2017 International Conference on Intelligent Computing,Instrumentation and Control Technologies (ICICICT)
Design opportunities in Electric Skateboard
N Sriram, D Praveen Chandar
School of Mechanical Engineering
SASTRA University, Thanjavur,
India-613401
Abstract—Grounding of electric skate board in rough terrain
is a biggest challenge due to the presence of many irregularities
on the road. For this, the existing suspension systems are studied
and a concept- selection matrix is used to select the best
suspension system. Another challenge is the placement of power
train components in the chassis saving the battery power for
longer travel distance. This is very crucial in the skateboard
performance and the skateboard design. Hence the thermal
behavior of the power train components is studied and a forced
air convection method is employed to reduce the temperature of
the battery
Keywords-Design; suspension system; skateboard.
I. INTRODUCTION
To conceptualize, design and fabricate a last mile vehicle.
―Last mile vehicle is the term given for small personal
vehicles which can be used for short range commute. A novel
approach is taken to rethink the structure of skateboards for
grounding the vehicle and heat dissipation. The overall
electric skateboard has two main problems. First is the
grounding of electric skateboard in rough terrain. Whether it is
arterial stretches in the city center or busy roads in the
suburbs, poor quality of roads and repair has paved the way
for frequent, recurring damages to the riding surface. A
BBMP survey says that sub-arterial roads in the Indian city
are riddled with 2,495 potholes.
In order to validate the suggestion provided, a survey of the
irregularities present on Indian roads was taken and the
corresponding need metrics were addressed
Needs Metrics
Tackling speed bumps Increased ground clearance
Balance, while Necessity of shocks in the
negotiating pot holes suspension
The necessity to turn Independent suspension
both left and right with
the same ease
Hence this need metrics suggests the use of a suspension
system, in order to provide better ride handling capabilities.
Since the idea of suspension for the skateboard has been
confirmed, concepts must be generated
To the author’s knowledge, there is no distinct material
(paper/patent) that discusses about suspension for skateboards.
Existing suspension systems needed to be studied that can best
suit the skateboard. Hence the existing suspension systems
Macpherson Strut[1], Leaf Spring Suspension and Double
Wishbone Suspension[2] are studied and a concept selection
978-1-5090-6106-8/17/$31.00 ©2017 IEEE
V Arvind Subramanian, Mr. M. Ganesh
School of Mechanical Engineering SASTRA
University, Thanjavur,
India-613401
matrix is used to select the suspension system. In the concept
selection matrix, the various criteria such as suspension
requirements[3], ride characteristics[4], ease of manufacture and
cost are considered as the metrics of the design and evaluated.
Next challenge is managing the heat emitted by
various electric power train components such as battery,
controller and motor. Power train components are heat
generating components. Bernardi et al., have provided a
heat generation equation for Li-ion battery [5].There is non-
uniform distribution of temperature on the surface of lithium
ion battery [6]. Hence care should be taken to provide free air
flow and maximize the heat dissipation. For this the placement
of battery on the vehicle deck is very crucial. In this paper,
the placement of battery casing is studied for all the power
train components. The selection process involved in the
battery casing design and suspension design involve the
concepts of product design and development
SUSPENSION SYSTEM
A leaf spring is a simple and oldest form of spring. It makes
the construction of the suspension simple and strong.
However, this type of suspension does not provide good riding
comfort. The inter-leaf friction between the leaf springs
affects the riding comfort. Hence leaf spring suspension is not
considered in this article. The various suspension concepts
that have been considered are:
x Macpherson Strut
x Simple Double Wishbone
x Push rod actuated Double Wishbone
II.SUSPENSION DESIGN
A. Macpherson strut:
The Macpherson strut system has a lower wishbone like
structure(figure.1). The shock is connected directly to the
skateboard chassis. Macpherson Struts are usually used in
places where the chassis is heavy.
Shock
absorber
Macpherson
Strut
Figure 1. Macpherson Strut
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 2017 International Conference on Intelligent Computing,Instrumentation and Control Technologies (ICICICT)

The Macpherson strut was designed and analyzed in MSC

ADAMS and the following result was obtained.

Figure 4. Push Rod actuated Double Wishbone camber gain

It is clear from figure.4 that the push rod actuated double

Figure 2. Macpherson Strut camber gain wishbone system has better stability when compared to the
It can be observed from figure2 that for a deflection of 30mm, simple double wishbone system as a 60mm deflection results
the wheel cambers by 11 degrees. This indicates a very only in a 7.7 degree shift in the camber angle.
unstable system, especially while moving over speed bumps. Hence it can be inferred from the analysis above that the
push rod actuated double wishbone system has the best
stability among the three.
B. Simple Double Wishbone:
A double wishbone suspension is an independent
suspension design using two (occasionally parallel) wishbone III. SUSPENSION SELECTION PROCEDURE
shaped arms to locate the wheel. The shock absorber and coil The various concepts that have been generated need to
spring mounted to the wishbones control vertical movement. undergo a screening process so as to select the best among
Double wishbone designs allow the engineer to carefully them. Hence as per product design and development
control the motion of the wheel throughout suspension travel, guidelines, a concept selection matrix was used to determine
controlling parameters such as camber angle, caster angle, toe the best suspension system for the skateboard.
pattern, roll center height, scrub radius, scuff and more. The
double wishbone is widely used in sports cars as it provides The parameters considered for the selection are
good handling characteristics. 1. Weight,
The simple double wishbone system was designed and 2. Ride characteristics,
analysed in MSC ADAMS and the result was better stability 3. Manufacturing Feasibility and
when compared to the Macpherson strut. There was as a 60mm 4. Cost
Ride characteristics are defined by the ability to maintain
deflection for the same 11 degree shift in the camber angle.
stability upon encountering a bump or a droop and the ability
to turn with relative ease. (Determined by the camber gain).
C. Push Rod Actuated Double Wishbone
TABLE I. Concept selection
In this system, in addition to the components present in the
simple double wishbone system, there is a pushrod and a bell- Parameter M Simple Push Rod
crank. The force from the road gets transmitted via the lower (Weightage) Strut Double Double
wishbone onto the pushrod. This pushrod actuates the bell- wishbone wishbone
crank shown in figure 3. Weight (2) +1 -1 +1

-1 0 +1
Ride characteristics(3)

Bell crank Manufacturing +1 +1 0

Shock feasibility(2)
absorber +1 +1 -1
Cost(1)

Upper Legend:
Wishbone
Weight – 0, for 14 kg; -1 for more than 14 kg ; +1 for less than 14 kg
Ride Characteristics – 0 for a camber gain of 11.0 degree for a bump
of 60mm, -1 for more than 11 degrees and +1 for less than 11 degrees
respectively for a bump of 60mm
Manufacturing feasibility – 0 when the number of components to be
fabricated is 5, -1 when it is more than 5 and +1 when it is less than 5
for ¼ of the skateboard.
Figure 3. Push Rod actuated Double Wishbone Cost – 0 when it costs Rs 35000, -1 when it costs more than Rs 35000
and +1 when the cost is less than Rs 35000.

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 2017 International Conference on Intelligent Computing,Instrumentation and Control Technologies (ICICICT)

Hence, by including the weighing factor for each of the where x1 = Initial Displacement
parameter, the scores for each concept are: x 2 = Final Displacement
ωn = Natural frequency in rad/sec
TABLE II : Scores of concepts
a = c/2m
Hence, by solving the equation (3), we get, C = 0.343 Ns/mm
Concept Score
Macpherson 2
Simple Double wishbone 1 V.THERMAL ANALYSIS
Push rod actuated 4 The maximum limits of temperature rise of the components
were found to be: Battery – Δ60 degree Celsius, Controller-
Hence, it can be inferred from the concept selection matrix Δ60 degree Celsius and Motor- Δ40 degree Celsius. It is
that, the Push rod actuated double wishbone suspension is the imperative to keep the temperatures below the above
ideal system for the skateboard to traverse Indian roads. mentioned levels for proper functioning of the device.

The push rod actuated design implemented in the Skateboard

is shown in the figure 5 below. Care was taken for the ground
clearance as well.

Figure 6. Side view of the Skateboard Airflow

A. Design of Thermal Casing

Battery and controller are kept in a single covered compartment
placed beneath the deck (figure 6). The primary purpose of the
casing is to provide protection to the power train components
Figure 5. Final Design of Skateboard Suspension from rain water and foreign substances. It should also serve the
other purpose of dissipating heat away from the battery and
Esc-controller.
IV. SUSPENSION DESIGN CALCULATION
The metal battery case serves as a heat spreader, and the
A. Shock Stiffness:
contact layer provides extra thermal resistance [8] .It is made of
Static deflection is assumed and it is taken as 20 mm. sheet metal which acts as a conductor and it is designed to
Assuming the total weight of the skateboard and the person scoop air providing more airflow onto the motor, which is
standing on it to be 90 Kilograms, the weight at each wheel = mounted near the rear wheel as shown in figure 7.
90/4 = 22.5kg
B. Battery Casing placement at rear
[7],
Referring to Vehicle dynamics by Milliken and Milliken
Natural Frequency, f = 187.8/√δ where δ is in inches.
Therefore, f = 187.8/1 = 187.7 cps
f = 3.53Hz
k 4S 2 f 2m (1)
= 11.042N/mm
Since the weight is distributed evenly along the skateboard, all
the four shocks have the same spring rate, k = 11.042N/mm

B. Shock Damping Ratio

We have found out that k = 11.042N/mm

The critical Damping Constant is found by the equation,
Figure 7. Thermal analysis of battery casing positioned in the rear end
Ccrit 2 mK = 0.997 Ns/mm (2)
§ x1 · 2S
ln¨ ¸ a *
© x2 ¹ (3)
Zn 2  a 2

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 2017 International Conference on Intelligent Computing,Instrumentation and Control Technologies (ICICICT)
C. Battery Casing placement at front
The contour in figure 8 shows the velocity of air going
into the battery box
Figure 8. Battery casing positioned at the front
Front casing is considered to provide unobstructed flow to the
motor in the rear.
But, if the casing is placed at the front, then the truck blocks
the air-flow going onto the casing. It also increases the wire
length between the motor and the battery (at the front), thereby
increasing wire resistance and correspondingly the heat. No
such problems occur when it is kept in the rear. The wire
length is also small when kept at the rear. The motor zone is
sufficiently unaffected by the presence of casing in the rear as
evidenced by the velocity contour in figure 9.
Figure 9. Battery casing positioned at the rear end
VI. CONCLUSION
A suspension system is proposed for the Indian road condition
based on few selection criteria. Careful evaluation and
selection of various electric components is done. The
interaction of power train with transmission system is also
analyzed and designed accordingly.
978-1-5090-6106-8/17/$31.00 ©2017 IEEE
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This work is supported by SASTRA Innovation Fund of
SASTRA University to which the authors want to express their
gratitude
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