Introduction: Gather Parts
To do this build you need:
- An In-wheel hub motors complete kit, containing all the following parts:
- At least 1 In-wheel hub motor, here I'm using a pair of two 1100w in-wheel motors, sensored, 110K, Resistance(Ohm):0.68-0.71, load current: 0.2A.
- 1 ESC per motor, I'm using 100A ESC already preconfigured by my supplier, otherwise you'll need to get also an ESC programmer.
- An RC controller 2.4Ghz transmitter and receiver - a GT2 will do but the one shown in the pictures is smaller
- A Longboard Deck
- A 6S Battery
- A piece of strong cloth like a bag strap or a piece of aluminum or similar to hold the battery
- A front truck with wheels
- A skate tool or something to fix the bolts and tighten the trucks (assuming you are heavvy like me and you want to have stability when going straight instead of maximum angle on curves)
- Solder
- Soldering iron
- Some wire to wire up the battery to the ESC
- Additional T plugs or whatever RC style plug to plug the ESC to the batteries - or/and - a high-amp switch/button.
- Screws (v head) M3 - M4 and nuts
- Lots of tape for the first tests :D
This will ensure a quick setup and you will be good to go in less than an hour to do your first test ride!
My new build will use the blue board I listed, I will update this guide as soon as it arrives.
Step 1: Electronics
Test electronics first, everything should work by default if you got a complete kit or partially complete kit (motor + ESC together)
If your ESC are not configured you need to do it with an ESC programmer first.
This kit came preconfigured, I just plugged the receiver to the ESC and I needed to trim a bit the controller (throttle trim) so that the zero is correct (by default the wheels shouldn't move, and as soon as you press lightly the motors should start, that will give you the maximum control over acceleration.)
Connect the battery to the ESC, check that there are no short circuits with a tester first, 6S batteries have a very strong current, watch out for sparks when you connect the batteries to the ESCs. Turn the ESC off before connecting the batteries, connect one lead before and then touch the other lead to the battery lead wi the end coing to the ESC to make it spark, re-touch it, it shouldn't spark anymore because the capacitors should be charged already now so there's no current transfer after the first spark, this also means there are no short circuits. The capacitors are there so your motor have enough current to start the motors with all your weight :), two 1100w motors and a single 6.2A 22.2v battery can take a big guy like me (~100kg) uphill without too many problems.
Ok when the ESCs are on, turn on the remote, the ESCs should flash and let the motors make a long sound, that means motors are connected.
Push the throttle, your wheels should spin like in the video!
Hold the truck to prevent it from falling from the table :)
Update:
I added a photo of the connectors - I'm using this battery ( https://duckduckgo.com/?q=!auk battery 22.2v 6s - https://duckduckgo.com/?q=!auk+battery+22.2v+6s ) that has that type of connector, I needed to solder it, I'm waiting for the other connector to be able to do an adapter basically.
Right now I'm using the so called "crocodiles", crocodile clips, they work ok, but as It's a temporary solution I didn't manage to fix the cables so sometimes they go a little off with just blue tack and some corners that are holding them.
This belongs to the next section:
I have another advice : When you ride, always keep in mind that, especially if you're light, you can accelerate to very high speeds. Keeping the speed down and always wearing a helmet are my best advices for you, also there are unpredictable events like that the ESCs may fail because motors are too hot and basically there's a possibility that the skate will continue to accelerate and you don't have the possibility to brake, always keep in mind that you have to minimize and possibly avoid the damages to yourself and to others.
Step 2: Mounting the Electronics to the Board
Put your trucks in place, tighten the bolts well.
Then leave around 10cm from them and choose a central spot to mount the ESCs. Leave some gap between the two so there's no heat transfer between them.
Take a pencil, a screwdriver or something similar and mark where the ESCs will go and where to drill holes, the ESCs are light I only put 2 screws each, they will be enough.
Now you need a Dremel or a Drill to make holes into the board and attach the ESCs to the board, time to do it :)
For these ESCs I needed to re-drill the holes because they were M2 and I had only M3 Bolts and Nuts, so I drilled holes inside them, always make sure when drilling and tightening the bolts to not damage the wires plastic coating or you can cause short circuits.
Afterwards you can attach your battery, for my first test run I just wrappe some packing tape around the center of the board and left the battery "trapped" in tape underneath it, you can see it from the pictures at the beginning of this instructable.
It works for testing but it's not an ideal solution, a better, but still fast and inexpensive way is to use some kind of band (I got mine from a bag), but you can use an aluminum strip or anything that can be bent and can put enough pressure to contain and keep the battery attached to the board.
In my case I drilled 2 holes, used a nut a washer and a bolt for each hole, plus between the band and the washer I put a piece of plastic to increase the area of "pressure", keep it very tight, and then use some blue tack underneath it or another one of this straps to secure the other end of the battery and prevent it from moving/falling.
The battery should be almost centered and as near as possible to the ESCs so you can grab the longboard from the middle part easily when carrying around.
Every time you mount something or make changes to your build I suggest you to test that the electronics and everything still works.
You need to tape or use some blue tack to fix the antenna of the receiverto the board, away from any other component. You can also shorten it because you don't need a long range as RC cars do, because you're basically standing on it when you operate it.
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Start by making it go forward by itself, if the movement is correct then apply some weight with one of your legs to see if the board and your setup can handle some weight, and at the end jump on and have a lot of fun!
Update: Tested it! I've put a video of the beginning of one of my first runs, it can start without problem with me on the board, can go uphill a bit. I have a small problem with one of the two motors and I have to check with the manufacturer but overall I'm satisfied of the build. New updates coming soon (3d printed case + more test run videos)
Update2: I've uploaded another video, I don't know why the auto-shake correction of imovie did all that cropping In the first part, I'll try to fix it later, also as you can see I'm still learning how to use this thing :D, so I'm going very slow at the end, I may cut that part out.
Update3: Another video of my GF riding the electric longboard at toad speed :p but she seems to enjoy it
Update4: Added some screenshots of the 3D printed parts I would like to make, a battery bumper / protector so that if something hits the middle of the board it hits that and not the battery directly, also it's made as a triangular prism so it can deflect most of the hit, remember that lithium batteries don't like to be hit and I don't want my skateboard to suddenly explode lol :D . Also I'm working on a cable / switch box in between the battery and the ESC and I would like to make a 3D printed plastic cable cover to cover the cables, especially the very thin ESC ones that to mee look very fragile... I've included the 3d files too but I will post it the finished ones in some weeks hopefully!
Enjoy!
@makevoid
Here are some updates on the build, the problems and the rework of it: http://www.electric-skateboard.builders/t/mkv-build-enertion-6372-motor-and-kit-100a-hobbytech-e-skate-esc-koston-deck-lipo-6s-5a-old-hub-motors-build/2298?u=makevoid
