This week I figured out how to mount a 6374 Brushless Outrunner Motor on the Metroboard Electric Skateboard, using the existing motor bracket without drilling any new holes! This is just for prototyping and testing purposes, as we will probably make a smaller and thinner motor bracket to match the smaller size and lighter weight of the Brushless Outrunner Motor once we implement this in production.
We’ve begun testing some Brushless Outrunner Motors for the Metroboard Electric Skateboard. Unlike an Inrunner Brushless Motor, an Outrunner houses its magnets on the body of the motor, and the body spins with the motor shaft. These have become popular for use on Electric Skateboards (e.g., Boosted Boards), because of their small size, light weight, and high power density. However, they are typically designed for use on RC Airplanes to drive the propeller so adapting them for Electric Skateboards requires some customization for them to work successfully.
For example on an RC airplane, the load on the motor is fairly constant, so you can get away without using Hall (Magnetic) Sensors to drive the brushless motor, but with an Electric Skateboard the load is quite variable including starting from rest with a heavy load which can result in jerky motion without the use of Hall Sensors. So far the smoothest possible ride, we plan on using these motors with Hall Sensors. The manufacturers of these types of motors don’t typically build them with Hall Sensors, so we are developing a custom part that will fit over the motor and house the Hall Sensors.
The other challenge is keeping a Brushless Outrunner Motor clean and protected from the environment. Unlike an Inrunner Brushless Motor, Outrunners typically aren’t sealed very well and have large cutouts in both their face cap and end cap. In an RC Airplane, these cutouts allow the Propeller to cool the motor by blowing air onto the motor windings during flight. However, the environment for an Electric Skateboard is much more harsh, with road grime and street pebbles getting flung in the area of the motor which could potentially damage the exposed windings. Also the spinning body of the outrunner motor is a potential safety issue for the customer, so you really need some kind of protective shell around the motor to protect it against the elements and the customer’s fingers!
The main advantages of the Brushless Outrunner Motor is it’s small size (63 mm Diameter x 74 mm long) vs our current Inrunner Brushless which is (80 mm Diameter x 125 mm long), and weight (1.8 lbs vs 4.8 lbs). We hope to offer this type of light weight high power motor within the next 6 months on the Metroboard Electric Skateboard, so stay tuned for future updates!
We also plan on offering upgrade kits to existing customers, so they won’t miss out on the latest improvements to the Metroboard Electric Skateboard!
Check out this sleek 44in Gold Coast Classic Black Pintail Longboard Deck we electrified for a recent customer. Want to get a custom Metroboard Electric Longboard? Just email us and we will give you a quote.
Check out this beautiful 40in Arbor Backlash Deck with Tracker 219 Dart Trucks we electrified for a recent customer. Want to get a custom Metroboard Electric Skateboard? Just email us and we will give you a quote.
Our customers have been asking for it, and we listened! We are developing a thin battery pack for the Metroboard Electric Skateboard! The batteries are just 24 mm thick (about 1/3 the thickness of our standard pack). However, they are wider and longer so will only fit on a longboard with a wheelbase of about 26″ or longer. We just recently received 5 samples each of a 36V 6AH and a 36V 8AH pack. The 36V 6AH is roughly the same capacity as our standard lithium pack, and weighs just 3.6 lbs (about 0.8 lbs less than our standard lithium pack, which weighs about 4.4 lbs), and will offer about a 15 mile range. The 36V 8AH offers about 1/3 more capacity than our standard lithium pack, and weighs just 4.7 lbs (about 0.3 lbs more than our standard lithium pack which weighs about 4.4 lbs), and will offer an incredible 20 mile range!
We plan on using a new sleek longboard deck for the slim packs, along with reverse kingpin trucks (probably 184 mm Caliber 50 Trucks) to make for a super-fun and slim carving machine! Estimated pricing is $1199 for the 6AH (15 mile range) and $1299 for the 8AH (20 mile range) Slim Metroboard. We hope to have our first Slim Metroboard for sale around Sept 1, 2014. We are now taking preorders with a $200 deposit (refundable) to hold your place in line! Email Us for more info.
The videos below show give you an inside view of how we make the Metroboard Electric Skateboard. Each Metroboard is handcrafted in the USA with a focus on strict quality control and thorough testing to ensure that the customer gets a high quality product that will survive the rigors of daily use, and provide many years of thrill riding!
Some examples of our quality control procedures:
-Every Battery is fully discharged twice at 15 Amps to make sure it’s delivering the nominal capacity, and to weed out any defective packs before they get to the customer.
-Every Metroboard goes through a 5 minute “flywheel” test to simulate a rider accelerating and braking to make sure the electronics and motor are performing normally.
-Every Metroboard goes for an actual test ride to make sure there are no vibration related problems that can only be discovered by actually riding a board.
These tests add significant time to our manufacturing process, but we do them to ensure that the customer has a good first experience with our boards and to help ensure a long lasting product with minimal problems.
Metroboard Creator, Ilan Sabar, takes his 5 year old son, Ben, to school every day on the Metroboard Electric Skateboard. A 15 minute walk takes just 5 minutes by Electric Skateboard! Ben enjoys the ride and goes to school with a smile every day. Ilan is happy knowing his ride is environmentally friendly. Needless to say all of Ben’s friends are jealous!
Whether you are using the Metroboard for practical purposes or just for fun (see video below), the Metroboard is a great way to spend quality time with your kids.
