Building a Boosted Board

If you don't know already, electric skateboards have been becoming more and more popular, mostly due to a Silicon Valley startup known as Boosted. They are the Apple of electric skateboards, and accordingly, their boards go for as much as $1500. When I saw YouTube star Casey Neistat riding a Boosted Board around, I really wanted one for myself. However, I don't have $1500 lying around.  I realized that the actual parts cost for the Boosted Board was much less than the selling price. I understand that Boosted needs to make a profit and all, but I figured that I could do it for much less. I started by researching the parts and watching a lot of YouTube tutorials. Everyone who built one pretty much used the same components: A motor around 200-300KV(KV is short for kilovolt, and the higher a KV is, the faster a motor spins), some type of electronic speed controller (ESC), two or one big Li-Po (Lithium-Polymer) batteries, and an enclosure to hold everything. I tried to find the cheapest parts that would still offer good performance. After a lot of researching, I chose a 280KV motor from Turnigy, two 3s 3000mAH Zippy batteries, a 150A RC car ESC and a waterproof plastic fishing bait box from Walmart. For the actual board itself, I bought a cheap longboard off of Amazon (parts link will be below), a motor mounting kit, and some larger 80mm wheels. After all the parts arrived, I was faced with a few problems to solve. First, setting up the pulley system. The wheels I ordered had spaces in them that made fitting bolts in them easy. The bolts threaded into a circular sprocket gear that was affixed to one of the skateboard wheels. Yes, this skateboard is one-wheel drive, but so are other commercial electric skateboards. Next, I had to attach the motor mount onto the skateboard truck (the thing holding the axle to the board). This part of the build took a lot of time, as I had to file down the metal skateboard truck in order to fit the hole of the motor mounting plate. At the hole, the mounting plate was secured by three grub screws (basically bits of thread that hold something to another object with friction). After I managed to get a secure fit between the motor mount and the skateboard truck, I moved onto fitting the pulley gear onto the motor shaft. The motor screwed into the motor mount just fine, however, my pulley gear had a bore of 8mm, while my motor shaft was about 6mm. I had to order a separate pulley gear online that had a bore of 6mm for the project to continue. This is important - don't assume the parts will all work together. Next, I focused on the electronics, which were surprisingly easy to put together. After confirming that motor was spinning in the correct direction (you can reverse motor direction by switching any two of the 3 motor wires that go to the ESC), I soldered the ESC to the motor. Next, I soldered the two batteries together in series. Series means that one negative of one battery and one positive of the other battery are soldered together, and the remaining positive of one battery and negative of the other battery are used to output power. After soldering the ESC to the battery, I plugged in my RC car receiver. I bought an RC car transmitter and receiver on Amazon, but I plan to return it for a transmitter and receiver that are actually made for an electric skateboard. The RC car transmitter and receiver work perfectly fine, but the transmitter is kind of bulky. I drilled some holes into the skateboard and mounted the plastic fish bait box from Walmart to the bottom of the board with nuts and bolts. I had to shave off some of  the plastic compartments in the box so that my electronics would fit. I cut a hole for the ESC (for ventilation - gets very hot) and for turning the board on (ESC was wired to a on/off switch out of the box). After that, I fired it up and tried the board without my weight on it. It seemed to work fine, but once I got on it, the throttle response was way too jerky. I trimmed/adjusted settings on the throttle on my transmitter, and then I was able to actually ride the board. I had never ridden a skateboard prior to this build, so I practiced a bit before without a motor. I found that starting the motor with a moving start in the direction you want to go in helped with stability. I went to a local park and tested the board there, and it worked very nicely. In terms of charging, you will need two balance chargers or one multi charger to juice up your batteries(there are separate charging cables on most LiPo's, so don't worry about soldering the batteries together). I already had a few balance chargers lying around that I used for my drone batteries, so I was good to charge. The chargers that I use are very inexpensive, and can be purchased from Hobbyking.com. I haven't yet tested top speed and range, but I will report that info to you guys in a follow up post. Back to the main reason I started this - building my own Boosted Board on a budget. I think I pretty much accomplished my goal. I don't have a fancy app for my board, two wheel drive, a bamboo deck or fast charging, but in essence, I built a practical method of transport that's not only fun to ride, but fun to build.
Here's a video of me riding the board: Skateboard Video
Parts List:

- 3s 5000 Zippy LiPo x2: $43.76 - Hobbyking
- 280kv Turnigy Aerodrive Motor: $46.96 - Hobbyking
- ‎Hobbyking 1:8 Scale 150A ESC: $73.20 - Hobbyking
- ‎Turnigy Twin Pack Charge Lead: $1.99 - Hobbyking
- ‎83mm Longboard Wheels: $26.99 - Amazon
- ‎Motor Mount and Pulley: $29.99 - Amazon
- ‎Magic Union 41" Longboard: $45.99 - Amazon
- ‎HTD 3M 15 Tooth Timing Pulley: $13.88 - Amazon
- ‎FlySky FS-GT2B 3ch Transmitter and Receiver: $28.99 - Amazon
- ‎Waterproof Fishing Bait Box: $7.75 - Walmart
- Turnigy 12V 2-3s Balance Charger: $5.00 - Hobbyking
- 12V DC Power Adapter: $10.00 - Amazon

More on the IOT

When I discussed the New Matter MOD-t printer, I explained a feature that allowed for remote printing and monitoring. A 3D printer connected to the Internet. A coffee maker connected to the internet. A lawnmower connected to the Internet. A thermostat connected to the Internet. These days, more and more things are getting connected. The devices and links between them are known as the Internet of Things. I recently purchased two Belkin Wemo Smart Plugs to control lights in my room. The devices plug into a socket, and you can plug anything you want into the Wemo. This allows for a lot of flexibility, because a lot of things inside your house plug into the wall. Also, you can plug a power strip into a Wemo to toggle multiple devices at once. In my setup, I have one Wemo controlling a lamp in the corner, and then another Wemo that is hooked up to a power strip controlling two lights near my desk. The setup process is extremely easy, just requiring you to connect your Wemo plug(s) to your home Wi-Fi network and give each plug a name. After the initial setup through the Wemo app, you are greeted with a screen that has switches for each of the plugs and more settings. The app is great, but for even more convenience, I linked the Wemo plugs with the Google Assistant on my Android phone. In the Google Assistant settings, I was able to set catch phrases to trigger different actions. Now I can say "Ok Google, turn on the Desk Lights," and the two lights near my desk will switch on in a few seconds. You can also get creative and make up phrases. For example, when I say "Good night" to Google Assistant, it turns off all the lights. I feel that smart plugs like these are the best way to get into home automation. You don't need much, just an Internet connection, device with digital assistant (Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant) and available power outlets. Also, you pay a reasonable $30 for one Wemo. The Internet is evolving, and reaching almost everything that has electricity in it. These Wemo plugs won't start the Matrix, but are indeed a start to a new way of interacting with the things around you. The convenience of home automation is amazing, and shows how our lives and environment will be connected to the Internet.

Brief Explanation of 3D Printer Settings

In my last post, I described the New Matter online slicer program including certain settings. I mentioned raft/brim, speed, layer height and supports. All these settings are usually found in most slicing softwares. First, let's start with raft/brim. For your model to print well, it needs to stick well to the print surface. A brim makes the printer print a few layers around the base of your model to ensure that your extruder is extruding properly. This prevents under/over extrusion or small plastic blobs that can develop. Brims do not waste much material and are fairly quick, so I'd recommend using them on most of your prints. A raft in 3D printing works kind of like raft in the water. A few layers are printed under the base of your model, giving it more strength at the base and good adhesion. Rafts are good if your model only has a few points touching the bed at the start of the print, but are not necessary for models with fairly solid bases, as they can add more time to the print. Speed is self explanatory, it's the rate at which the printer extrudes plastic, and is measured in millimeters per second (mm/s). Raising speed may result in sloppy layering and weaker prints, so test speeds to see which one is best (usually stick with the default in program). Layer height is a setting that can change the finish and speed of your print. If you have thicker layers, the print will finish faster, but will have pretty noticeable ridges and won't feel smooth. On the contrary, thinner layer height will make the print look almost as one piece, but will take longer. Thinner layers will make the print weaker, and thicker layers will make the print stronger. Layer height can be compared to building a wall out of bricks. The thicker the bricks are, the faster the wall will be built, but you will be able to see the individual bricks from a distance, and the opposite goes for thinner bricks. Layer height is measured in millimeters, and is based on the printer nozzle. The most common nozzle diameter is 0.4 mm, meaning the printer can extruder at a max thickness of 0.4 mm. The thinnest layer height most printers allow is 0.1 mm. Essentially, the filament, which is usually 1.75mm in diameter, is being melted and thinned to a max of 0.4 mm and a minimum of 0.1 mm. The printer extrudes less filament to get a thinner layer height. The filament diameter, nozzle diameter, and thinnest layer height can be different between printers, but the values above are most common. Layer height can also be measured in microns; 0.4 mm = 400 microns, 0.1mm = 100 microns, 0.05mm = 50 microns. Finally, supports. If you are just starting 3D printing, you won't use supports much. They are only needed if your model has an overhang. Overhangs aren't common in the models beginners will print, but it is important to know when to use supports for the future. Supports do exactly as you'd think, they support part of a model, in this case, the part with an overhang. Support material is intentionally printed weak so that it is easy to remove after the print. Don't forget, the top of a cylinder that is laying horizontally is also an overhang. Hopefully, these basic tips for 3D printing settings can help you understand the effects of changing them within a slicing program.

New Discovery on MOD-t Online Slicer

I previously mentioned that you could only print custom .stl files through the desktop New Matter MOD-t Utility, but, that is incorrect. I recently discovered an upload feature on the online utility. 3D printer utilities can also be called slicers, because they "slice" a model file into layers for the printer to print. On the New Matter website, you can upload a file containing a custom model, thus not limiting you to the New Matter Design Store. You can also change numerous print settings, such as speed, layer height, supports, brim/raft, and more. There aren't as many settings as a dedicated slicing program like Cura, but still enough. This changes my view on the MOD-t a little bit. Before, I felt that its one-click remote printing was held back by the fact that you could only print models from New Matter (or so I thought). Now, I can print any model I want, whether it be from Thingiverse or one that I've created myself. I have been using the MOD-t for the past week and it has never disappointed.

Fidget Spinners!

Everyone seems to be on the fidget spinner trend nowadays, and with a 3D printer, you can too. There are various models online that include the spinner frame and also the caps that fit into the central bearing. All you have to provide are the inexpensive skateboard bearings that can easily be found online (I got 10 for $5). After the easy assembly process, you can start scamming your friends by selling these nervous energy revolving objects for $5 each and make some moola. The bearings fit surprisingly well into the frame, and on the MOD-t, one frame took about 2 hours on high quality settings. I also added a bit of WD-40 to the central bearing for maximum spin. If you want to go a step further, you can purchase a relatively costly ceramic bearing on Amazon for smoother spinning. I also printed a watertight twisted vase on the MOD-t as well. This print took longer than the spinner, at about 4.5 hours, but it was nearly perfect. The cool thing about this print was that the whole slicing and printing process was initiated through the New Matter website on my phone. I occasionally checked in on the print when I wasn't in the house. The website shows how far your print is and extruder temperature. It's incredibly useful especially for longer prints when you can't physically be watching the print. I've been printing so many objects with the MOD-t because of how easy the whole process is. The print surface can be completely removed from the print carriage, so taking finished prints off the machine is incredibly easy. The bed doesn't have an non-stick coating, so I would recommend applying painter's tape to the bed, making sure the strips create an even surface. I purchased a roll of blue painter's tape made for 3D printers that is about 6 inches wide, so it creates an even surface on the bed. So far, I feel that the MOD-t is an excellent printer solely based on the user experience. It may not be the fastest, most accurate, or have the biggest print volume, but printing is easy as sending an email.    

                 

                              

3D Printing and the IOT

I recently received the MOD-t 3D printer made by a company called New Matter. I was incredibly lucky, as I was able to get this printer for free. A family friend had purchased it a while ago and was upgrading to a MakerBot. Even if I didn't get this machine for free, it would still be very economical. The MOD-t only costs $300 (from New Matter website). If you've heard anything about 3D printing, you probably get the sense that the printers are very expensive and not worth the money. However, this printer could change this, making the barrier to entry much smaller than it was before. There have been past printers below the $400 mark like various models from Printrbot, but those printers usually needed a little bit of fiddling and calibrating. Printrbot printers can be bot in kit form or pre-assembled. The pre-assembled versions are calibrated and have been fiddled with already, but I feel that the MOD-t is truly ready out of the box. In fact, I owned a Printrbot Simple kit about three and half years ago. I was able to assemble the kit pretty easily, but there was one major flaw in the design: zip ties. Zip ties, zip ties, zip ties. One of the most important parts of the printer was held together with zip ties... This important part was the Y-axis assembly. The printer housing was made of CNC'd wood that press fit into other pieces. However, the bearings that held the Y-axis rods in place where secured to the wood pieces with zip ties. The design required the zip ties to be extremely tight for the printer to be accurate. If the ties were slightly loose, the entire Y-axis assembly with the extruder at the end would sag. Of course, that would create inaccurate prints. After many months of fiddling with the Printrbot, I gave up. The $349 that I spent on this printer was not actually wasted. Looking back on it, I learned a lot about 3D printers while struggling with this printer. How the motors controlled each of the axis, how the extruder worked, and the process that these magical machines used to formulate objects out of thin air. My next printer was the DaVinci Junior 1.0 made by XYZ Printing. I purchased it in the summer of 2015. This printer was the same cost of the Printrbot, but was ready to print straight out of the box. It did require a slight bit of calibration regarding the Z-axis offset, but nothing near the Printrbot. My first print was excellent for the price, and from then on, I was mostly satisfied with it. My only problem with the DaVinci Junior was the proprietary element. You could only use XYZ's filament and only use their slicing program. Going back to the Printrbot, it was actually the opposite. The Printrbot was open-source, ran on an Arduino board, accepted any filament, and worked with any open-source slicing programs. That's what I liked about it. But I was willing to take the limiting filament and software options over lots of calibration and inaccuracy. Now fast forward to today. I powered on the MOD-t, set up the software utility on my computer, loaded a filament in, unlinked that account from the previous owner, and loaded a model onto it. It printed nearly perfect. However, I didn't tell you that I printed the model remotely from a website on my phone. A connected printer. That puts this printer over a lot of others in the price range for me. There may be other printers that cost slightly more or less that have marginally better print quality and speed, but this feature pushes the MOD-t to the top of sub $500 printers for me. The MOD-t isn't perfect, but it's user experience is amazing, and is a good buy. Also, you can use any filament you want. The software is proprietary, but I've read that you can you Cura with it. The software is a very simple program that only asks for a gcode file to start printing. You can use a program like Cura to slice an .stl file with your preferred settings. There is another part to the software that is online as well. You can print directly from your phone, but only from New Matter's Design Store, which is a little bit limiting, but cool nevertheless. If you start a print from the desktop client, you can monitor the print from any internet-connected device by logging onto the New Matter website. The printer is wifi equipped and connects to your home network. The design of the printer is really interesting, one I've never seen before. Instead of using belts or rods for the X and Y axis, the MOD-t uses rods that have grooves in them that fit into the bottom of the build plate. Similar to a gear meshing. There are two rods, one for the X and Y axis. One rod is on top of the other, and the building plate is elevated on two sides on the bottom to fit the rods. When the horizontal rods rotates, it causes the build plate to move up and down in the Y axis direction. When the vertical rotates, it causes the build plate to move side to side in the X axis direction. The Z axis moves like any other printer, with a screw and two rods. The reason this design is cost saving is because the printer doesn't require stepper motors. To rotate the X and Y rods, DC motors and encoders are used, which are cheaper than stepper motors. The design of this printer makes it something you could put in your living room. It doesn't look like it costs $300 and feels like a quality machine. I feel like my progression from the Printrbot to the MOD-t represents the evolution of the 3D printer. In the beginning, companies were using open-source hardware, CNC'd parts, and Arduino boards. Every machine felt like a prototype of a product that would come in the future. In the case of the DaVinci Junior, this was the product that people in the past dreamed of. It was mostly ready out of the box, and companies started the whole proprietary trend (which I hate). Now, printers are becoming more than just machines. With the MOD-t, your printer is connected to the freakin' internet. As we progress, more and more things are getting connected to the Internet. The Internet of Things. A future when your fridge talks to your car which talks to your 3D printer which talks with your lawnmower. 

Update

As of today, Drones for Dummies will no longer be. I will be changing the name of this blog to Modyfy (modify + my last name). This blog was originally created to help and educate people about building their own drone, but now, I want to spread a variety of knowledge and experience regarding electronics, 3D printing, drones, computers and tech in general. Along with technology, you may see posts that include photography and/or poems. The goal of Modyfy is to encompass my interests as well as spread the experiences I have while doing things I enjoy. Stay tuned for upcoming posts.