Before the development, two phases of preliminary research were run between 2015-2018 and 2018-2020.

A summary of the two phases can be found here:

Research Question:

Can we set up economically sustainable workspaces that semi-mass produce skateboard decks, that are of an acceptable riding standard and lower price than wooden decks, with an extruder of 20,000 euro?

Description

Problems:

The problems this question aims to address can be divided into two categories: Social:

Skateboarding remains out of reach due to its expensive equipment cost.
There is a lack of engaging activities and communities for young people to engage in which results in anti-social habits forming (Substance abuse, crime etc.)
Recycling is seen as an added complexity/burden in many people's lives as it has no direct tangible rewards.

Environmental:

There are not enough local plastic collection schemes happening globally to effectively process the quantity of plastic waste being produced. (>6 Billion tonnes existing, >9 million tonnes added each year, >90% recyclable, <10% actually recycled)
Traditional skateboard decks are made from canadian maple plywood and are the largest contributor to their deforestation.
The majority of skateboards are centrally produced in either China or Mexico, and shipped globally, which has a large carbon footprint. Localised production of skateboards is almost non-existent.

Solution:

We want to set up workspaces capable of transforming plastic waste into skateboard decks by providing open source plans, or the option to buy the machines and mould needed to produce skateboard decks, along with all additional information needed. As the design for the machines already exists, the focus of the research is on the mould, as this has not been developed. The mould is being designed to work with an extruder with the same or less power and barrel volume as the Precious Plastic Version 4 extruder so that existing Precious Plastic workspaces can adapt their workspace to produce decks. The next steps after completion of the mould design is to act as a consultant to help people set up their own workspaces, and to further iterate the mould design once this version has been tested for some time.

Previous Research:

The project has been under development since 2017, with two significant phases of preliminary research leading up to this point.

Phase 1: Development of a press and mould to produce deck. Phase 2: Modification of mould to extrude decks.

Challenges:

Making decks that are satisfactory enough to ride Finding start-up capital

Finding a team who are both passionate, skilled, and at the right point in their life to be involved long term.

Phase 1:

Title: Research Phase 1: Recycled Plastic Skateboard Deck Press
Description:

Full Documentation Abstract: The aim of the current phase of the project is to design a press that allows communities to locally produce skateboard decks made from recycled plastic. Through primary research I discovered that an average skater goes through one deck every two months and are made from plywood, predominantly taken from Canadian maple trees. Skateboarding is the biggest contributor to their deforestation. A press would enable independent skate shops or other small community organizations to set up local recycling schemes where they either charge people to use the machine, buy waste plastic and produce their own decks to sell or simply allow people to use the machine for free. The aim is to challenge the stigmas attached to used plastic, from seeing it as waste to viewing it as a valuable resource, as well as change the current attitude towards recycling as being an inconvenience to an activity which is fun and constructive, which can be done as groups of friends and something that has direct tangible rewards.

Materials testing was conducted to identify what combination of recycled plastics shared most similarity with Canadian Maple, in order to get the essential “pop.” Pop is the springy quality of a deck that allows it to be elevated off the floor. The quality of the pop is the most obvious physical feature that can be used to identify a good deck from a poor deck. 3 point testing was used to plot the flexibility of various materials and profiles.

A prototype press and mould were made and the used to produce several test decks made from HDPE, LDPE and PP. The test decks were then given to skaters and feedback was collected. The prototype press was made entirely from recycled material. Its main body was constructed from scrap RSJs and a pre-used scissor jack was used to provide pressure. The first mould was made from a composite of jelutong and MDF.

Following a series of iterations, a final press and mould were produced. The final press was made from scrap RSJs. The base of the press has built in heating elements which heat up the mould to melt the plastic so no external oven is required. The final mould is made from aluminium to conduct the heat efficiently. The final mould is modular so that it can be used to create different styles of decks without replacing the entire system.

Supporting Video

Phase 2:

Title: Research Phase 2: Mold modification for extruder and plastic type.
Description: During this phase we focused on the technique of producing decks, and the material used for the decks. The final mold from phase 1 was taken and modified to fit on the precious plastic extruder. We then used the extruder with pure types of plastic (PP, HDPE, PS) to make stronger decks than in the previous phase of research. The decks were then given to users for user testing to determine what needed to be improved for the next iteration. Prototyping was done informally, with leftover materials and resources. The reason for changing to the extruder was to try to achieve a more homogeneous body of plastic through extrusion, as opposed to pressing, which gave a weak "chipboard" type material (The results proved successful)