First off – thanks for all the great insight into the world of surfboard construction I’ve been reading about here for the last couple of years.
I’ve searched in the archives, most of the info is years old – forgive me if I missed the thread where these questions were answered already!
A few years ago, I developed an interest in eco-friendly / sustainable /… surfboard construction. A really long story short, I’m having a 6’0 shortboard printed using a bio-based, compostable material.
My next challenge is using natural fibers and bio-based epoxy: I’ve read about positive experiences with SuperSap (not regarding the pricetag, though). I’ve stumbled upon Sicomin’s contribuition on this topic: Greenpoxy 56. Any experience with that, anyone?
On to the natural fiber mats: I’m keen on using Amplitex from the Swiss company Bcomp. Again, any experience here? Notox, Samsara, Lost are you here : ) ?
The degrading property is actually the part I’m less thrilled about - after all, I’d like to build boards that last - but for now, it’s the best I have to work with.
My main focus here being that it’s not made of oil. That and the part where I don’t shave away excess waste to carve the shape. (And yes I’m aware that’s supposed to be the fun part ; )
updated after first printing experience: plus, without the means to locally recyle possible waste (misprints, building support structures), it goes to the composter!
Bamboo fibre… But I can be sure on which one is the same as the proven one from greenlight since their supplier stopped making it… It was stretchy and non woven, that’s all I know and it would be great to find it
If I understood correctly, (most) bamboo fibres require vacuum bagging to turn out with a good resin/fiber ratio - I’m not sure yet about how much pressure my design can handle. So for the prototype, that’s not going to happen.
Looking at the price tags for the flax fibres mentioned above, I might just go for a classic fiberglass apporach for the beginning - it’ll also be easier to compare flex properties with other boards.
It would be interesting to know first whether **any **resin is going to stick to your extruded biodegradable compound. A lot of good foams are off limits in surfboard construction because they don’t bonding directly to resins.
It’s possible to export a frame direct from CNC design software. Those frames look like a typical boat or wing framework with struts and ties, both chambered to lose weight. Your prototype looks to shed these proven design features. Is there a reason you have chosen to stray from these design features?
I checked with my filament supplier before - supposedly, it will stick. I have an entire 2nd board worth of misprints to find out if it does indeed adhere.
About the design choices: I spent such a ridiculous amount of time converting the AKU-shaper file to a printable one (literally, weeks!), so I ran out on time and money to have the inside designed - I opted for an automatical infill calculation of a 3d printing software (the minimum, 1%).
Thanks for your response. S3D will generate spars and ties for cutting from flat material. Probably not what you want, though, but this is the way I’ll do a wood frame.
Thanks red_boards for your input - I’ll check up on that.
The way wooden boards and their frames have been built was always kind of restricted to the physical limitations of working with wood - I’ve tried to take the good old fishbone as a starting point, yes. But with the possibilities 3d printing offers, there must be more out there!
funny enough, skateboarding is paving the way here, for reasons most likely related to the easily printable size:
Yup, I too spent a lot of time cleaning up an exported STL.
It turns out that all this is the wrong approach. Really, you want to draw the thing again in proper 3D modelling format because STL is like a photograph.
Learning all this rubbish took me A YEAR! On and off…
Such a waste of time.
So I can see why software isn’t used more in shaping, despite all its advantages, especially in flow modelling.
There’s a lot of new concepts to learn with new jargon. lofting, vertex, spline, polyline… To name only a few…
Nice ideas.
I found the main problem, as you say is the size and scale. I can model the board with flex borne in mind, and strength and weight…
But the biggest printers still mean you’re sat there with glue…
So what I tried was to make only parts of the board with printing.
What I found was that this introduced a new problem - attaching that part to the board. I thought I did a good job… But slowly overnight the part slipped against the foam… I glassed anyway.
So this needs some thought…
If it was a case of just throw it all in a massive printer I’m sure it would be a very common method as we now have an additive method rather than subtraction.
many here, including me, have concluded that the best “eco” board is one that will last years. build them to last. pass them on to a grom or someone in need.
“Learning all this rubbish took me A YEAR! On and off…”
my learning curve exactly!
“If it was a case of just throw it all in a massive printer I’m sure it would be a very common method as we now have an additive method rather than subtraction.”
Supposedly, it’s not a question of if, but rather when this will be economically feasible. I’m ok with glueing 6-8 parts on a stringer, and in the hopefully more near than distant future, I’ll be able to incorporate some “click&glue” snap-system to make that task easier.
Interesting, but is it worth the effort? how many grams where saved? : )
When I first started this project, I lasered some cardboard surfboards by Mike Sheldrake (http://www.sheldrake.net/surfboards/) - the glassing part was just too complicated to get a smooth surface. His “Isogrid” pattern however is the inspiration for some future design patterns of mine, let’s see.
I agree with you 100% on that point. My rough initial carbon footprints calculations make a board made with the worst materials (ecologically speaking) that lasts 5+ years far “greener” than ecologically sane alternatives that compromise on the durability - that’s why I didn’t pursue the cardboard surfboard mentioned above.
Which on the other hand doesn’t stop me from searching for that construction solution that combines it all: friendly materials, healthy to work with and long lasting!
