Oct 11, 2017 | By Tess
James Bruton of XRobots has created an Iron Man-inspired electric skateboard as a follow-up to his original electric skateboard made from large-scale 3D printed lego pieces. The skateboard, which certainly captures the Iron Man aesthetic, was 3D printed over the course of two UK 3D printing events.
Bruton, the ever-prolific maker, is known for his high-quality, creative, and functional projects, including the aforementioned 3D printed electric lego skateboard, a 3D printed VR lego gun that can shoot lego bricks in the real and VR worlds, and a moving, robotic 3D printed BB-8 Droid from Star Wars.
For his recent visits to the DEFCON VI event in Southhampton and the TCT Show in Birmingham, the Youtube-famous maker decided to bring something fun and interactive to the table: an Iron Man-themed electric skateboard made from 3D printed pieces.
With his LulzBot MOARstruder 3D printer in tow, Bruton demonstrated to visitors of the 3D printing events how one can print, assemble, and ride a DIY electric skateboard.
Of course, as the print time alone for all the 3D printed parts was about 80 hours, Bruton pre-printed a few components (such as the NinjaFlex tires) and split the printing for the rest of the parts over the two events, meaning that it was the lucky TCT Show attendees who got to see the skateboard in action.
The parts for the skateboard were mostly 3D printed with PLA from both 3Dfilaprint and Polymaker, save for the tires, which required a more flexible NinjaFlex filament, and the motor base, which Bruton made from ABS in case the motor overheats. (For the skateboard’s front wheels, Bruton installed standard longboard wheels and trucks.)
If you watched Bruton’s in-depth videos about how he built his Lego electric skateboard, you’ll have some idea as to the mechanics of his new board, so we won’t delve too much into the details. This board is powered by a 22v lipo battery and runs using a 1 Kw 280v brushless outrunner motor.
(Images: XRobots)
At the current stage in its development—Bruton says he plans to add a back cover and some cool accessories soon—the 3D printed electric skateboard weighs 10 kg and can reach speeds of up to 20 mph. If you watch Bruton ride it around the roundabout in the video, the speed is actually quite impressive. (For those who don’t have that same need for speed, you can control the board using a wireless RC handset.)
Maybe the most exciting part of the whole project, though, is watching TCT Show elite guests, such as Josef Prusa (inventor of Prusa i3 3D printers), LulzBot marketing director Ben Maouf, ColorFabb’s Sander Strijbos, and Richard Horne (aka RichRap) ride the 3D printed skateboard with varying degrees of confidence.
Josef Prusa takes the 3D printed electric skateboard for a ride at TCT Show
As always, we can’t wait to see what Bruton comes up with next—his 3D printing projects just keep getting better! If you didn’t make it to DEFCON VI or the TCT Show, you can check out Bruton’s videos below to get a sense of the atmosphere and what technologies were present:
Posted in 3D Printing Application
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