instructables Surfboard LED Fins Installation guide

Brand: instructables

Model: Surfboard LED Fins

Type: Installation guide

Instructables Surfboard LED Fins illuminate your nighttime surfing sessions with their vibrant, customizable LED lights. These 3D-printed fins attach to your surfboard using the FCS system and feature a unique design that allows for easy assembly and disassembly. With their waterproof construction and long-lasting coin cell battery, these fins can withstand even the most extreme conditions. Choose from a variety of LED colors to match your style, and enjoy the added safety and visibility of riding a lighted surfboard.

instructables

Surfboard LED Fins

by mosivers

A while ago I decided to combine two of my favorite hobbies river surng and electronics, which resulted in motion-

reactive LED strips for my surfboard. Since it is impossible to have too many LEDs on any project, I recently added

glowing LED ns.

The ns are 3D printed from transparent lament and include a space in the center for a coin cell battery and a 5mm LED.

The ns consist of two halves held together by screws and sealed with a gasket printed from ex lament.

UPDATE:UPDATE:

Version 2 with an improved seal is now available on Version 2 with an improved seal is now available on Thingiverse..

Supplies:

For each n you will need

CR2032 coin cell battery

5mm LED (color of your choice)

small piece of packaging foam

transparent 3D printer lament (e.g. Fillamentum Crystal Clear)

ex lament (e.g. Polymaker PolyFlex)

6pcs M2.2 x 6mm plastic screws

Surfboard LED Fins: Page 1

Step 1: CAD Design

The parts were designed in Fusion360 based on these

existing Thingiverse models. The ns are designed for

the FCS system. I made a large n and a small center n

as commonly used in rapid surng.

As already mentioned, each n consists of two halves.

The space where the LED and coin cell ts is surrounded

by an elliptical groove into which a gasket is inserted.

The gasket is squished together by a ridge on the top

part with a triangular cross-section.

All stl les are attached below.

https://www.instructables.com/ORIG/FS5/SQZC/KRJ7NET0/FS5SQZCKRJ7NET0.stl

DownloadView in 3D

https://www.instructables.com/ORIG/FL0/YXXI/KRJ7NET1/FL0YXXIKRJ7NET1.stl

DownloadView in 3D

https://www.instructables.com/ORIG/FRZ/JGU6/KRJ7NET2/FRZJGU6KRJ7NET2.stl

DownloadView in 3D

https://www.instructables.com/ORIG/FAQ/XJLF/KRJ7NET3/FAQXJLFKRJ7NET3.stl

DownloadView in 3D

https://www.instructables.com/ORIG/FVS/QDC4/KRJ7NET4/FVSQDC4KRJ7NET4.stl

DownloadView in 3D

https://www.instructables.com/ORIG/F0P/UNPT/KRJ7NET5/F0PUNPTKRJ7NET5.stl

DownloadView in 3D

Surfboard LED Fins: Page 2

Step 2: 3D Printing

I tried out dierent types of transparent lament

Filamentworld transparent PLA: very good print quality but lowest transparency

XVICO transparent PETG: worst print quality, medium transparency

Fillamentum Crystal Clear: good print quality, best transparency

As you can see I got the best results with Fillamentum Crystal Clear, however, it took me a while to get there as this

lament can easily clog the nozzle of Prusa printers (see e.g. here, or here). As suggested in one of the forum posts the

problem was mostly solved by replacing the heat break. I still sometimes experience the typical clocking noise on my

extruder but the prints do not fail entirely.

Regarding the print settings, there are many tutorials on getting transparent prints (see e.g. here) and making 3D printed

objects watertight (e.g. here). Luckily, the requirements are somewhat similar so it is not impossible to achieve both.

After some experimenting I found the following adjustments to be useful

inll: 100%

nozzle temperature: 220°C

inll/perimeters overlap: 5%

cooling fans: o

print speed: 70%

ow rate: 110%

The gaskets were printed from Polymaker PolyFlex lament with 100% inll and 0.1mm layer height.

I did not do any post-processing except for some mild sanding. Coating the parts with epoxy might be a nice addition in

order to improve transparency and waterproofness.

1. Fillamentum Crystal Clear

2. XVICO transparent PETG

3. Filamentworld transparent PLA

Surfboard LED Fins: Page 3

Step 3: Assembly

First, you have to shorten the leads of the LED a bit so

that they t inside the 3D print. The coin cell battery is

simply placed in between the LED leads. The gasket is

inserted into the bottom part of the n and the top part

is xed with M2.2 x 6mm plastic screws. I also placed a

small piece of packaging foam on top of the coin cell to

hold it in place after the n is sealed.

You can of course use whichever LED color you prefer.

Most LEDs work ne when supplied 3V directly from a

coin cell battery. For the center n, I used an RGB LED

with an integrated controller that cycles through the

rainbow. I also printed ns from Fillamentum Iceland

Blue lament that are used with a white LED.

Surfboard LED Fins: Page 4

Step 4: Testing Waterproofness

Step 5: Final Remarks

I immersed the sealed n completely in water for several minutes to test if it is waterproof. At rst, I tried this without the

electronics. Only after I checked that no water entered I tested it with the LED and the coin cell inside.

Surfboard LED Fins: Page 5

The disadvantage of the simple design is that there is no

switch to turn the LEDs on and o. In order to do so, you

have to unscrew the top part and remove the battery

but I was unable to nd a watertight switch that is

suciently small. With a switch installed one could also

think about permanently sealing the 3D print with epoxy

but then you would not be able to replace the battery.

With a typical capacity of 220mAh for a CR2032 cell and

a typical LED current of 10mA, the battery should last

22h.

Unfortunately, I was not able to try out the ns yet.

When I do, I will post a video so that you can see them in

action. I hope the ns will turn out to be as watertight in

real-life conditions as in my tests.

Surfboard LED Fins: Page 6

instructables Surfboard LED Fins Installation guide

instructables Surfboard LED Fins Installation guide

instructables Surfboard LED Fins Installation guide

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