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The Portable Skateboard Rack

William Leach, Matt DeVogelaere, Franklin Ly Writing 50E

March 12, 2014

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Table  of  Contents  Introduction  ..............................................................................................................................................  4  

History of the Skateboard Rack  ...........................................................................................................  4  

Product Description  ................................................................................................................................  5  

Proposed Engineering Redesign  ........................................................................................................  6  

The Hanger  ............................................................................................................................................  6  

Technical Design of Hanger  ...........................................................................................................  6  

Material  ..............................................................................................................................................  7  

The Bar  ...................................................................................................................................................  7  

The Hook  ................................................................................................................................................  8  

Procedures  .............................................................................................................................................  9  

Product usability  .....................................................................................................................................  9  

Sales and Distribution  ..........................................................................................................................  11  

Cautions  ..................................................................................................................................................  11  

Conclusion  ..............................................................................................................................................  12  

 

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Executive Summary This proposal describes and outlines the design and construction of our portable skateboard rack (PSR). Skateboards take up space in UC Santa Barbara dorm rooms

Skateboarding is a new mode of transportation that has become popular, especially at UC Santa Barbara. However, the large number of skateboarders leads to problems in the dorm rooms, which are:

1. Skateboards take up floor space 2. Skateboards leaned against the wall will fall 3. Skateboard wheels dirty anything they touch

The bottom line is that skateboards do not have a proper storage place in such small rooms. Most students do not anticipate the three problems listed above because it is easier to store skateboards at home, where there is more space than in the cramped dorm rooms. However, this is not the students’ fault because there was no obvious solution to the problem—until now. Although many current types of racks are effective and useful, they are not ideal for UC Santa Barbara dorm rooms because they are either bulky or permanent. We designed a rack to maximize space

Since space is limited in the dorm rooms, we designed a rack based on good qualities of current models to fit the needs of UC Santa Barbara skateboarders. The PSR is a lightweight, portable, and cost-efficient model that can be set up on almost any door to maximize dorm room space by keeping skateboards out of the way. After reading Donald Norman’s popular book, The Design of Everyday Things, we developed a product based on Norman’s “Iterative Cycle of the Human-Centered Design”, shown in Figure 7 on page 9 [1]. The PSR has a very specific, but simple, design. There are two separate pieces that can slide along the door to adjust for the width of any skateboard. Both components have hooks made of rubber that hold the trucks of the skateboard, and an adjustable attachment on the inside of the hanger secures the components to the door. See Figure 9 on page 12 for a detailed image of the PSR. UC Santa Barbara skateboarders can improve dorm life for a small cost

The PSR has a simple design, and is manufactured from rubber and mild steel. Rubber and mild steel are both reliable and inexpensive, and the simple design keeps the cost of production low [2] [3]. Sk8 Factory, a privately owned business that makes custom skateboards and is based in Santa Ana, will manufacture the PSR because we will initially market our product just to UC Santa Barbara skaters. We will sell the portable skateboard rack in the University Center and the Movement Boardshop in Isla Vista for 15 dollars. After researching materials and testing a few designs for convenience in the dorm rooms, we now have the PSR, which is perfect for any skateboarder living in the UC Santa Barbara dorms.

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Introduction People have been riding skateboards for decades because it is an efficient mode of transportation, especially between classes on a college campus. One major downside of skateboards is that they do not have a proper place in the dorms; they end up in the way or on the floor in rooms that are already cramped. We noticed that skateboards are often difficult to store, so we developed a solution—a portable skateboard rack. There are currently numerous types of skateboard racks but they are either bulky or permanent, neither of which are desirable in a dorm room. After conducting some research and determining the pros and cons of current skateboard racks, we designed a simple, portable skateboard rack that can conveniently store skateboards on any door in the dorms. Donald Norman mentions the “Iterative Cycle of the Human Centered Design” (see Figure 7 on page 9) in his book The Design of Everyday Things, and we designed a prototype of our product based on this cycle. In this proposal, we provide a history of similar products, a detailed description of our product and design choices, and a sales plan. We present to you the PSR—a cost-efficient, convenient, and usable product that will improve college dorm life for UC Santa Barbara skateboarders. History of the Skateboard Rack The first skateboards came out in the 1940s, when surfers wanted a way to practice their sport on land [4]. The first skateboard designs were crude; the average skateboard consisted of a wooden box attached to roller blade wheels.

Figure 1: Skateboard from the 1960s [5]

In 1973, the first skateboard trucks were invented [6]. Trucks are to a skateboard what axles are to a car—they connect the wheels to the body. Trucks were invented by Ronald Bennett and the first models were all 2” or less in width that did not allow for much maneuverability [7]. In 1974, Dave Dominy and Larry Balma released 4.25” wide trucks that became extremely popular

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among skaters because they allowed for more control during turns, and are used on most skateboards today [4]. The skateboard trucks’ components were standardized during the 1980s and not much has changed since then. Trucks  today range from 2” to 10” wide [8].

Figure 2: Common Modern Skateboard Truck [9] We designed our skateboard rack to accommodate for skateboards with trucks of any width because there is such a large range. Skateboard racks were invented simply to make space for skateboards. Some of the first racks were just simple stands with pegs to hold the boards, or hooks drilled into a wall [4]. Today there are many skateboard rack designs, from hooks mounted on garage doors to racks that can hold dozens of boards at once. Although skateboard racks have changed and improved over time, almost all racks are still designed to be stationary. The first skateboard racks were designed for skateboarders to store their boards in one place, and even today most skateboard racks are not portable. These designs are great for skateboarders that have a lot of free space and want a designated spot to permanently store their board. However, permanent racks are not ideal for dorm rooms where you cannot make permanent alterations to the room, and where space is limited. The PSR is a hybrid design of popular skateboard racks today; it combines the pros of many designs and can be moved around with ease. Product Description The PSR is a redesign of modern skateboard racks, and is a better fit for a dorm room than any current rack, because it:

1. Is portable (very convenient in dorm rooms) 2. Holds the skateboard close against the wall to maximize free space 3. Hooks onto doors

The redesign we came up with is geared toward UC Santa Barbara student skateboarders that have limited space. The PSR does not only keep skateboards off the floor, it stores them on the inside of a closet door to maximize space in the rest of the dorm room. Even though the PSR is

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designed to hang on the top of closet doors, it can accommodate any door with a width of two inches or less because of the angled attachment, highlighted in blue on Figure 4 on page 7.

Figure 3: Isometric View of PSR [10] The body of the rack is made out of a thin flat piece of mild steel, attached to a rubber hook at the bottom to hold the trucks of a skateboard. The hooks protrude about two inches from the door, so the board will not touch any clothes hanging in the closet. Also, since the hooks do not extend very far, students can store the PSR in a variety of places that are still convenient, such as the outside of closet doors or on the door that leads into the room. The clever, compact design of the PSR allows students to store their skateboards in the most convenient way to maximize space in their dorm room. Proposed Engineering Redesign Our redesign of current skateboard racks maintains the idea of portability and reliability. The rack is designed to hang on almost any door, but skateboarders should store it in the most convenient location. The design for the PSR consists of two identical pieces that have three sections: the hanger, the bar, and the hook.

The Hanger The hanger is the first section of the skateboard rack that will be placed on the top of doors. When we planned the hanger, we had to take into consideration its technical design and the best material.

Technical Design of Hanger

The hanger is designed to fit on almost any door. When the hanger is flattened out it measures 5” x 1.5” and is 1/8” thick. It is bent 90 degrees twice at the top to create a hook that rests on the top of doors. The two bends are 2 inches apart so the rack can hook onto any door with a width of 2

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inches or less [11]. On the backside of the hanger—the opposite side of the skateboard—there is an attachment on the inside that is perpendicular to the ground. The attachment is welded to the hanger, angled, and adjustable. The dimension of the attachment is 2” x 1.5” and is 1/16” thick so that it can be compressed or return to its original position. On a thick door, the attachment will fold inward and make a smaller angle with the hanger. On thinner doors, the attachment will extend out and create a larger angle with the rectangular piece of the hanger [12]. This design is similar to existing closet hangers for shoes. The purpose is to keep the system stable. Refer to Figure 5 (page 12) for a visual with detailed dimensions.

Figure 4: Highlighted Hanger [10]

Material

The hanger is made out of mild steel because this material has more than enough strength to support a skateboard and is relatively cheap compared to other metals like brass and aluminum [13]. We interviewed John, the machine shop advisor at UC Santa Barbara, and asked him for his opinion on what he thought would be the most cost-efficient materials for our product. According to him, “… mild steel would be the best choice because you can form it, and it is simple to weld. Aluminum is lightweight but hard to weld, and brass is expensive. Mild steel is stronger than aluminum, and cheaper than brass” [14]. These facts were consistent with our research on prices of material, so we chose to make the hanger of mild steel [2] [16].

The Bar

The bar is the section that connects the hanger to the hook. The bar is also made of mild steel and makes a 120-degree angle with the front side of the hanger. The bar measures 3 ½” x 1”, and is 1/8” thick. This makes the distance between the door and the end of the bar (3.03”) longer than

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the diameter of large long board wheels (2.95”) so they do not touch the door and get it dirty [12].

Figure 5: Highlighted Bar [10]

The Hook

The hook is the third section of the skateboard rack; it is the portion that holds the trucks of a skateboard. The hook is made of rubber so that it does not scratch the metal trucks on the skateboard it holds. The hook is cylindrical, extends out 2”, and has a diameter of 3/4”. At the 2” mark, there is a semi-circle with a radius of 2”. A 3/8” screw attaches the hook to the underside of the protruding bar.

Figure 6: Highlighted Hook [10]

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Procedures

The process for setting up the PSR is simple: 1. Position the PSR so that the hangers lie on top of the door. 2. Adjust the distance between the two hooks to accommodate for the width of the

specific skateboard trucks. 3. Check the attachment on both hangers to ensure that the rack is stable. 4. Hang the skateboard on the hooks with the wheels facing the door.

Product Usability It is important that technology is as simple and convenient as possible to limit frustration and increase usability. When we were designing the PSR, we incorporated the concepts of a human-centered design (HCD) and signifiers of affordances mentioned in Donald Norman’s book, The Design of Everyday Things. When we decided to make a portable skateboard rack, our main goal was to create a product that is relevant, cost-efficient, and usable. We noticed that skateboards take up a lot of space in the UC Santa Barbara dorm rooms, so we decided to design a convenient, portable skateboard rack using the human-centered design. Norman defines the human-centered design as, “an approach that puts human needs, capabilities, and behaviors first, then designs to accommodate those needs, capabilities, and ways of behaving” [1]. We chose to follow Norman’s “Iterative Cycle of the Human-Centered Design” shown below to effectively create a product that is ultimately designed to fit the needs of UC Santa Barbara skateboarders [1].

Figure 7: The Iterative Cycle of the Human-Centered Design [1]

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We began with the observation that many students at UC Santa Barbara have skateboards, and then generated an idea for a portable rack to keep skateboards out of the way in the cramped dorm rooms. We immediately made a rough prototype so that we had something tangible to critique and find areas for design improvement. By testing this design and doing further research on cost-effective materials and current designs, we came up with our final design shown in detail in Figure 9 on page 12.

Figure 8: PSR Prototype [15]

Our product is geared to benefit UC Santa Barbara skateboarders, so we designed it to fit the needs and habits of this target audience. The skateboard rack is not complicated to assemble or use, and we made it function “as we wish”, rather than “the way the product wishes” by making it portable to increase versatility [1]. We designed the PSR to be as simple and convenient as possible for the users. Once we had the rough design, we began to focus on signifiers of the affordances our product has to ensure that it is clear and usable. Norman defines affordances as physical properties of an object that “make the desired actions [of the product] possible” and signifiers act as indicators that “ensure discoverability” of these affordances [1]. It is important to have clear signifiers of how a product should be used, because this minimizes confusion and frustration. Signifiers are also important with the human-centered design in mind because they are meant to benefit the user. The PSR is very simple, and this is due to some clear physical signifiers. First, the two hooks signify that the product affords hanging. The fact that the PSR has two parts that are identical yet separate signifies that they should hang next to each other and do not have a width constraint. The angled attachment where the PSR attaches to the top of the door signifies that the rack has an affordance for fitting on a door with a width of two inches or less, because it bends in

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for thick doors but returns to its original position to fit on thinner doors while the rack remains stable. Our goal was to design a simple, usable tool that will improve the lives of UC Santa Barbara skateboarders in an affordable way. To do this, we used Norman’s cycle for the human-centered design to help us create a simple product made of inexpensive, reliable materials that has clear signifiers and maximizes dorm room space. Sales and Distribution UC Santa Barbara skateboarders are the primary audience for the PSR. Based on this audience, we will sell our product at the University Center and the Movement Boardshop in Isla Vista. We know that price is a major factor for our target audience, so we focused on keeping the cost of manufacturing the PSR as low as possible. The price for the material of the PSR is about 6 dollars, 5 dollars for the mild steel and 1 dollar for the rubber [16] [3]. The total cost for our product is about 15 dollars. However, if the PSR becomes popular, purchasing large amounts of mild steel from China would more than halve the price of our product [2]. Any company that makes skateboards or skateboard trucks can manufacture our product. Since the PSR has such a simple design and is made with common materials, these companies can simply retool their machines to make it, which is much cheaper than building a factory just to manufacture our skateboard rack. We chose Sk8 Factory to initially manufacture the PSR because it is located in Santa Ana, which will keep the price of shipping low because it is the closest skateboard manufacturer to UC Santa Barbara [17]. Cautions Although our redesign is an ideal portable skateboard rack, skateboarders using the PSR should take some precautions.

1. Although the wheels of the skateboard do not rest against the door they hang on, they still may bump against it while opening or closing the door. To account for this, students should hang a piece of cardboard or a towel from the rack. This will create a barrier between the wheels and the door to prevent any damage the wheels may cause on the door.

2. The PSR has some small parts. We will put a warning label on the package of the product to warn students that they should keep the PSR away from small children.

3. Our redesign of the skateboard rack is strong in order to hold heavy skateboards, but we could not account for the variable strength of door hinges. Some door hinges are weak and cannot handle too much weight from extremely heavy objects. Almost all skateboards are less than 8 pounds [18] so this will rarely be a problem. This warning is

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to prevent skateboarders from hanging objects other than skateboards on the rack. The warning label will tell students to only hang skateboards that are less than 20 pounds on the rack.

Conclusion As a group, we identified a problem at UC Santa Barbara and created a product that solved this issue in a simple, effective way. The PSR keeps skateboards off the floor and out of the way in dorms where space is limited, and can help any student skateboarder save space. Guided by some principles that Norman describes in The Design of Everyday Things, we created a product that is necessary, usable, and has a clear purpose. After some research and prototype testing, we are prepared to market this product and contribute to enhancing the quality of UC Santa Barbara dorm life. When we designed the PSR, our priority was improving dorm life for UC Santa Barbara skateboarders instead of financial profit, so our rack comes at the best possible price. After months of research and planning, we have a final design for the PSR—an effective and cost-efficient tool that maximizes space in the dorm rooms.

Figure 9: PSR Dimensions [10]  

 

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Works Cited

[1] D. Norman, The Design of Everyday Things, New York: Basic Books, 2013.

[2] "Mild Steel Sheet," Alibaba, [Online]. Available: http://www.alibaba.com/showroom/price-mild-steel-sheet.html. [Accessed 10 March 2014].

[3] H. Tan, "The Wall Street Journal," 7 March 2014. [Online]. Available: http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2014/03/07/palm-oil-rubber-on-different-paths/. [Accessed 10 March 2014].

[4] S. Cave, "A Brief History of Skateboarding," [Online]. Available: http://skateboard.about.com/cs/boardscience/a/brief_history.htm. [Accessed 10 March 2014].

[5] "1960s Skateboard," [Online]. Available: http://www.skateboardingmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/il_fullxfull.218024186.jpg. [Accessed 10 March 2014].

[6] T. Owen, "Skateboarding Magazine," 27 March 2012. [Online]. Available: http://www.skateboardingmagazine.com/top-5-innovations-in-skateboarding-history/. [Accessed 10 March 2014].

[7] K. Gonzalez, "History of Skateboard Trucks from the 1950s to 2011: A Brief Overview," 20 June 2011. [Online]. Available: http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slug=ycn-8662365. [Accessed 10 March 2014].

[8] Mike, "Warehouse Skateboards," 23 November 2012. [Online]. Available: https://www.warehouseskateboards.com/blog/index.php/2011/11/23/what-size-skateboard-do-i-need/. [Accessed 10 March 2014].

[9] "Common Modern Skateboard Truck," [Online]. Available: http://media.daddiesboardshop.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/c/h/charger2_1.jpg. [Accessed 10 March 2014].

[10] F. Ly, Artist, The Portable Skateboard Rack. [Art]. University of California, Santa Barbara, 2014.

[11] J. Zhou, "Optimization of Hinge Configuration of Furniture Doors Using Finite Element Analysis," 2012. [Online]. Available: http://www.ncsu.edu/bioresources/BioRes_07/BioRes_07_4_5809_Zhou_HHYJ_Hinge_Co

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nfig_Doors_FiniteElement_3335.pdf. [Accessed 10 March 2014].

[12] "Choosing Your Cruising Wheels," Muirskate, [Online]. Available: http://www.muirskate.com/longboard-guide/cruising-carving/wheels. [Accessed 10 March 2014].

[13] B. Peirson, "Comparison of Specific Properties of Engineering Materials," 28 June 2005. [Online]. Available: http://claymore.engineer.gvsu.edu/~peirsonb/250_files/lab5_properties.pdf. [Accessed 10 March 2014].

[14] J. Clark, Interviewee, Metal Material. [Interview]. 3 March 2014.

[15] W. Leach, Artist, PSR Prototype. [Art]. University of California, Santa Barbara, 2014.

[16] Online Metals, [Online]. Available: http://www.onlinemetals.com/merchant.cfm?pid=9882&step=4&showunits=inches&id=839&top_cat=0. [Accessed 10 March 2014].

[17] "Sk8 Factory," [Online]. Available: http://www.sk8factory.com/about.html. [Accessed 10 March 2014].

[18] "Wikipedia," [Online]. Available: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_an_average_weight_for_a_complete_skateboard#slide=2. [Accessed 14 March 2014].