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Background
This was my first publicly used project. The idea came at the beginning of high school but wouldn't have been possible without the donations and contributions from Taylor Steel INC and BMP Metals. I was limited to carrying around my skateboard from class to class as the secretary's office would be cluttered with other boards and scooters and came with the risk of getting stolen. I carried the idea of a 12-slot skateboard rack until I felt confident in my CAD and CNC abilities, I brought the idea to my manufacturing instructor and school board and got the go-ahead.
Designing and Materials
The rack was designed to hold 12 skateboards but is compatible with electric and conventional longboards, cruisers, and scooters. During the early stages of design, I worked around constant roadblocks that fostered new methods of design. Being self-taught with CAD came with its own lessons intuitively, but also made me learn the significance of tolerances, BOMs, and accurate drawings when it came to the fabrication of 1/4" steel as major components would need to be shipped to industries to get bent and powder coated.
Production
Our Tormach plasma cutter was the machine of choice to make the flat profile of the rack and the slots for the skateboards. The CAD model was converted into a 2D flat sheet where bend tolerances were calculated and the DXF toolpath was developed. The 1/8" thick steel support posts had footplates and endcaps welded on and polished prior to the powder coating process.
Plasma cutting of rack prior to being shipped for bending
Assembly
Seeing all the components unwrapped, bent, and powder coated was awesome. The two racks were mounted to the posts using breakaway security bolts. To ensure true protection and security steel rings were inserted between each slot where a lock can be used.
Installation
The proposal was passed through the Halton District School Board and allowed the rack to be cemented into the floor of the Secretary's Office by the main entrance. The ceramic floor needed to be drilled using a 1/2" inch carbide bit for the footplate to be bolted into the cement. After a quick polish of the sponsor sign, the project was complete.
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