DIY or Buy?

My research (window shopping) has shown me that high quality motor mounts, the ones which are not likely to vibrate off mid-journey, are either ridiculously expensive or sold out. What separates a high quality mount from a low quality one in my eyes is a mounting profile specific for the brand of trucks used.

For example, the image above depicts the most common, low cost design sold by Chinese manufacturers. It features a round profile with grub screws used to clamp down on the truck. This is not a robust mechanism by any means, as the grub screws provide very little contact with the hanger, can be loosened easily by vibration, and if the grub screws are worn down, there is no means of constraining the motor mount to the hanger in the lateral plane. 

As a degree apprentice, luckily I have access (provided I sweet talk the technicians...) to my Uni's CNC machinery including a waterjet cutter. Theoretically this should allow me to design my ideal motor mount for a low cost. Time to design!

Specification

The motor mount must fulfil the following criteria:

• Fits Caliber profile trucks
• Fits Flipsky 6354 motor
• Is no wider than 9mm at the motor end

Some optional features I'd also like to include are:

• Angle adjustment to fine-tune the position of the motor
• Belt tension adjustment
• Idlers to improve torque transmission
• Crossbars for improved strength and style

Inspiration

"There is no such thing as an original idea. Only improved versions of their predecessors"

(Paraphrased from a source I cannot remember)

Essentially, my plan here is not to start from scratch, but to draw inspiration from (i.e. strategic copying) existing designs born from the ESK8 community.

1) DIYE

Pros:

• Adjustable tension via motor position
• Adjustable clamping force via C-shaped truck mount
• Specific to caliber profile
• Low cost to produce - can mostly be laser cut, with minimal machining required

Cons:

• Angle not adjustable
• Too thin at motor end?
• No idler support
• No crossbar support

2) Eskating Europe

Pros:

• Adjustable clamping force via C-shaped truck mount
• Strain relief in clamp profile
• Nyloc nuts for vibration resistance
• Specific to caliber profile
• Low cost to produce - can mostly be laser cut, with minimal machining required

Cons:

• Angle not adjustable 
• Tension not adjustable
• No idler support
• No crossbar support

3) MBoards

Pros:

• Adjustable clamping force via 2-part clamp, with additional grub screws
• Adjustable tension via motor position
• Specific to caliber profile
• Nyloc nuts for vibration resistance
• Low cost to produce - can mostly be laser cut, with minimal machining required

Cons:

• Angle not adjustable 
• No idler support
• No crossbar support

4) Nexusboards

Pros:

• Swappable clamping core, specific to caliber profile, with strain relief on both the core and the core clamp
• Adjustable tension via motor position and idler
• Idler support
• Adjustable angle

Cons:

• Complicated design - no need for swappable core if buying for specific trucks
• Not a clue what that metal plate at the motor end is for
• Lots of expensive machining processes

5) Boardnamics

Pros:

• Adjustable clamping force via 2-part clamp
• Nyloc nuts for vibration resistance
• Low cost to produce - can mostly be laser cut, with minimal machining required
• Adjustable tension
• Adjustable angle
• Crossbar support

Cons:

• No idler support

6) Boardnamics (with Idler)

Pros:

• Adjustable clamping force via 2-part clamp
• Nyloc nuts for vibration resistance
• Low cost to produce - can mostly be laser cut, with minimal machining required
• Adjustable tension (via idler)
• Adjustable angle
• Crossbar support

Cons:

• Too good to be true?

7) Alien Drive Systems

Pros:

• Swappable clamping core, specific to caliber profile with strain relief in core 
• Adjustable tension via motor position
• Adjustable angle

Cons:

• No idler support
• No crossbar support
• Lots of expensive machining processes

Conclusion

I'm sure there are a whole host of other designs out there that I haven't researched deep enough to find, however this should cover a good 80% of the different species of caliber motor mount on the market. 

It is clear that the Boarnamics motor mount with idler meets all the success criteria, so the next step is to replicate the design for my own build.