Reviving a destroyed Pint

[Lia]

Hi all,

Recently I've become the owner of a Pint that got snapped in half after a hit and run incident here in the UK. Here's some pics the rider took after the incident.


The owner thankfully wasn't injured however due to legal complications with the OW being used here the police advised not to pursue a case; even though they managed to get the plate before they bailed. For those interested in pics and the post here are the links.
Reddit post
More images

Unfortunately they had binned the destroyed parts and I was sent the wheel, controller and battery with the rail mounts for the axle. I was hoping to keep the rails as a memento to what the poor thing had gone through but I'll focus on bringing it back to working order before working on any tributes.

Anyway, she arrived the other day and I've been cleaning the oil off her from the van. There is a lot of damage but electronically she looks fine having taken a closer look. Was a little concerned before purchasing and due to the distance between us and Covid it wouldn't have been sensible for me to see it in person. Risky but I trusted them that the info was accurate.

Damage appears to be the battery communication connector had snapped it's clip off when the whole cable got yanked through the watertight sleeve. When the XT60 got tugged it yanked the power button connector apart and bent the leftover pins to the point they fell off after closer inspection.

As usual the power button nut is loose and the plastic thread has snapped.

When the xt60 reached the watertight sleeve it pulled out a thread one side causing the whole thing to become cross threaded making in difficult to undo without that large adjustable spanner. Being plastic it took a bit of careful jiggling before undoing it without demolishing the head.

Battery appears to be fine though from what I can see. It's off so I assume when the cabled got yanked the battery went into auto shutdown some time after the accident.

Unfortunately all of the mounting posts on the controller are completely destroyed and missing so even with new rails she won't connect to anything. One corner on the controller housing has snapped off also exposing the gasket.


On further inspection the lower metal housing on the controller is bent opening up the seal where the LED's are exposing the gasket and an opening.

The hub also sustained a scrape but for the most part it looks like the hub's structural integrity has been retained. Pressure is still present so we should be good, just needs a bit of paint.

After all that though, I can confirm when bypassing the busted power switch I can turn her on and off. No errors upon turning on and connecting to the app, motor maintains holding torque too once connected. Both front and rear LEDs glow and I would imagine if I short both left and right pad sensor pins to ground I could get her to spin up. Voltage entering the controller was 60v so looks like this little Pint wasn't far from home when things took a turn for the worst.

So my question now is.... where can I buy some rails, bolts and maybe even the lower controller housing? Being in the UK shipping might be an issue and I'm not looking to break the bank this early after Christmas D:
I'm willing to just DIY it and and give this pint a new life as something a little different but that kind of feels wrong.

I'll keep you all posted on this Pint's recovery. Any suggestions on part availability or if anyone is parting a board out give me a poke.

[biell]

I would look into using JBWeld to re-make the controller housing box. I would think about putting in new threaded inserts in there before you start, so the screws can grip nicely. An alternative would be to put the screws in there before you JBWeld, then take them out before it sets. But, I would think my first approach better.

Since everything might not fit perfectly snug, I would suggest keeping the gasket, but also using 100% pure silicone around the controller box when you reseal it.

As for the missing parts, there are a number of people who part out boards on Reddit and FB, try posting there.

[blkwalnutgrwr]

Intensive caring @Lia, my take is put the controller above the wheel on a box fender after you find some rails, and build a platform for your front footpad. Not as pretty as some solutions, though effective.

[stinkyface]

@Lia lots of ideas on the twowheel thread! You have half the parts already...

[Lia]

@biell Sounds like some solid advice. Not on FB but will hit up a few places and see what's available once things have settled down a bit.

@blkwalnutgrwr Could work, would need to make sure it's perfectly parallel with the boards level so it doesn't think it's too tail or nose heavy at any given time. Will try repair the casing's integrity first though then look at alternative solutions. The area's that are vulnerable don't appear that bad but the dunk test will answer that once I've tried sealing it.

@stinkyface It is tempting indeed. I'll certainly try putting the motor on something else for sure just to see what it's like.
Had this planned out in CAD for another project I think I hinted at in that thread.

Have yet to actually begin fabrication as it's still just 3d printed test pieces. Shouldn't be hard to try putting the Pint motor on the back and ditch the suspension. Could probably even remove the front steering and rely on the pint tyre to keep the board stable instead.

Many thanks for all the input so far :)

[Lia]

Been scouring the web for some rails for a bit and have yet to get a nibble on some rails. Seeing as the longer a project sits the more likely it is to remain that way (past experience lol) I'm going with the option of temporarily modelling the rails so I can at least get it all in one piece to test on the bench without resorting to clamping the hub axle to my bench.

Looking for some accurate dimensions so I can CAD something up and print off. Thoughts?
https://www.reddit.com/r/onewheel/comments/kzjjci/anyone_able_to_measure_accurately_the_dimensions/

[Lia]

With limited measurements I've started to take what I've got from my own calipers and one redditor that managed to get some. Didn't realise how odd the pint rails were. Must be a pain to mill!

Haven't modelled the curve on the exterior yet, figured I'd leave that till last since it's purely decorative.

Managed to get the fit right first time but haven't knocked out the bolt holes yet. Really this is me just faffing about till I get rails but figured knowing the exact dimensions might be useful if not for me but others once I've got them 100% sussed.

Biggest issue is currently is Imperial vs Metric. I'm a metric person but if FM designed this around Imperial then the nice metric numbers I'm guesstimating might not match what would be a nice imperial number that they may use. In other words whilst I might use a thickness of 3mm they might use 1/8" which would be 3.5mm.

[NotSure]

@Lia take more measurements imo. The answer will probably reside in the data. I'm guessing that it's much less likely to be mixed units on individual parts. Outside of 3dp and barometry, I only use metric when necessary.

[Lia]

"I love it when a Pint comes together"

Lots of trial and error, only have 4 bolt holes to put on the front end of the rails and I'll have a fully CAD'd model of the Onewheel Pint rails. Tolerances are pretty good so far but will get them tighter once I actually have some real rails to compare too.

Last 4 bolt holes are the ones for the controller. Technically I only need 2 from one side to do the others but I have neither since... all 4 are missing so it's not easy to guess and confirm I'm right.

Nonetheless.... nearly done so I can test her working in one piece. The temptation to stand on it is quite high... bad idea.... it's 3D printed PLA.

[stinkyface]

@Lia if you are thinking about getting some rails milled, you could design in the rear to increase the concave effect, and the front as well now I think about it.

More or less length given you know your stance?

[Lia]

@stinkyface I was tempted too, don't own my own mill so the cost of getting someone else to make these would be nuts. I am slowly constructing a CNC router though so some time down the line I could.

That said I'll be releasing the files so anyone that wants to do it can. Would be cool if we can get some custom rails for the Pint much like the XR has custom rails.

[Lia]

Starting to look like a Onewheel again.

Decided to have a swing at getting the board to spin the motor up but need to engage the footpads. Since I don't have any and don't really want to buy pads right now I assumed I could use the same shorting technique I've used on my XR. Alas, I don't have a pinout.

After doing a bit of measuring I've found ground and 3.3v but cannot confirm what the other 3 are.

I assume lower left and lower right are pad left and pad right with centre being the led data pin... but connecting the other 3 to ground doesn't actually trigger the app to say a pad is engaged. It's possible the pads actually engage when connected to 3.3v but I don't fancy sending voltage to something unknown unless anyone can confirm my suspicions.

[Lia]

Nobody able to tell me what the pinout is for the Pint...

Figured out what pins trigger the Pint's footpad and decided to take a swing at the motor too. In turning it on to test the motor spins I.... forgot my rails were PLA and that the Onewheel doesn't just... gently rotate. Nope it torques it's way into oblivion, not only snapping all 4 rail sections but in doing so ripping the connector out BMS side. OOPS!

Anyway... this looks to be correct from what I'm able to measure and trace. Please note the lettering is for this reference and doesn't reflect any component identifying scheme FM use.

No idea what J is for. It's sitting at 3.3v when the board is on much like Pad L(L) and Pad R(K). Oddly enough you can connect Pads L(L) and R(K) to either pin I or ground and they trigger the board.

If anyone finds out more on this or has a better explanation I'd love to hear. Will update my graphic if I get more data.

[NotSure]

@Lia You illustrate a degree of patience and attentiveness I can only muster in very short sprints and even then, only if motivated by significant personal gain. It's very impressive.

[Lia]

@NotSure Thanks :) I like to tinker, that and getting the pinout should save me money if I can make my own footpad.

3D model already exists which is what I was using as a placeholder so if I can get a decent set of force sensing pads I’ll be laughing.

[Lia]

Can't get ahold of any rails through the usual channels, making my own.

Since I've made replica rails in CAD and 3D printed to verify my measurements the next step would be to just make my own.

Milling is tedious and expensive so I've dismissed that idea. Pre-made box section exists though and after a bit of looking I found some that's almost ideal for making rails from.
ALUMINIUM CHANNEL U - SKU: length: 600mm, size: 1.1/2 x 3/4 x 1/8 (38.1mm x 19mm x 3.2mm)

The rails need an inner spacing of 32.5mm from what I've found with these come to 31.8mm. All I have to do is rout out 0.35mm either side and they'll slot on. Then I can trim the depth of the U bracket down to spec. After I'll drill out the holes, countersinking a few, tapping others and then cutting the ends at the appropriate angle to meet flush with the bumpers.

Easier said than done?
Maybe...

I don't have any bits capable of chewing through aluminium with a flat tip so waiting on those to show up. Then I can make a jig to slide the rails into the router to shave off enough material on the inside of the U profile, the rest will be a cakewalk. I'll keep you all posted!

[NotSure]

@Lia cool! Make sure that jig is sturdy! May wish to consider using incremental jigs if the material proves particularly difficult to rout considering the tight tolerances.

[Lia]

@NotSure Good idea, if I'm not careful I might send the extrusion into the wall if I go too deep. Will consider doing minor cuts :)

[NotSure]

@Lia Lol! Literally my exact concern. Good luck!

[stinkyface]

@Lia this is fun. 😁

[HorsePlay]

@Lia , what you are doing is amazing! Thanks for bringing us all along with your photos and careful documentation. {{Applause!!}}

I do wish you could simply order replacement rails, etc.

[Lia]

@HorsePlay Love the name!
Thanks for the compliments and taking an interest :)

I'd love to be able to buy the spare parts direct from them. I'm at least thankful they do sell replacement parts for the bits that do get damaged with use like the bumpers, pads and fenders to name a few.

[Lia]

While waiting on some materials to properly build up a table suitable to rout my rails (tried a jig, was messy) I'm working on making my own footpads. First bit to do was the connector itself. It seems Amphenol LTW make these but from some back and forth on reddit is seems you can't buy them :(

Thankfully it's not too hard to just make my own

Fit is nice and snug with it able to lock in place like the stock one. Got some thin brass tubing coming next week so I can make the contacts inside.

[Lia]

Can't catch a break, seems these Pint parts are extremely hard to come by. Tried reaching out to some 3rd party repair but been ghosted so I can only assume they don't have any.

The controller housing is bent beyond repair let alone the mounting fins completely torn off. With the little detail I can pull I'm currently just making my own. Unsure how watertight it'll be but I can find solutions.

Currently on the 5th test model and managed to lock in the general shape, bolt spacing, light bar position, power button, cable coupling and motor/pad holes. Need to make a top half and put in some holes for the bolts.

Contemplating if I should make my own top half. Would be easier in some ways and a nightmare in getting that curve between the front and back to line up. Transparent filament kinda sucks so might end up making it compatible and use my current lid.

In regards to making it compatible with stock rails really depends on if I'm just that much of a CAD legend and guess it or if someone could swoop in and get me some crucial measurements since I have a hunch the spacing left and right isn't the same.

[NotSure]

@Lia what filament you using? I would use either abs or petg and brush on some solvent then some plastic slurry. Would have to use mek for the petg tho.

I've got a buddy that has one of those cheap $200 cnc contraptions and he used it to mill out a custom aluminum oil pan (i think?) for an old tractor. About the same size. It took a while tho. Those things are meant for wood art, jewelry and other really light duty stuff.

I've used shapeways.com to bootleg a few Evinrude parts before. They were fairly small tho. Expensive but very effective.

[Lia]

@NotSure Curretly PLA, mostly for ease of prototyping and my printer isn't setup for any other filaments. I avoid ABS since it's not as dimensioanlly accurate as I would like without putting in the adjusted tolerances in my models. PETG might be a safe bet but will see how my PLA holds up since I get some pretty tough prints with it.

Was in the process of making a CNC mill but it got stuck on the back burner due to other projects taking up time and money.

Tempting to use those other services for alternative filaments. Definitely expensive though, I had a guy on Thingiverse tell me they wanted to print one of my modified OW stand designs and were quoted $700 through one of the printing services!

[NotSure]

@Lia Yeah shapeways can be pricey. Aluminum SLM is pretty neat tho. Might wanna try uploading a model just to get a quote. I got a decent sized nylon part for $75 a few years back. Works well.

[Lia]

Had my sis ask me why I didn't just 3D scan the broken controller housing. 3 reasons that I'll share in case anyone else is curious.

1. Most scanning apps either don't know how big the actual object is or isn't precise enough which will require extra fiddling in CAD after.
2. Anyone that has ever tried modifying a 3D scan will tell you how painful it is. No flat surfaces or geometrically accurate angles make for a nightmare. Tried modifying a GoPro mount once that was 3D scanned and uploaded to Thingiverse. Spent hours just fixing errors.
3. The housing is bent, so even if I pull the geometry I'd have to unbend it in CAD which isn't particularly easy as mentioned above.

So I've been painstakingly making a variety of test prints along the way, slowly getting each new addition to the model dialled in. I'll of course be making some adjustments to make it more suitable for 3D printing and just a few extra bits for my own purposes.

Anyone got any requests to add to the design?
Tempted to make a version that will accept alternative power buttons since the existing one is simply a dome switch under a silicone cover.

[Lia]

Home stretch on the controller housing!

All the internal components fit nice and snug. Even managed to get that pesky o-ring to fit.

Stock top shell fits perfectly. Waiting on some bolts to come as I ran out of 25mm M4 bolts. Won't be using the stock bolts which to some might be a bonus.

The mounting fins are guestimated as to their spacing but with all the info I've managed to pull I'd be shocked if I was maybe 1-2mm off width or lengthways.

While designing I realised the stock lower shell has a thermal pad to help transfer heat from the ESC. So in order to at least try dissipate the heat I've built in spacing for a 50x25x5mm heat sink. Not sure if it will be enough but considering the shell acts as thermal mass rather than a heat sink then I might be safe...

This is version 10 of the prototypes. V11 will be the final (assuming nothing else crops up down the line).

Any additional things you'd think might be good to add?

[NotSure]

@Lia outstanding work! Very impressive. Only thing i could even think of is maybe a 60V port for adding a vnr mod, and I honestly have no idea if that's even possible or effective. Maybe a USB charging port for a GPS tracker? Again, i have absolutely no idea if it's even possible. Just tossing stuff at the wall. Get that cnc up and running next! Just a billet and some reliable gcode away from ur own Etsy store lol. Great job so far.

[Lia]

@NotSure Not a bad idea, there is a 5v line which looks to be for the hall sensors in the hub and LEDs. Assuming it's not limited to a super low current I'd imagine I could piggy back off it and add a usb port. Worst case you install buck converter off the XT60 and step it down to 5v.

For VnR I'm not sure there would be room to fit a port. FM did a good job squeezing in the connectors on there with little room for anything else. With some imagination I could maybe think of something.

Next step is for sure the rails and then while I do that will attempt my own footpads.

[stinkyface]

@Lia what material have you printed with? Any concerns with temps on or around the heatsink?

[Lia]

@stinkyface PLA currently still, was considering PETG for the final one but will see if I can get away with PLA at a higher wall thickness and infill density. I'm not sure what sort of heat the ESC is going to put out yet but will be able to bench it once it's put together and let it run under load.

Hopefully that puny 50x25mm heat sink is enough to pull whatever heat FM figured they needed to get rid of. Since the XR puts it's heat into a bit of sheet metal with no airflow I imagine it's not doing a whole lot and might be similar for the Pint.

[LidPhones]

@Lia
Truly amazing work on this 3D build out. I will guess that others likely have some interest in what you have done with this.... Bravo. Looking forward to the final assembly.

[Lia]

@LidPhones Cheers :)
Seems to have a few interested, I'm just hoping it is a truly suitable replacement. Pretty sure I can find a way to work around additional issues.

[NotSure]

@Lia do you use a shroud on your 3dp? I made one for my old R1 and increased the nozzle diameter to 0.8mm. I made some mounting hardware for a bimini top with nearly 100% infill using PLA and they are really solid! I had also bonded a sheet of PEI to the pre-heated glass build plate. It oozes like crazy but it prints like the blazes with a .5mm layer height. 20 mins per that particular fixture! I use Simplify3D. I'm done bragging...

[Lia]

@NotSure Mine sits in my server cupboard which gets a nice ambient temp of around 35c. prevent some first layer warping without a heated bed but needed to get a bigger cooling fan on the hotend to stop some crazy heat creep gumming up the heat break.

I typically print 0.4mm nozzle, 0.3mm layer height and 20% infill on stuff like this, 10% if I can get away with it and I've not had issues with stuff breaking. That said I do want to try a Hemera hotend so I can dial in retraction since there's a narrow margin between clogs and hairy prints.

For some bigger stuff I could have done with a bigger nozzle like yours. The poor printer has done 3 day prints before with that pathetic 0.4mm nozzle xD

[stinkyface]

@Lia said in Reviving a destroyed Pint:

@stinkyface PLA currently still, was considering PETG for the final one but will see if I can get away with PLA at a higher wall thickness and infill density. I'm not sure what sort of heat the ESC is going to put out...

Yeah the only data points we have are the generic "controller temp", I've seen mine at about 45 deg C here in the tropics, it's getting pretty close to PLA softening temp. PETG only gives a bit more room. FWIW, I'd do what you are planning, trial and error is a slow but effective way to evolve a design.

[NotSure]

@Lia said in Reviving a destroyed Pint:

For some bigger stuff I could have done with a bigger nozzle like yours. The poor printer has done 3 day prints before with that pathetic 0.4mm nozzle xD

I've never tried to print that long before. Before adding the shroud, nozzle and the PEI laminate, I would try batching multiple ABS parts into a single run, and I'd always end up with an awful bird nest of ruined prints by morning. From the look of it, you've certainly dialed in your printer well. Practically zero z-wobble. IMO the best part about a larger nozzle is the increased thermal mass of the bead results in really nice layer adhesion. Increases the shear strength substantially. A 0.8mm nozzle with <=0.3mm layer height makes for really solid parts!

[Lia]

@stinkyface 45C is totally near the danger zone for PLA. I've got a plant pot that has deformed just sitting in the sun here in the UK. It was black filament so I was asking for it. Will see if I can get away with it though first and push my luck. Learnt the hard way that assuming failures leads to over-engineering very quickly. Was making an RC sub for 3 years and I bailed near the end from overdoing everything without actually testing my concerns. It sits on the wall to remind me.

@NotSure I've only ever used PLA so it's been pretty easy to dial it in however every time I swap something out I end up back in tinkering hell xD If I do opt for another printer (maybe an S5 or custom) then a 0.8mm nozzle is certainly on the wishlist. I think I'm ready to get a different machine as I'm getting tired modifying the same system.

[NotSure]

@Lia said in Reviving a destroyed Pint:

It sits on the wall to remind me.

lol

https://www.amazon.com/ANYCUBIC-FDM-3D-Printer/dp/B08GFQNLB9

[fosterqc]

@Lia said in Reviving a destroyed Pint:

@stinkyface It is tempting indeed. I'll certainly try putting the motor on something else for sure just to see what it's like.
Had this planned out in CAD for another project I think I hinted at in that thread.

Have yet to actually begin fabrication as it's still just 3d printed test pieces. Shouldn't be hard to try putting the Pint motor on the back and ditch the suspension. Could probably even remove the front steering and rely on the pint tyre to keep the board stable instead.

Many thanks for all the input so far :)

Are you in the FB group for the E-caster boards? They would love this.

I have been thinking about working on one of these, I have some super wide round and soft 9.5" tires I want to try using. I also have an old V1 OW hub I could use for the back with a regular kart hub/tire up front. Same frame would be used to try all these tires out.

LMK would love to share designs and stuff.

[Lia]

@fosterqc Unfortunately not, haven't had a facebook account in a very long time. Say "Hi" to them for me!
The CAD is based off an existing kickstarter project called Speedboard so credit for the actual concept goes completely to those guys. Pretty cool looking bit of kit but I figured I could maybe do one better with some suspension on the rear and use a hubbed motor rather than a chain drive.

Here's the last version of what I modelled before I shelved the project for a bit. Will some day return to it but if anyone wants to give it a shot or make some modifications I'd love to see it. Project is made in Sketchup but everything is manifold so I imagine it wouldn't take much to move the parts into another program.

[Lia]

Routed out a few mil off the u-profile I got and it fits!.. ugly, but fits.

Router table was a quick DIY mess made of old desk pieces which make a lovely surface for routing. Had a bit of chatter but that was mostly down to me feeding too fast and not applying consistent pressure... Still did the job mind you.

This is only the first pass in which I just remove some material on the inside to fit over the housings and axle mount.
-Next one is to shave down the internal depth to 10mm since it's about 5.8mm too big.
--After I'll cut the edges down at around a 53.5 degree angle so they line up with either bumpers.
---Lastly I just need to drill all the holes for the bolts and countersink a handful. Since I already modelled the rails I an just print some templates and drill away.

The edges will still be flat however I can 3D print a curved facade piece to replicate the shape of the Pint then glue it on. I'll finish machining the rails first before doing so, no point making it pretty before knowing it can survive later testing.

--

Edit: Okay I got a little impatient and put the axle bolt holes in. Like a glove~

Even better it holds my weight fine. Can bounce on it (with my foot barely bridging the gap between the rails) and no signs of twisting with the battery in place.

[NotSure]

@Lia Lol... Is that an oculus rift? Who are you?

[Lia]

@NotSure Valve index headset with the old vive wands :)

[stinkyface]

@NotSure it's true, @Lia's last name is Stark.

[Lia]

So last week I was attempting to cut the depth of the rails but my Jigsaw blade kept walking so had to buy an aluminium cutting disc for my circular saw.
Although I made a mess it worked like a charm after setting up a guide for the saw. Excuse the notches on the lower right side of the rail, it's from where the jigsaw walked but after removing the corners it's not that bad.

With the depth cut to size I made a jig to angle the rails so they could be cut right.

Needed to notch out part of the lower rail so it doesn't interfere with the bumpers

Like a glove

Slapped those on and seem to fit just right, turns out they're pretty strong as is. Still need to make all the mounting holes and cut out where the button and charge port will go.
Will make a facade to recreate the curved rail edge so it matched the bumpers and holds the lip of the pads.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwUeIrMzMrk

[NotSure]

@Lia those socks look warm!

[Lia]

@NotSure Warm indeed :) Probably going to be a little too warm for them soon (fingers crossed).

[blkwalnutgrwr]

@Lia -- You are giving that Pint a better life! The process is clear and inspiring to watch!

[Lia]

@blkwalnutgrwr Glad it's entertaining to follow along :)
Hoping to rip around on it soon, the footpad sensor is next on the list and should be the final step if nothing fails.

[Lia]

Haven't forgotten about this, just had a few side projects that needed my attention before I set off finishing the Pint.

One thing I've been working on is a DIY footpad sensor. All the OW's appear to use what's known as an FSR sensor either side of the footpad which when pressure is applied it completes the circuit. I won't bore you with a technical explanation of these however if you want to take a look there are a handful of pages that go over them, fewer explaining how to make a reliable one...

Why not buy one? Well the largest FSR's I could find had an active area of 45mm x 45mm which is tiny. If you use 2 each side of the pad you still have some very small contact points with them not really being designed for this sort of thing. I needed something more durable. Being unable to find a place that would cheaply make a custom FSR as a one off I opted to just DIY it as is the theme of this Pint rebuild.

As with most FSR sensors I'll be using metallic traces with a layer of velostat above them separated by a small air gap that keeps them disconnected. Maintaining this air gap is difficult. Failing to do so results in ghosting. Overdoing it and you'll have a pad that might deactivate mid-ride.

I cut the traces out by hand from a 0.1mm copper sheet. That was fun...not! To stop the traces lifting I'm using 4mm wide double sided tape to attach them to the 3d printed lower plate which is only 0.4mm thick (2x 0.2mm 3d printed layers). Built in is some tiny vertical walls on the upper layer to help prevent the traces ever bending into each other.

Using some electrical tape to make sure the ends of the traces never lift and touch the velostat. Then some double sided tape around the edges to attach the spacer that will introduce an air gap. It's 0.3mm thick (single 3d printed layer) which should be enough to prevent it ghosting and require a decent amount of pressure to activate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpG7th3ZrP8

I won't use the whole single sheet of Velostat in the final so both pads can act completely independent of each other. With a single piece it's possible under some edge cases that both pads regardless of which side is active could stick on.

Hoping it's reliable enough to last and not kill me while riding. If it's anything else like my other creations it will at least give me a decent injury before I finish it. All my most trusted and favourite creations have done so in the past. I like to think of it like a creator/creation bonding exercise ;)

--

Enough with the footpad sensor, wanted to move onto attaching the controller housing to the rails. Needed to use a guide to make the mounting points on the rails for the controller so made a little template to give me guide holes.

Worked a treat however I don't have M4 bolts that are short enough to not poke out so going to order some.

Got special plans for the power button. Going to replace it for something a little cooler. Already tested and got the solution almost there but just need to implement it. If it works I won't need to drill a hole in the rail for the power button.

[NotSure]

@Lia said in Reviving a destroyed Pint:

I cut the traces out by hand from a 0.1mm copper sheet.

exacto blade and stencil or snips?

[Lia]

@NotSure Tried using an exacto but it dulled too often and began to tear rather than cut.
Printed off a template, stuck it down then just used a pair of sharp scissors to cut it in the end. Was thin enough to not take a lot of effort.

Using scissors did introduce twisting in the traces so I had to give them a good flattening for a while with the double sided tape helping keep them flush.

[blkwalnutgrwr]

@Lia -- Thrilling it is to watch your process and progress!

[HanahsDax]

@Lia You should definitely get the “Badass/Genius” badge for this achievement. This project has been fun to watch.

[Lia]

@blkwalnutgrwr @HanahsDax Glad it's fun to follow along :)
Hopefully going to get more done tomorrow and maybe spin up the motor for the first time (without it detonating like last time).

[Lia]

Did lots more testing today. 2 steps forward one step back sort of deal though.

I have managed to replace the power button with one that is operated by magic!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMp5SiZv1pE

Okay it's not Magic, it's a magnet. More specifically a reed switch replacing the stock switch with a magnet hidden underneath the OW logo on my gloves.

Why did I do this? I have no idea but I did it and it works!
On the plus side it were to ever break it's not like there is any large metal attached to it that could bash the PCB >.>

--

Now onto if the board actually works...

The board does and sort of doesn't work. It'll turn on, boot correctly and if I bypass the footpad I can prime the board. I can even get it to move BUT.... oh my god the noise that comes from that poor motor!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQ1msa5bA0U

Typically noise like that on the Onewheel is a loose hub bolt. I can assure you these are cranked down so I don't think it's that. It could possibly be the controller/battery wiggling around as those are still press fit into the rails.

Assuming it's not that it seems like I'll be taking the motor apart, I have 3 suspects as to what's causing the noise. In order of what I think is most likely:

1. Bad bearing(s). Considering the absolute state of the hub I wouldn't hesitate to suspect one of the bearings has died. The fact that when pressure is taken off the left side it gets quieter leads me to believe the right bearing might be shot. It does spin cleanly though so I have doubts.
2. Damaged cabling between the controller and motor hub. I think the 3 main wires that control the 3 poles are fine but I wonder if maybe one of the sensor wires could be damaged and thus it cannot perfectly locate what position the motor is in which could lead to vibrations as it bounce back and forth between the unknown positions.
3. Faulty Hall sensor. If one of the sensors has died then the same theory from #2 applies as these actually read what position rotationally the motor is in.

I don't suspect the controller electronics. If it had a fault I'm sure it would have manifested itself in earlier testing.

Regardless of that, congratulations Pint OW131223 for "passing" your first test ride on the road to recovery.

[OneDan+]

@Lia said in Reviving a destroyed Pint:

a reed switch replacing the stock switch with a magnet hidden underneath the OW logo on my gloves

You've discovered the solution for someone hopping on our boards and taking off! Let them get up to speed, then shut it down!!! @Lia, you should repost this on the theft prevention thread . . . :D

[Lia]

@OneDan Good idea, I'll finish up the designs for the printed parts and add a post there.

It's unbelievably simple to do. Just the switch alone and some silicone around it would suffice if looks weren't a factor.

[NotSure]

@Lia sounds like an old vacuum but it works! Very cool.

[Lia]

@NotSure Not a happy noise at all. I'm sure it's something simple though, just got to find the cause.

[blkwalnutgrwr]

@Lia -- Sounds to my damaged ears like the rapid, flutter vibrations of a buzzer. To my eyes it looked like the buzzer noise only occurred while moving -- not just standing still. Interesting puzzle. Good luck with it!

[Lia]

@blkwalnutgrwr Sounds much worse in person I assure you lol. The video doesn't quite capture just how loud it actually is!
Like you say it occurs only under certain circumstances but how it manifests doesn't narrow it down too much.

Will give an update once I've found the issue :)

[Lia]

I'm in!

Holy crap that hub was hard to take apart. It was pretty tight but I eventually managed to break it lose after plenty of oil and destroying a few bits of spare wood to act as a dampener when hammering the axle out. Once whatever was stuck came loose I was able to push it through all the way with just my thumbs.

Looks like one bearing is utterly shot. It's got loads of play in it, enough that I can wobble the plate against the axle with the bearing seal being the bit that moves. Trouble is it won't come off. Since it's 6PM I'll hold off bringing out the big guns to rip it off but tomorrow it's coming off!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1OPNpuGkf0

The scrapes on the hub wasn't me, that was the Van! Same side as the suspected dodgy bearing so makes sense.

Under close inspection it looks like there is some corrosion on one of the stator cores along with matching rust blobs on some of the magnets within the hub. Doesn't bother me too much as I'll just clean it off. Outside of that I think this might be a simple bearing swap... I hope.

Any recommendations on new bearings? Obvious choice seems to be Craft&Ride but curious if anyone has a special brand they use instead?

[NotSure]

@Lia Pint USB good

[Lia]

@NotSure RGB LEDs are my guilty pleasure. I shouldn't love them as much as I do lol. Not sure how much current the 5v rail on the Pint can handle but I'm sure I can find a datasheet.

I am planning on doing something with LED's on this, thinking of integrating them on the rails for a special design.
Have yet to pickup the project again, feels bad leaving the Pint unattended across from me on the desk.

[LidPhones]

You are so close to reviving that poor Pint.... Bravo for all that effort and I bet you are the first with a Steve Austin (Lee Majors) Pint (just not the $6M).

[Lia]

Been a while since I touched this... I didn't forget!

That noise was still bugging me but I finally found the problem.
I though if I mount all the parts it would maybe stop it, no it made it worse!!! Well that's not right...

On closer inspection if I added the fender it parted my rails enough that the battery housing was no longer snug. Removing it I found even when snug there was a tiny bit of play.

Being as I want to redo the rails anyway I went ahead and printed up some templates to make the mounting points for the battery since I had yet to actually do that.

And guess what, NOISE GONE! 99.9% GONE!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-L3nWxbmVcM

Best get back to work on that footpad since that's next! Hope it works fine so I can get to making this look the part.

Happy Pint~

[Lia]

While fiddling around with the FSR (apparently I went overkill on the spacing) I've taken a brief look into how I'll finish up the rails.

For anyone interested about the footpad sensor on the Pint (maybe the same for other models) the FSR triggers pad activation when the resistance between the 3.3v pad pin and ground is 1k ohm or less.
My MK1 setup couldn't reach that without me putting an unreasonable weight in a single spot so will be reworking that design when I work up the courage to cut another set of traces out by hand.

Anyway...
Thinking of having a rocky low poly like design but with a glowing red space between the individual rocks.

Lighting these initially felt near impossible with how little space there is to work with till I came across EL tape.
It's near paper thin and glows when injected with an AC voltage which can be run off a small 12v driver circuit.
Better yet, you can cut some versions to nearly any shape you want.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/153443319049?var=453390063663

Plan is to create a rigid backplate, put the EL tape atop, then a thin layer of acrylic to protect the EL tape and finally attach the rocky pattern that I'll have to print.

For the driver I'll have to place the driver board in the controller housing and see if I can step down the 63v to 12v to drive this. Fingers crossed it works as I think this'll look pretty cool and very unique.

Any thoughts?

[NotSure]

@Lia said in Reviving a destroyed Pint:

Any thoughts?

I used LED's and have never used EL tape before but I like your design.

Transparent filament swapped out at 1-2mm with a dark metallic filament might look cool.

Could perhaps cnc strips of transparent acrylic and paint them instead of printing them. Could even invert the design use the smooth transparent surface as exterior and paint/fill those engraved interior features.

Could maybe use LED strips and run them down channels engraved into acrylic.

Could just power them with a half dozen cr2032's. Just slap on some decent vhb and presto!

As someone who has experimented with ground effect lighting on their board for the sole purpose of ez night riding on dark, mostly unlit streets without a flashlight: illuminating the ground is more visually impactful as well as useful for general area illumination without disturbing one's night-adapted vision.

[Lia]

@NotSure The lighting is mostly to just glow through the cracks and not server a purpose other than look cool, I might opt for underglow using a more traditional LED strip later on. Ground effect lighting looks very cool and as you say better for the night-adapted vision.

Good suggestion with CNC on some acrylic. Currently don't have access to a machine but hopefully when I move to another property it'll have a garage or some detached building I can put big machinery in. For the time being I'm doing what I can in an apartment since noise and space are an issue.

[Lia]

Alright, after tearing apart my over-engineered FSR and managing to not trash the traces when transplanting them (curse past me for using good double sided tape!) I still couldn't get the DIY FSR to activate both sides simultaneously.

Essentially my FSR isn't "calibrated" to have a low enough resistance under certain loads. Each pad gets below 1k when depressed but combined I think the OW needs lower resistance still.


I suspect some of the copper is a bit too tarnished to make good contact with the velostat plus the traces might be too wide to apply enough pressure.

I could use some spaced out ribs to apply more force over a smaller surface area but at that point I'm playing a dangerous game of bodge™.

Seeing many mods to boards end in misery or worse I'm going to hold off continuing the DIY FSR to preserve my safety and also dissuade others from taking the risk. After spending a few months working on various footpad alterations and alternatives I've come to the conclusion it's generally not worth risking my safety and potentially encouraging others to risk theirs...

... That said the Pint rebuild is still carrying on. In fact I ordered a set of genuine footpads and took it for a spin, no external hardware to get the board running! (No vid, sorry I wasn't presentable when testing)

So what's left?

• Redo the rails (again!?!?).
• Complete the custom rail guards.
• Model and print custom bumpers.
• Finally bless the board with a name.

Regarding the name I've thought long and hard about it. Since this board has been through hell and back (several times), been reborn and defied my expectations I wanted to give it a name that matched. Sure I could be basic and just call it Phoenix but it's pretty common and doesn't quite vibe with me. I have however landed on one that has since inspired a lot of the tweaks and themed alterations I'm making. What is the name you might ask? Well that's a secret for now, you'll just have to wait and see ;)

Here's some sneaky peakys at what's going on right now with the build and design. Blurred some bits that are a dead giveaway.

One thing to note, I didn't design either the footpads or bumper, I've just modified them to fit my needs or tweaked some critical dimensions. Both are downloaded from others that did the hard work. I have had to modify them since they didn't seem to quite match stock dimensions perfectly and the bumper itself needed more tweaks to fit my rail alterations (flattened out the curve). I don't know who actually modelled the bumper so I'll have to check with whoever sent me it on Discord since they deserve credit <3

With the deadline met for the forum art piece I'll be balancing this and that for the next few <insert however long it takes>.

[b0ardski]

@Lia girl you're such a tease! but you should have blacked out instead of blurred it.
your brilliance is showing, art, tech, and love of the float coming together for a win!!

[Lia]

@b0ardski Aha but then you'd have no chance of guessing, I couldn't possibly take away a challenge from all you internet detectives out there. Besides it's not like I haven't laced former posts with hints ;)

[NotSure]

@Lia said in Reviving a destroyed Pint:

After spending a few months working on various footpad alterations and alternatives I've come to the conclusion it's generally not worth risking my safety and potentially encouraging others to risk theirs...

Kinda high risk considering the stakes. Glad to see you scrap it honestly.

[stinkyface]

@Lia Revenant.

[Lia]

@stinkyface Not quite, cool name though!

[Lia]

Been working bit by bit on this. Was meant to have finished the rails this weekend but because of the heatwave I've been unable to get as much done. However I've done a bit so I'll share the progress :)

Wanted to redo the controller housing to focus more on the thermals. I wasn't conviced that little 50x25mm heatsink was enough to dissipate the heat so I redesigned the housing to accept a larger 3mm thick metal plate.

Used the big mitre saw wifey got me for my birthday last year to cut the metal to size. Forgot how terrifyingly loud it was.

Need to print off the standoffs for the controller board to rest on over the heat sink plus make a raised section to aid in the thermal transfer. I think that should be enough material to at least act as a large enough heat sponge considering the XR had less thermal mass to work with.
While doing that I've been working on the rear bumper. Used the existing front bumper as a guide to model the rear because they're fortunately very similar geometrically. Need to redo the one in the image because there is some extra material that's clashing with the battery housing. Fingers crossed the next one fits perfectly.

Also got a proper router table to redo the rails and get them more accurately cut since the first set have some mistakes. The table itself doesn't fit my Bosch router but I made an adapter plate to get it to mount properly.

Made a big mess with that, it did however lead to way more smoother cuts with a lot less chatter which is good since the first rails are really rough where I milled off the 0.3mm inside to get them to slide over the battery, hub and controller.

Was extra careful to get these hub bolt holes spot on this time since the first set had a slight offset.

Printed some templates to help get the holes just right. This is for the rear of the left rail.

Had never actually cut the charger port hole on the first set, thankfully with the template I nailed it.

Hopefully the heat goes away soon. Booked off this week and next to get this, the art and some more video's done but if the heat persists I'm unsure if I'll manage. We'll see.

[Lia]

Have some more pics, nearly done the controller housing
(MK11... I probably spent as much prototyping as I would have just buying a working board lol)

Here it is in the real world. CAD drawings aren't any good unless you can turn them into a physical object.

Why have I not yet put it in the Pint?

Well the big heat sink won't reach the PCB to draw heat away yet. Currently I'd need a 2.5-3mm thick thermal pad to bridge the gap since the standoffs (made to spec) raise the board.

I've got a 2mm thick aluminium sheet coming so I can place that in the gap I left creating a physical pad reaching up to touch the PCB (between a thermal pad like stock)

Once that arrives I'll cut it down, attach it to the top of the 3mm plate with the spacer surrounding it (hence the cutout in the top print shown earlier).

Once complete as I probably mentioned before I'll be uploading the CAD, BOM and some instructions on how to make one too.
Kept it in the realm of possibility for anyone with basic tools... excluding that M20x1.5 tap which isn't common... shush they're cheap :)

[Lia]

Pint is technically completed. Although I still want to finish styling it up and adding some more custom mods I wanted to at least put the "FIXED" stamp of approval on this for now since it's been sitting in bits on my bench for a while.

To make sure the controller housing I made is actually sealed I gave the controller housing the old "sinky sinky glug glug test"...

...Yes I drowned it underwater for a minute to see how much water got in. Trial by fire... or... water in this case.
A little bit managed to get in but it all came in from the motor/ footpad and battery connector holes. A bit of silicone around them should seal those up making my printed housing waterproof. The additional thermal mass I added seems to keep the ESC cool too which is great, no need to worry about it melting after enough usage.

After a complete assembly all seems to work as expected. Zips around happily withoutmaking that horrid noise and charges fine off my XR charger (when using a little custom adapter). I do need to redo the rails again but I'll have to get a pillar drill since each failure has always been due to my drill walking off the mark even if I use a centre punch. Will wait a bit to see if I have enough leftover to get a cheap one off eBay. This latest case of my drill walking caused the controller to be mounted too far forward and in turn the footpad too. You'll see a 2mm gap between the fender and footpad due to this. Otherwise it's pretty much on point.

Anyway, here's a few pics of it :)

Slushy finally gets to sit alongside her little bro. I'm still amazed how much smaller the Pint is compared to the XR.

[Sirgu]

It's absolute joy to follow your in-depth reports on any of your doings.
Keep it up! :}

@Lia said ):

... I'll have to get a pillar drill ...

I'm amazed how much investments you are willing to put in the project. My own stubborn standpoint (not sating to be the best one) on equipments is - if anything takes a load of space out of your working area, it better be good! And pillar drills of any kind are big. You might don't wanna get a cheap random one to start sorting out all the wobbles and non-stiffness.

There are a handful of jigs out there.
I've got this hand-held one (merely woodworking oriented). But if you manage to find smth similar with THIS ... being more like flat frame with less "simple" clamping bolts leaving more space to add some clamping screws up to your liking accordingly the characteristics of workpiece material.
Plus usage of cobalt twist drill bits .. plus comfortable and precise hand-held tool .. plus some practice on samples first .. and you can make wonders.

If you are more experienced with step drill bits and find more trust in those .. then ignore everything I just put down.

[Lia]

@Sirgu Thanks :) Glad it's interesting. I hope it'll be useful to anyone else repairing a Pint in the future.
Once MyMiniFactory has finished checking the files I'm planning on releasing the lower controller housing for others to download and print. I imagine the DIY community will make good use of it.

Good call on the guides and jigs. I was tempted to make yet another 3d printed jig for these seeing as I've now gone through 4 lengths of U-channel but told myself I'd totally not mess it up this time >.> Was convinced the deep centre punch I did for each was enough.

I might still opt for a pillar drill, there are a few one on eBay that look okay, nothing exotic and look simple enough to dial in if there is any play. I like the ease of these over a jig but I'll see if things change as I think about it over the coming days while I weigh up what is left for spending.
I could find a spot for it but eventually I'll run low on space in the spareroom workshop.

[NotSure]

@Lia lol that really is quite the trophy! glub glub

[Sirgu]

That's some good looking workshop right there! You sure will figure out a place for it.

No wonder you've got surveillance camera peeking over the settlement of machines.

[NotSure]

@Lia i was wondering if it were possible to swap the pint controller for an xr? It would need a quart mod i suppose. Would it be possible to use the stock xr battery somehow?'

I wonder if anyone ever tried that before? If not, it's kinda right up ur alley skill-wise, and u technically have all the parts.

[Lia]

@NotSure I'm not sure it is. At least not a 1:1 swap since I imagine the communication between the 2 wouldn't line up without some tweaking somewhere.

Would the goal be to get XR specs in a Pint package?

Personally I'd love to get my hands on one of these before attempting anything like that ;)
(From Adam Savage's trip to FM's factory featuring Kyle. It's how they test and program the controllers)

I love Adam's energy in this and how Kyle reciprocates it back, just a joy to watch.

[blkwalnutgrwr]

@NotSure -- Aren't the 'growler' and 'prowler' mods mixing and matching Pint and XR parts?

[NotSure]

@blkwalnutgrwr said in Reviving a destroyed Pint:

@NotSure -- Aren't the 'growler' and 'prowler' mods mixing and matching Pint and XR parts?

I have zero idea. I'm still a bit new to the 3rd party accessory market.

@Lia yeah XR stats in a Pint package sounds pretty sweet. If I could swap form factors easily, I probably would.

Although riding on the beach has been fun. Gotta thank that beachball-sized Vega for that.

[Lia]

Took the Pint out for it's first field test (literally). Haven't made the decorative float plate to cover the bare aluminium rails however I'm almost tempted to keep it that way.... almost tempted...

Anyway here are some pics of how that went :)

Managed to run the battery down all the way with the controller temps never reaching above 32c (was 22c outside at the time) so I call that a success.

[stinkyface]

@Lia this is meant to be a compliment, it looks stock! Looking fwd to seeing you add more of that Lia flair!

[Lia]

@stinkyface Thanks :) Tried to keep it as true to stock as I could with only minor tweaks so glad it shows.

Shame I couldn’t adjust the charge port easily else I’d have had completely smooth rails.

[NotSure]

@Lia said in Reviving a destroyed Pint:

so I call that a success.

me too! great thread

[Sirgu]

Amazing road to recovery!

@Lia Will this magnet-magic operated power button function if ever you additionally apply some other materials onto those smooth bare rails?

[Lia]

@SirguIt Cheers :)
The reed switch still works at a decent distance so I'll be able to put the extra 3mm worth of float plate on top. I ended up swapping the door reed sensor for the bare component which was much more sensitive so worked at a greater distance and allows me to just wave my hand along the rail to activate/ deactivate.

Working on putting one in the XR but have yet to verify that it doesn't somehow pickup any magnetic noise within the controller and turn off mid-ride lol.