Cell Holders: E-Bike Blog #8
- Tim Ellsworth
- Jun 16, 2017
- 2 min read
Gaps in the project
I realized that I missed a number of posts that covered the details of the battery build and the component specifications. I will try to go back and fill in the gaps of the project. The first item that I do not think I talked about was my choice of cell holders.
3D Printed
I decided to 3D print my cell holders. This was mainly because I had a 3D printer and I thought that it would be easy. Once I was well into the task of printing the cell holders I realized that it was not the best choice for my battery (although a good first 3D printing project). The time that it took to print each holder (20 minutes), clean it up after printing so that it would connect with the other holders and finally connect it was exhausting. Also the end result was difficult to fit all of the cells in together at the same time. I do like the white plastic look though. The stl file that I used I downloaded from this location on Thingiverse. If they are printed well they are not to bad for small projects. Below is a picture of how mine turned out.
Reflection
At the same time I was 3D printing all of my holders I bought off-the-shelf black holders from Amazon. I found them to be far superior to my 3D printed holders. At that point it was too late though. I didn't want to scrap my holders and the black holder dovetails which lock the holders together did not match the cell holder design that I found on Thingiverse. Altogether I had second thoughts about this type of holder design whether 3D printed or off-the-shelf. The entire concept of having to weld the cells together with nickel strips, which is what the black holders are specifically designed for, is a tedious process. If I was going to do this project over again I would fit a kit that had bolt together pre-made holders or at least 3D print a holder that utilizes spring connections instead of welding and is designed to be bolted together from either side to form a case.