ADVANCED INDUSTRIAL

CASE STUDIES

High-Performance Longboard Design

Claes Fredriksson, Granta Design, 300 Rustat House, 62 Clifton Road, Cambridge, CB1 7EG, UK
Benjamin Hornblow, FORCE Technology, Park Allé 345, 2605 Brøndby, Denmark

First published October 2016

© 2016 Granta Design Limited

Summary

Granta Design develops software that is used for advanced materials selection in industry. CES EduPack is
the Educational version that is specifically designed to guide and show the steps of the decision process for
the purpose of teaching and training. It helps students to understand a rational and systematic approach
which is invaluable to engineering and design. Our Advanced Industrial Case Studies, connected to a real
product, promotes understanding and motivates students. Here we focus on the development and
benchmarking of a double-curved sandwich panel of composite materials to improve the performance of a
type of skateboard called a longboard.

Contents
1. What is the Scope? .......................................................................................................................... 2
2. How to tackle the Problem ............................................................................................................... 2
3. How to use CES EduPack to Perform Material Selection ............................................................... 3
4. Damping ........................................................................................................................................... 5
5. Result and Reality Check ................................................................................................................. 6
6. What does CES EduPack bring to the understanding? ................................................................... 8
7. References ...................................................................................................................................... 8
 1. What is the Scope?

When developing products, it is difficult enough to ensure that you have the best materials for your
application, but when it comes to design variables to make a composite, the complexity reaches a new level.
Yet being able to consider options early in design can allow you to achieve great improvements in
performance, lightweighting, cost reduction and green credentials. The challenge is to determine what
materials to use and how to combine them structurally so that you can maximize the benefits.

A longboard is a type of skateboard designed for downhill and slalom racing but also for simple cruising and
transport. Because it is longer than a regular skateboard and normally has bigger wheels, it promotes higher
speeds. Their greater weight and bulk makes them less suitable for many skateboarding tricks but
contributes to stability and a fluid motion by providing more momentum.

Longboard decks are typically made from plywood with anything from two to eleven layers, each usually 2
mm (0.079 in) in thickness. These are composed of, for example, birch, bamboo, maple or oak wood.
longboards are commercially available in a variety of shapes and sizes. Each one has its advantages and
disadvantages, depending on the technique or personal preferences of the skateboarder.

The decks can be shaped in such a way that they bow up or down along the length of the board. They can
also be double-curved; concave in the width direction and convex in the length. Moreover, some boards are
designed to be flexible, usually intended for lower speed riding because when going faster, a flexible board
can have torsional flex which is one cause of speed wobbles. Fiberglass is used in many new flexible boards
as it is light like carbon fiber but more pliable.

In this case study, we have investigated the development of a layered structure for the double-curved deck
of a longboard using CES EduPack. This builds on work done by FORCE Technology, an institute for
industrial composite development in Denmark [1]. It describes the process of comparing materials, defining
composite materials in the Synthesizer tool and then using these composite material records to build a
competitive sandwich structure in the same tool. The procedure is described in detail and the results are
benchmarked against actual structures materials used in commercial longboards.

2. How to tackle the Problem

We will start the investigation by looking at different materials used for longboard decks and determine which
properties are key to the performance. Strength will, of course, be one of the crucial parameters in the sense
that the deck must be strong enough. However, it is not the property that limits the performance. Rather, like
in other equipment used for sports and racing (skis, rackets, cars etc) it is a Stiffness-limited design (to
prevent deflection of the board). In the picture and charts below, some common types of deck materials are
shown. We will focus on mechanical performance, so cost is not considered in this case study.

CES EduPack - Case Studies 2 © Granta Design, October 2016

 Maple Bambo Glass Fiber (top)
Carbon Fiber (bottom)

From the left: A traditional maple deck is shown. These typically have 5-8 cross-plies and are at the lower
end of the price range. Next, a unidirectional bamboo deck is shown and to the right, a lightweight sandwich
panel deck, consisting of carbon-fiber/maple/glass-fiber layers, is shown. These typically cost more than
$100. Whereas the mass of the deck provides stability to the board, it does not contribute to higher speeds
when going downhill, due to higher inertia. Instead, it is low friction and air resistance that promote speed.
Uphill, on the other hand, the mass definitely contributes to lower speed. It is thus natural to seek to minimize
mass when selecting material for the deck. Another factor, that contributes to the comfort and safety of the
ride, is the damping properties of the material. It is desirable to find a material that minimizes vibrations as
they are disturbing. The objectives will therefore be to minimize mass and maximize damping.

3. How to use CES EduPack to Perform Material Selection

The longboard deck itself is very much a panel in bending. The material Index Tables available via the Help
button in EduPack tell us to maximize the cubic root of the flexural modulus, Ef, over the density, ρ. In order
to minimize vibrations, the same expression multiplied with the Mechanical loss coefficient (damping), η,
should be maximized (see below). A summary (Translation) of Design requirements is given on page 4 [2].

The basis of the selection is the data records for nearly 4000 engineering materials available in Level 3 of
CES EduPack. These are not all candidates for the longboard deck. It is possible to put constraints in, to limit
the number of materials. These constraints are based largely on the existing decks above.

CES EduPack - Case Studies 3 © Granta Design, October 2016

Function:
The engineering application here is a panel in bending
limited by stiffness (we do not want the deck to deflect
too much). The free design variables are the thickness of
the panel and the material combination.

Constraints:
These constraints are based largely on existing decks
• Service temperature: -20°C to +60°C
• Density: < 3000 kg/m3
• Young’s modulus: > 1 MPa
• Resistance to rain and salt water:
Limited/Acceptable/Excellent

Objectives:
A table of common performance indices can be found
under the Help button embedded in the main toolbar of
the software. For low mass in a stiffness-limited design
and for vibration-limited design, we need to maximize
M1= E1/3 / ρ (mass) and M2= η∗E1/3 / ρ (damping).

For Vibration-limited design EduPack provides the performance indices in a separate button, as seen below.

A common approach for product development in

industry, to improve on existing products, is to consider
the currently used materials, such as the ones in the
boards shown in page 3, as a starting point. These can
be included as references in a user defined (define your
own) subset, here marked as Favourites. An
experienced developer would then try out new
combinations and improvements and benchmark these
against the existing ones. In this case study, we will
follow this route and test structural configurations with
only a few common material components, using the
Synthesizer tool to guide our development.

In order to judge performance and have an

overview, it is useful to plot the custom
subset generated by the materials involved
in the reference decks above. Using an
Index line of slope 3, corresponding to the
exponent 1/3 of the index expressions, it
can be seen that bamboo is the best
performing material, even outperforming
carbon-fiber reinforced epoxy (CFRP)
composites and so does maple
(longitudinal). Glass-fiber reinforced epoxy
(GFRP) ranks the lowest in this
comparison.

CES EduPack - Case Studies 4 © Granta Design, October 2016

What would the effect of laminating the maple, or sandwiching these between composite layers? This can be
investigated using the synthesizer tool, available in the Sustainability database of CES EduPack.

Both questions above can be answered using the multi-layer model in the Synthesizer tool.
Alternating longitudinal and transverse 2 mm maple layers in the 5-layer model and a 7-layer
model with the same structure sandwiched between 0.42 mm layers of unidirectional (UD)
prepreg GFRP and CFRP, respectively, were created. The results are shown below.

Neither lamination nor sandwiching

maple multilayers between FRP
face sheets improves the Material
index much compared to bamboo.
To improve on the performance of
the bamboo skateboard deck, it is
necessary to increase the bending
stiffness and/or reduce the density.
Any proposed structures can then
be tested using the Synthesizer tool
before building prototypes. This can
be done (see below) in combination
with improving damping properties.

4. Damping

If we look at the second objective, Damping (mechanical loss)

associated with vibrational
Mechanical loss coefficient (tan delta)

0.1 Flax Cotton Hemp

Bamboo (longitudinal)
damping in the longboard, we can
Maple (acer saccharum) (l)
see that some natural fibers are 10e-3 Jute

quite superior to CFRP or GFRP

when it comes to the mechanical
1e-3
loss coefficient. Hemp or flax are
Glass, E grade (0.4-12 micron monofilament, f)
readily available fibers that can be
used as reinforcements in 100e-6

composites and will then help to

reduce vibrations in the deck. The 10e-6

outcome is the same, plotting the

full second objective, M2. Carbon fibers, high strength (5 micron, f)

A commercial product based on this idea is marketed by Lineo

[3]. If the natural fibers are sandwiched between CFRP layers
both on the top and under the bottom of the skateboard deck,
they can potentially contribute to both increased flexural
modulus and damping. The reason for choosing flax fibers is
that it has excellent damping performance as well as good
mechanical properties, as can be seen below. Fractions of up to
50% flax in an epoxy resin is offered by this supplyer:
FlaxTapeTM and FlaxPregTM [3].

CES EduPack - Case Studies 5 © Granta Design, October 2016

 The tensile strength and
stiffness for some common
fibers are shown below. For
stiffness, natural fibers are
competitive with glass fiber,
but not with carbon fiber. flax
is, potentially, better than
hemp both for stiffness and
strength. The synthesizer can
be used to estimate properties
for Simple bounds composites
based on Unidirectional flax
fibers in a matrix of epoxy.

The Simple bounds Unidirectional model in

the Synthesizer tool was used to generate
two records with 40-50% flax in an epoxy
matrix. These can be seen in the chart in the
next section. We used the synthesized
composite record for 50% (highest Ef and
commercially available) in a new 7-layer
model. To reduce the density, a rigid PET
foam was used as the core material. The
details are shown in the Notes, to the right,
that comes with the output of the data record.
For teaching purposes, it is important to
discuss limitations of the models, hence the
warning. All assumptions and equations can
be found via the HELP button > Tools.

5. Result and Reality Check

CES EduPack - Case Studies 6 © Granta Design, October 2016

The resulting chart shows that the proposed 7-layer structure, with PET foam as the core material and the
composite sandwiches as face sheets, provides a significant increase in performance. Further simulations,
FE-calculations etc. are necessary but, the investigation using the synthesizer tool has provided guidance
and can therefore reduce time, cost and effort in the development.

This case study has also shown how an engineer can use the data and charts of CES EduPack to make
informed decisions about how to improve the design of a longboard deck. It serves as a realistic example for
students, since it was used by an institute in Denmark, FORCE, to use composites to enhance performance.
Prototypes of a very similar CFRP/flax combination as face materials around a rigid PET foam were
manufactured and tested by FORCE Technology and is being considered for commercial development.
Some test data is included, below (Pictures supplied by Benjamin Hornblow, FORCE Technologies)

Deflection, 3-point
Longboard Thickness [mm] Weight [g]
bending [mm]
Reference 9.8 1685 14
Carbon/flax 11 1180 15
sandwich panel
Difference 505 (30% weight reduction)

The manufacturing process of a CFRP/flax composite longboard with a PET foam core, by FORCE
Technology is shown below. PET foam in the form, followed by curing at the top and a cross section of the
final prototype and the user testing at the bottom.

CES EduPack - Case Studies 7 © Granta Design, October 2016

 6. What does CES EduPack bring to the understanding?

CES EduPack produces quantitative and highly visual results interactively which, combined with the
materials expertise of an educator, can help to teach the design process and how to make good materials
decisions.

CES EduPack helps suggest the following conclusions:

• The software supplies the performance index, in this case for a

stiffness-limited panel in bending, which enables an overview of the
properties for existing materials. This provides a good starting point
for the product development and a clear direction for improvements.
• The available maple or bamboo longboard decks are difficult to
improve. Lamination or sandwiching with thin layers of fiber-reinforced
composites does not improve performance.
• An idea from a commercially available epoxy/flax composite could be
explored by first generating a simple bounds composite record and
then using this in a 7-layer model in the Synthesizer tool with a PET
foam core instead of wood. This results in significantly improved
performance.
• CES EduPack was able to replicate a development path taken by
FORCE Technology in Denmark to develop and manufacture a
prototype longboard in their labs. Testing shows that a sandwich
solution with epoxy/flax composite faces and PET foam core gives
30% lightweighting with an improved skateboarding experience.

7. References

1. Benjamin Hornblow, Composites Specialist, FORCE Technology, www.forcetechnology.com

2. The methodology can be found, for example, in Ashby, M.F. (2005) “Materials Selection in Mechanical
Design”, 3nd edition, Butterworth Heinemann, Oxford, UK. ISBN 0-7506-6168-2.

3. For homepage and product description, see: www.lineo.eu

CES EduPack - Case Studies 8 © Granta Design, October 2016