How much rigorous engineering design is applied to board design at major companies (Bustin, Arbor, Secotr 9, etc)?
Or is it mostly just a dude with a jigsaw, plywood and a "feel" for what he wants?
Posted May 18, 2011, 2:40 PM UTC
There's definitely a process. I would send an email to one of those companies and ask about what they do when they design a board, since it's bound to change from company to company.
If I were to build my own deck, I'd build a few loose prototypes based off a board I already like and optimize each for something (length, weight, flex, ect.) before deciding what characteristics to keep and get rid of...that's probably just cause I'm an engineering major though.
There is a process...but it wouldnt be called engineering
Edit: There may be some that engineer...But it seems to me that it is more like tinkering than engineering
That was my thought. I feel that some engineering could do the industry well. The first cars were tinkered together. Then they got all engineering on them and now look what they have been able to do.
I'd say alot of engineering goes into the design. I buy back broken boards from customers so i can see how they broke and design tougher boards.
there are a certain number of popular "Shapes" and they're popular because they're strong. Ever see a really blocky cut on a board? no, because angles focus energy, board designers use curves because they dissipate energy.
that's my design philosophy anyway.
Here's a board being cut, routed and mounting holes drilled w/ a CNC machine. Far cry from just a dude and a jigsaw. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IhCCDleBnU
I would hesitate to use the word engineering, but they definitely do have production standards, and their decks will be close to identical. The only company I've observed with noticeable variances in their decks is BC. But they seem to think it's a good thing...
I think it's absolutely engineering man....sure the makers might not have engineering degrees or be engineers but they for sure do the same stuff...I am sure every deck goes through months of processing from testing to proto-typing...