I couldn’t resist and and also got my hands on a DIY foil drive unit. Dominic Hoskyns got me inspired using foil drive for wingfoiling. Likewise i want to mainly use it for winging.
I had an old Gong mast lying around which I equipped with an 6384 motor.
Battery is 6s4p Samsung 30Q and fits perfectly in this enclosure: CHDX8-322C. Thanks to @okp for sharing!
Now I’m just waiting on Ali to deliver the flycolor 150a ESC and I’m good to go.
Credit goes to @Toto44 for the mast clamp and @leachim for the prop.
i printed a mock up of a 6S3P 21700 pack. The molicell P42A cells would be perfect for this with a 45A rating each and 4200mah capacity. A 21700 pack fits perfectly in the FDA/polycase/hibox enclosure.
Has anyone found a good motor cable yet? A 3 conductor, 12awg waterproof cable thats available in USA? Seems like something with a relatively thin but extruded solid outer jacket would be ideal to keep the OD of the cable as small as possible. By extruded solid i mean the individual wires are completely enveloped by the outer jacket vs. sitting in a “tube” of insulation where the empty space between individual wires could collect water.
Maybe I just got unlucky with the explorer. I tested it when it arrived and the lid deforms when it’s closed, so the seal doesn’t contact the lid in the middle. Apart from the seal it looks good.
These fused nickel plates look sweet. Where did you get these from? and what Amps can you put through them. I’ve seen the ones by Battery Hookup guys but they’re only good for 3A continuous and 8A peak which I think is too low for what we’re using them for.
Yes they are from battery hookup!
I had to spot weld two layers of nickel strips, since one layer will only do 3A continuous without getting warm and will blow fast at 8A per cell.
Now with two layers I have 6A continuous and 16A fusing. Also did an 14S14P version with these nickel strips and works perfect so far!
this should be fine! I’m wondering which ESC did Foil Drive use and that can fit the very small area. I’ve searched for a similar heatsink (the one they display below) but didn’t manage to find an ESC with such heatsink. I believe it’s a custom heatsink (but I’m surprised!)
I am tempted to buid one for this specific purpose.
but in wining you already have the wing power, so why not use a 50xx, as it was mentioned earlier? Smaller motor and prop should add neglible drag.
Flipsky already has a waterproofed one and given the lower amps, a 6S1P of p42a should be enough. Less than 1KG in total!
The 5085 seems like a better option for our purpose!
I’ve chosen the 6384 simply to test it, cause several lighter people seem to use it successfully on efoil. And as couple of my friends who are lighter are also looking to build an efoil, that would be the cheapest option by far. Hence the 6384 to try it out and see its capabilities.
I’ve tried my 6374 motor setup for winging and I don’t really like it. The drag from the motor even high on the mast is noticeable, feels like the handbrake is left on. The motor does help to get going in light wind but so does good technique and the right gear. I found the motor thrust very unnatural when trying to start, the nose of the board wants to jump out of the water. For supfoil the motor is great as you can weight your front foot, however with a wing above your head it’s harder to keep pressure on the board. Maybe a lightweight <2kg small motor setup is the answer.
I have an Armstrong mast which tapers outwards towards the top so a simple profile doesn’t fit as nice it could.
For a bit of a challenge i used photogrammetry (lots of photos stitched together to make a 3d model) and then fixed splines to this in Fusion360 to create a solid parametric model. This model can then can be used for the guide the pod. A bit of an overkill but was a fun process to learn and could be used by others for getting approximations of board or propellor shapes. All you need is your phone, good light and a few minutes to capture the shape.
Work flow
Polycam on iOS, take lots of photos. A dusting of talcum powder or cocaine helps with the detail.
Export as GLTF (free)
Convert to STL using an online tool.
Open with fusion360
Create several planes in which to the draw profiles.
Draw profiles as closes as possible to the STL. Using sectional analysis helps with this.
Draw connecting rails passing though profiles. Project/ intersect helps with getting points on the profiles.
Loft though the profiles using the rails as guides.
Now this is awesome. I have been looking for a way to scan objects without an uber expensive handheld laser. This will come in handy on several projects I am working on. Thankyou very much for sharing and outlining the process.
I’ve been spending a bit of time trying to come up with a tool free/ part free method of attaching a pod to a mast. I like the philosophy “the best part is no part, nothing to loose, nothing to break”…
Here’s one of my concepts. Not as sleek as I would like, but seems pretty solid and only takes a few seconds to attach. Because of the stretch in the strap this means its an almost universal fit for any mast type
Another advantage is that it’s is more compact overall - The motor sits closer to the mast because you don’t need the 10mm thick base plate like on many versions, and there is no nose cone out the front that leashes can get caught on.
Has anyone else come up with a tool free attachment method?
The motor stays permanently attached to the pod, so no screws necessary for that in day to day use.
Not drag free, but could be made a more streamlined. Here’s the next iteration that could be improved further with a thinner strap. Still need to figure out the tensioning method for the strap.
@jeffM adapted his Fusion files to a Gong carbon mast. You can find Jeff’s files in this thread Gong Carbon Mast Clamp
Maybe the next step will be toolless on an Armstrong mast ?
?