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

[Cd]

You are certainly right about the air ( from the blowers ) being a mess - even in areas that we know have perfect flow, such as the hood and windshield of the car, the tufts have turbulence.

Maybe you test a small section of the model using various lengths and thicknesses of string - perhaps even thread to see which tufts react correctly ( if at all )

[NeilBlanchard]

Once the full size prototype is built and on the road, I can do real tuft testing.

I've finished making all the g-code files by the way. I'm almost out of foam sheets -- I need another 18 or so to finish all the cutting, too!

I'm doing more architectural work for pay this week, so I hope that the weather stays warm enough to keep gluing long enough to get the main chassis together.

Edit: I did manage to glue 6" onto the main chassis today. My brother's Tacoma is in the body shop getting it's frame repainted, so I'll have to wait until the weekend to buy the framing for the shelter, so I can then work in the rain.

[98BeetleTDI]

That is great work. It is people like you that inspire me even more to try to work on my project. Unfortunately, I do not have any skills in fabrication so I have to wait. But yeah, keep up the good work.

[Sven7]

Looking good.

[NeilBlanchard]

Today was a glorious day -- sunny and in the low to mid 70's; and better yet I had finished my drafting work and was able to glue 10" onto the chassis. The main piece is now a bit over 7 feet long, and with the 2 foot long nose piece -- it is now about 2/3 glued up!

Here's pictures -- it is sitting on its nose:



The side battery bays are complete, and the first 4" of the rear suspension bays have begun; as are the rear wheel strakes. You can see the chines on the sides more easily, as well. The 'C' pillar is mostly in place, and the main hatch opening is tapering narrower.

My 6' step ladders are not going to be useful much longer... I've got a 7' and two 8' and I can borrow my brother's 9 footer.

[TheEnemy]

A thought that might make it easier to assemble, continue the rest next to it then glue the last section on all at once. Or do you think that would cause some alignment issues.

It is looking pretty good.

[eco_generator]

Awesome work, I am impressed!

[NeilBlanchard]

The problem with building up large pieces is they are too big to fit on my table, and they tend to be warped. I really struggled to glue two large pieces together earlier on, because one had about a 3/4" warp. That convinced me that I have to glue them up one layer at a time.

The main piece will be about 12 feet tall when it is all together. The 2 foot nose piece is flat and I need to keep access to the motor bay for doing things like the front suspension, anyway.

[Flakbadger]

This is mind-blowingly awesome. My hat is off to you. I find the prospect of crafting nice fiberglass rear-wheel-well covers to be daunting and intimidating. This is 20 levels above that at least. You rock dude, keep it up.

[euromodder]

It's cool to see it being built up