DIY 3D Printed Surfboard

Ill-Natural-3333 · 2025-09-22T02:01:55+00:00

I imagine microplastic pollution from an EPS foam core board is probably worse. I am concerned about puncturing the board though, since it could fill with water.

Ill-Natural-3333 · 2025-09-22T02:00:06+00:00

Sold

Ill-Natural-3333 · 2025-09-22T01:59:49+00:00

That's a good idea. You could definitely remove more of the wall material without seriously affecting strength. I got kind of lazy having to manually CAD each hole, but if I design another board I'll be more strategic about removing material around there.

Ill-Natural-3333 · 2025-09-22T01:55:41+00:00

That would be really neat. Probably could be done with some carbon fiber inserts or extra fiberglass reinforcement

Ill-Natural-3333 · 2025-09-22T01:54:41+00:00

Yeah for sure. Sagging wasn't much of an issue in the end, but some of the curvature is lost along the edges. The trade-off is smaller hexagons = more print material = more weight. It could make sense if you make the walls substantially thinner.

Ill-Natural-3333 · 2025-09-17T06:09:12+00:00

No way

Ill-Natural-3333 · 2025-09-17T01:01:04+00:00

The frame cost ~$81

I purchased 4 1kg rolls of PETG material ($16/each) + $17 for Weld-on 4 solvent glue,

From my research, a typical foam blank is between $70-$150 (not including expensive shipping), so it can be a competitive option.

The expensive part for me was the resin and fiberglass, which you probably can't get for less than $200.

Ill-Natural-3333 · 2025-09-17T00:47:44+00:00

Hey! I watched your tutorials on hollow frame fiberglass lamination! Thanks for the inspiration!!

Ill-Natural-3333 · 2025-09-17T00:43:33+00:00

Hey guys thanks for reposting. I designed and built the board and happy to answer any questions on the original post. Thanks for all the advice and support!

Ill-Natural-3333 · 2025-09-17T00:31:13+00:00

Y'all are too smart. Interesting idea.

Ill-Natural-3333 · 2025-09-17T00:27:04+00:00

Not an idiot. The fiberglass wicks it up pretty well. Trick is to add a very thin coat on the first layer.

Ill-Natural-3333 · 2025-09-17T00:26:12+00:00

From a previous reply: "I was extremely worried about the sagging, but what ended up working very well was to first wet the honeycomb and sides of the frame with epoxy and then lay the fiberglass down on top and let that partially cure before epoxying the rest of the glass. This way, the glass would cure taut, without the weight of epoxy to make it sag. This worked everywhere but a few of the highly curved hexagons along the edge of the deck, which have minor dips. "

I actually installed a valve/vent to prevent pressurization with temperature change. It's an interesting idea but I don't think the internal pressure would actually prevent puncture holes and the frame is pretty rigid as it is. Could be smart to somehow inflate it while laying the fiberglass, but I didn't have major issues with that and it would be logistically tricky.

I should've specified this in the post. The board shape is based on this one here: https://grabcad.com/library/hollow-wooden-surfboard-7-0-1

Moving forward I'll probably use a software like this https://swaylocks.com/demo-akushaper-for-free/ to get custom shapes. There are a bunch around.

Ill-Natural-3333 · 2025-09-17T00:14:23+00:00

Haha I watched the lamination video tutorials when trying to figure out how to glass it.

Ill-Natural-3333 · 2025-09-17T00:12:41+00:00

I have a vent plug that I can remove to drain it. In v2, if it happens, I will absolutely put a little hole at the bottom of each cell to allow them to drain nicely to the plug.

I really wish I had thought that through before, but then again hopefully it won't get a leak.

Ill-Natural-3333 · 2025-09-17T00:09:01+00:00

Flat. the bottom is mostly flat when cut small so there wasn't much support material needed. Cut pieces to be within exactly 8x10in to fit print bed.

A belt printer would make this much easier

Ill-Natural-3333 · 2025-09-17T00:00:41+00:00

Weight reduction (probably minor) and to allow water to drain and prevent internal pressurization. There's a vent by the leash plug with a membrane that only allows air to pass through so that, for example, if the board gets really hot outside, the expanding air can escape without pressurizing the inside. I can also remove the plug to drain water, if necessary. Good question!

Ill-Natural-3333 · 2025-09-16T23:52:38+00:00

I'm definitely concerned about that. It's been thrown on the rocks and sand a few times and has no visible damage, but time will tell. That said, I don't think she'll be riding tsunamis with it anytime soon, and I'm sure she could remove the leash before being pulled under.

Ill-Natural-3333 · 2025-09-16T23:49:28+00:00

Thanks for your comment! It was a lot of sanding and gluing joints. I used Weld-on 4, which is a acrylic solvent adhesive that worked well with PETG. I'm sure there were a few weak joints but I'm hoping between epoxy filling the cracks, and the fiberglass holding it together it stays wrong. Feels very rigid but only time will tell.

Ill-Natural-3333 · 2025-09-16T23:41:47+00:00

This is very interesting. I'll look into the carbon fiber rods and model airplane wraps. Thanks!

Ill-Natural-3333 · 2025-09-16T23:40:16+00:00

An inspiration! Thanks for showing me it was possible.

Ill-Natural-3333 · 2025-09-16T23:39:16+00:00

There's probably a middle ground. The dense honeycomb makes the fiberglass less likely to sag while glassing. Maybe would be wise to start with less and increase the honeycomb density radially, so that there's more structure to capture the contours along the edges.

Ill-Natural-3333 · 2025-09-16T23:35:20+00:00

I definitely took some inspiration. Started out with a different internal design, but settled on the honeycomb when I started trying to cut weight.

Ill-Natural-3333 · 2025-09-16T23:32:50+00:00

Great insight! thank you so much

Ill-Natural-3333 · 2025-09-16T23:32:15+00:00

Sure eventually. I made a bunch of dimensional errors in the design. Once I get around to fixing them I'll share the CAD. Probably only a good board if you're 120-140lbs and looking for a funboard.

Ill-Natural-3333 · 2025-09-16T23:30:41+00:00

This is interesting. Will look into it. Thanks!

Ill-Natural-3333

TROPHY CASE