Suspension: Drivetrain Incorporation

Monday night, and we keep rolling through the week.  The eGear Transmission unit is a bit too wide to fit cleanly through the top of the original Miata subframe, so Ryan and Jarrod worked on cutting it up to provide the necessary clearance.

We needed to remove about an inch from the interior support members on each side.  Ryan is quickly becoming proficient in using the angle grinder.

Big thanks to Dlab, giving us some space to work with all of the necessary safety protection.

The motor and transmission are now bolted together.  The transmission fits down the middle, with the motor temporarily supported on the top surface of the subframe.  We are still considering how to clean up the subframe and how the final structure will look.  For now, it just has the exposed open tube.

Of course we can never leave well enough alone, and Jack, Nate, and Jarrod ended up having a motor+transmission deadlifting contest.  No need for an engine hoist!

Suspension: Miata Modification

First Saturday work day of IAP for the MechE team!  Plenty of new work to do now that we have the new parts.  We're hoping that the Miata suspension geometry provides an adaptable platform and valuable reference for developing our independent Opel suspension.

Colonel CAD Alberto was at it immediately, focusing on generating Solidworks models for the Miata subframe structure, and then the control arms and knuckle.

Alex and Z went to town on battery duty, starting to work with the subframe structure team to design the battery support structure in the rear of the car.  We hope to be integrating the battery mounting CAD into the rear subframe models soon.  

Ryan and Olivia are working on mounting the Miata/Suspension+Motor+Transmission subframe into the Opel frame.  Testing is taking place on the old rear half of the white Opel that we still have in the back room.  

It is still unclear if we will need to cut away the wheelwell/frame in any places in order to allow clearance for the upper control arm in the new independent suspension layout.  The previous design with the straight axle had no problems, but Ryan and Olivia cleared out some space with the angle grinder so that we could take the necessary measurements.

The goal is to get rid of the white Opel shell in the very near future.  The solidworks models are coming together, and we hope to have an integrated subframe prototype sometime next week.

MechE Junkyard trip! New Suspension Strategy

After some thought and research, we're going to design our suspension and drivetrain system around the miata rear wheel drive subframe assembly.  The size and shape made it a good option for incorporating into the Opel, so we decided we would just hunt down an old rear assembly for reference to get us started.

Friday night we had an informal meeting with some new members to talk suspension over dinner.  We talked through some general suspension info and theory, and the plans moving forward.  

With the new plans, we wanted to get the necessary parts in time for the Saturday work day meeting, so we were up at sunrise and took the truck out hunting.  GAW Used Auto Parts in Walpole turned out to be a gold mine, with acres of cars to dig through.

There was a huge section of classic cars, and we even managed to find a couple of Opels!

There were a couple miatas to choose from, and we managed to unearth a rear suspension subframe.  Everything except the set of lower control arms.  It was in slightly rough shape, but definitely fine for modeling the geometry and fitting it to the Opel.

Nothing but fun dragging it back across the lot through the mud!

It was still early in the morning, and we made it back with plenty of time before the EVT meeting.  Time to tear it down and clean it up!

New Motorcycle Plans

Following the long-awaited return of former EVT legend, Lennon Rodgers, the team has a revived interest in the electric motorcycle scene!  Lennon led the team’s efforts at the Isle of Man TTZero race back in 2011, where EVT’s converted BMW bike received the best time out of all the first year teams.

As an additional project to go along with the Opel conversion, the team has started working on a motorcycle that will compete in the Pikes Peak hill climb event.  The Pikes Peak event will have significantly less demanding energy requirements than the Isle of Man race, making it a good initial goal for getting started with electric motorcycles again.  The winning electric bike actually outperformed the gas powered bikes at last year’s race:

The project has been headed by Jimmy (sophomore) as the Motorcycle Team Lead, along with Lennon’s mentorship.  Lennon, Jimmy, and the motorcycle team has decided that modifying a commercially-available Zero bike would be the most feasible option for getting started with the motorcycles again.  A list of potential modifications for modifying the bike focused on the improved cooling and thermal considerations, better aerodynamics, and improved controls.  Alterations to the suspension and upgrading the wheels were also under consideration.   

There were a few delays before finally bringing in a bike, but Lennon was able to help us acquire the new 2016 model Zero FXS.  Earlier work throughout the semester focused on developing Matlab simulations and modeling for the race in order to confirm that this would indeed be the best platform for modification.

While we still haven’t decided whether or not we will be preparing this bike in time for the upcoming 200^th Anniversary race this June, we can finally get to work now that we have the bike in the shop in time for IAP! 

Zero FXS in the Milkdrop!

Gloucester Clean Energy Fair 2015, Porsche Appearance!

The 1976 Porsche 914EV recently made an appearance at Gloucester's TownGreen2025 Clean Energy Fair! Read more about the event here.

A handful of team members made the trek out to the event, where we got to display our Porsche as well as the electric ATV alongside the new BMW electric i3!

The Porsche was featured prominently right at the entrance to the Gloucester High School.  As people from the community entered the building to see both exhibits of research projects and vendors for green businesses at the event, we were able to tell them about the Porsche, our current Opel conversion project, and the work we do as a team.

We also had a great opportunity to check out the new BMW models!

The day's events made for an awesome team bonding experience, and it was great to see how well-received our vehicles were at the event.  The newer team members had a chance to learn a lot of info about the Porsche project as well.  We taught them the controls and made time for some driving lessons through the parking lot as we were clearing out!

Update - 10/10/15

Week five of the new EVT semester!

On the MechE side, the Suspension Subteam continues to work at redesigning the Opel's suspension. 

Suspension Design 101 with Jimmy Handy 

The team is reworking the subframe holding the suspension and powertrain components:

"The old design for the subframe used non-right angles to make it smaller, however, especially in the prototyping phase, mitered angles are more difficult to cut than straight across." - Jacob Fisher

Powertrain subframe assembly

The EE subteams are also making headway on their projects.

Several new EE's have finished schematic capture for the CAN dev board and are currently finalizing PCB layout.

Others are working on a wheel velocity sensor that will transmit to subscribing modules on the CAN bus.

Stay tuned for more updates! 

Update - 10/03/15

Lot's of progress being made by the Opel sub teams! 

Here are some of the things members did this week:

• Installed and began learning KiCad
• Began schematic capture for CAN dev board 
• Characterized hub motors for voltage, frequency parameters
• Took measurements of stepper motor dimensions for PCB footprints 
• Installed and began learning SolidWorks
• Began mockup of front compartment and cooling system
• Set up firmware and hardware templates for electrical subsystems
• Learned about CAN communications
• Got two LPC uControllers talking to each other over CAN bus