giving even more protection. He experimented with printing in tough, clear and black resin as well as using different colours of PLA, but black ended up the winner. Each piece of the cover screws into the skateboard and slots into the next piece giving the whole thing a very professional appearance.
Next came testing, where Sam and Jake enjoyed riding the skateboard around the GoPrint3D building! Due to the diligence and care Jake showed with printing and post-processing, the covers worked first time!
Whilst the parts were printing we chatted to Jake about his skateboard project. Most of the parts he has built or picked up off ebay and he says on a full charge the range is almost 9 miles with a flat ground top speed of 22 mph! On a downhill that goes up to 28mph!
It has been a true pleasure to work with Jake and Sam this week, and we wish them every success both with their current projects and with everything they do in future.
