In this collaboration between the popular Braille Skateboarding YouTube channel and Autodesk, Aaron Kyro and gang meet up with industrial designer Paul Sohi to test out a set of generatively designed, laser-sintered titanium skateboard trucks. The crew is wowed by the trucks’ diminished weight — said to be 45% lighter than normal skate trucks — and impressed by their toughness, standing up to some impressive jumps off a 13′ ledge that previously ruined stock gear.
In actuality the printed component is really just the hanger, which is typically the bulkiest part of a skateboard truck, connecting to the baseplate, kingpin, and axle. Using Fusion 360’s built-in generative design function, Sohi set the software to sculpt an optimal shape to the hanger to retain strength while minimizing weight. Shapeways then provided the printing for the project.
The video states these didn’t come cheap — they showed various versions in different materials, but the titanium models, with the lightest weight of the batch, are said to be $1300 per truck. That’s $2600 for a complete skateboard.
It’s a fun clip, watching the SF Bay Area-based skaters marvel at the state of AI-assisted CAD design and 3D printing capabilities, then rip their way around the Fremont Skatepark.
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