CarBEN EV5 Full Sized Prototype Construction - 5 Seat Electric Car From Scratch

[freebeard]

If peel ply works the way I think it must (never used it); a flexible metal or rubber blade held at a low angle should get a good result. As compared to a paint brush or something.

[nbleak21]

Originally Posted by freebeard

If peel ply works the way I think it must (never used it); a flexible metal or rubber blade held at a low angle should get a good result. As compared to a paint brush or something.

Correct, though in the initial wetting, using a paint brush to "dab out" the bubbles in the fibre glass as you would in the more traditional method of glassing will help considerably with prep of the peel ply. Otherwise any small bubbles when pushed out with the bondo blade will further deform the uniformity of the fibre glass.

[freebeard]

Can't you use a needle point to poke a hole in the peel ply that will let the air out without oozing resin?

[NeilBlanchard]

I've glued up the main hatch door - I had to re-cut the last seven 1" layers because I had glued them together before the rest of the door, and they were at the wrong angle. Plus the small fin was way too thin; and they had already broken. Pictures soon; as I continue the shaping process.

Something I learned is that the large hatch opening should have some spreader bars cut as part of the section - say every 8 or 12 inches, so the sides remain aligned and the sides are held in place during shaping, etc. I'll draft those in and redo the g-code files at some point over the winter.

[NeilBlanchard]

Two days of rough shaping, and the left side is well along (though not quite up to where the right side is) and the underside has a first pass, as well.



The hatch door in just sitting over the opening - I'm going to need to make a wooden template for half the opening to smooth and rout the lip onto it; and then flip it over to do the other side as symmetrically as possible.

[sheepdog 44]

I love the fairing you made around the wheels! I've got to get me some foam and start building some custom body work.

[NeilBlanchard]

I've been smoothing the hatch door and the hatch opening:





The shaping at the hinge end is going to be tricky. I want to have compact hinges that are near the outer surface. I need a good rain gutter for when the door is open, and I'd like to have two latches along each side and one latch at the center back of the hatch, where it overlays the two rear doors. The rib will have a notch in it to fully capture the rear doors, which will overlap each other at a slight angle.

Edit: the latches I am thinking of doing are short posts with heads on the door parallel with the ground and in the opening there would be round cams that capture the head and pull it tight. The latches can be cable activated in series as it were. Although having said that, the first iteration have just be large quarter turn fasteners or wing nuts - something to secure the door and lock it into the opening so that it strengthens the structure. Two hinges and five latches mean lots of triangles are formed.

[pRoy]

So amazing on so many levels!

[HyperMileQC]

Incredible work! Nice to see the quick progress

[freebeard]

Bear-claw latches?