Skateboard pivot bushing

thingiverse

So in a last-minute garage clear-out before winter, I stumbled upon my uncle's old skateboard that his buddy made over 35 years ago. A cool old thing, I'm sure you'll agree! Keen for a distraction from cleaning, I took it out for a spin to see how she rides - and how I ride for that matter! Unfortunately, the board made some dreadful rattling noises, and on closer inspection, I found that the original pivot bushings had perished and cracked - one of them was missing entirely! Obviously being so old and niche, I couldn't just pop to a skateboard shop and grab a replacement. A quick Google search for parts using minimal information written on the truck hangers left me with the conclusion that I'd either have to part with a large amount of money for a special order replacement or make my own... So here we are! Luckily one of the bushings was intact enough to take some measurements to create a model from. I remember reading about flexible filaments, so I decided to grab some TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane) from eBay. I also remembered, after ordering the filament, that people often say this doesn't work on a machine with a Bowden tube - which mine has, obviously. Never the less, I decided to give it a go and see what happens, and I was pleasantly surprised that it worked really well with no problems at all! I ran it at 220°C as recommended and put quite a large retract (10mm) as I figured it would string, and it worked perfectly. It's 100% infill, and it was plenty stiff enough for the bushing - and hasn't cracked so far after a few wobbly test rides! In conclusion, a Bowden tube-equipped Chinese 3D printer is capable of printing TPU, and TPU is strong enough for skateboard parts! Quite happy with this one if I'm honest!