high school engineering project

[fawldown]

hey guys, I have to find a problem, research a solution, and fix it for my senior project in engineering. so far all I have is a basic idea to make some sort of a shifter cart using electric motors and batteries. also i will be making a charging station for the cart using solar panels... as far parts i have a list of standard go-cart parts from northern tool and a 1hp electric motor that runs on 24v at 41amps. I will be making a frame myself out of angle stock and maybe some aircraft aluminum... but what i need help with is...

1) power source ie. size, type, wiring.
2) wheels, what type and size to use, and where to buy them
3) a basic frame design
4) gearing

any tips would be greatly appreciated.. i have a full shop to use and know how to use everything quite well I just don't have much experience with carts.

 

[brendonv]

ok, a shifter kart isnt a shifter kart if it doesnt have gears hence the name. U probs want about 10 or 12 inch tyres. U can by kart tyres but they cost a fortune. If u do use em u can get second hand ones off ebay sometimes. U can use trolley type wheels providing u dont go over 30mph. Since u hav a 1hp motor im guessing these will do. I would suggest making it from steel, alu is to soft. Gearing u probs want about 5:1 or 6:1.

 

[Fawteen]

Power source would likely be a couple of big, deep cycle 12v batteries wired in series to provide 24v.

Wire size: The bigger the better. 0 or 00 welding cable would be best. Look at this thread: http://www.diygokarts.com/vb/showthread.php?t=5007 for hints on switches, solenoids and power control.

I'm working on my first kart frame now so don't have a lot of experience with that aspect, but check this thread: http://www.diygokarts.com/vb/showthread.php?t=5006 for some pointers. Probably the first thing is to figure out wheels/tires/axles as those dimensions will largely determine the frame dimensions.

 

[Qmavam]

hey guys, I have to find a problem, research a solution, and fix it for my senior project in engineering. so far all I have is a basic idea to make some sort of a shifter cart using electric motors and batteries. also i will be making a charging station for the cart using solar panels... as far parts i have a list of standard go-cart parts from northern tool and a 1hp electric motor that runs on 24v at 41amps. I will be making a frame myself out of angle stock and maybe some aircraft aluminum... but what i need help with is...

1) power source ie. size, type, wiring.

So are you going to use the 24v 41amp 1hp motor?
If yes, what is the rpm?

2) wheels, what type and size to use, and where to buy them

Need motor rpm and max speed desired. Max speed is limited by motor hp and weight of cart. I'd go for 20 mph and then if you think it has plenty of torque you can change the sprocket ratio to increase the speed.

3) a basic frame design

That's up to you, I still don't know what your building, is it a gokart, yard cart, a cart to carry your shifter :-0.

4) gearing

Depends on max motor rpm and tire diameter.
To calculate; a 12 in tire has about a 38 in circumference.
Desired Max speed 20 mph = .333 miles/minute = 1760 ft/min
= 21120 in/min.
Using 38 in circumference and 21120 in/min;
21120/38 = 556 rpm, that means to travel at 20 mph the tire must rotate at 556 rpms.
I don't know the rpm of your motor so I'll use 3000 rpm as an example.
3000rpm divided by 556 rpm = 5.4 so you would need a sprocket ratio of 5.4 to 1.
Something like 11 teeth on your motor and 60 teeth on your axle.
Regarding wire size, I think a #2 wire is plenty big and I would put a 100 amp fuse as close to the battery as possible, for safety.
Tell me what you don't understand and I'll try to help.
Mike

 

[Qmavam]

Hey fawldown,
Here's a video I made of my gokart. You might get a few
answer just by watching.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MKjbXltAew
Mike

 

[Qmavam]

Hey Fawldown,
Get up, give us some feedback to let us know what your doing.
And questions you have.
Mike

 

[fawldown]

hey guys,
i ordered my parts from northern today.
i bought 2 axles, brakes, spindels, and sprocket.
it will take about 2 weeks to get everything.
this week i am working on making a mock-up on autodesk inventor and when the parts get in ill start working on the frame

 

[freakboy]

inventor is a nice program we just got 2010 in my shop