WIKISPEED build for Electric Motor Module

[thingstodo]

I assembled, at least partially, the motor to the transmission and found out that I need to have the clutch plate for the transmission. The coupler for the motor adapts the keyed shaft to a plate that has 6 holes equally spaced. The interface to the splines on the transmission is the clutch.

So I called the wrecker (again). After a few more questions about the model of the car, and I remembered that I should drive down to the wrecker and talk to the people who remove parts from the cars. So I need to wait until Monday the 13th to pick up the clutch plate. But it's $30 so it's not a BIG issue.

[thingstodo]

I got the clutch plate from the wrecker! Again, it took some time, but I got it. The splines fit nicely .. but it doesn't have holes where the holes are on the motor coupler? Do I need a drill press for this? How would I get the alignment perfect?

Oh well, I need a drill press to drill the holes in the Motor Module anyway. I've been looking for a drill press for a while now. There are not many for sale cheap!

And I got the aluminum ordered, but not the 1.25 inch 0.125 thickness architectural (more squared) tubing that the WIKISPEED designs use. It could not get here in time so I settled for the Structural tube, which has corners that are a bit more rounded. I'm bolting together the Motor Module frame instead of welding it so there should be no disadvantage to the Structural tube. I'll be picking up the aluminum on May 21 from Russell Metals in Saskatoon. I ordered one extra piece in case I am not perfect at cutting, or some cuts are not at 90 degrees

And I picked up grade 8 bolts to bolt together the aluminum frame, and aluminum nuts, and ordered Nordloc washers. The washers are EXPENSIVE (almost a dollar each) but they are supposed to be the best ... and it would suck to disassemble part of the car every couple of weeks to re-torque the bolts on the motor module frame ... the washers were an order item (even the bolt supply warehouse does not stock them!) so I will pick them up May 21. I won't have any aluminum to bolt together before then anyway.

[thingstodo]

I found a drill press for $60 and it included a set of drill bits. Not a premium model, but a tabletop model with 4 speeds and a decent table. I'll need to buy a vise for the drill press ... time to start looking!

[thingstodo]

Well, it appears that I am STILL missing a part for that darned transmission. Before I started to drill holes in the clutch plate, I looked through the CanEV instructions again. They mention that the motor coupler connects to a FLYWHEEL, NOT TO A CLUTCH! You'd think that after reading the instructions and looking at the web site a dozen times or so, I'd have picked up on that? Heck no! Someone that I talked to must have mentioned that the clutch plate fits onto the splined shaft ... but I should have purchased the FLYWHEEL that the instructions listed .. you'd think ..

So I need to order a flywheel for my 2002 honda civic transmission. I'll drive down to the wrecker on Tuesday (since Monday is a long weekend holiday). I'll take the transmission with me and make sure that everything fits together, and that I'm not missing YET ANOTHER PIECE.

[thingstodo]

Since I can't couple the motor to the transmission right now, let's see what ELSE I can do:

- put the axles into the transmission. Yep, I can do that. The left axle needed a bit of persuasion from a rubber mallet, but it's in now.

- set the transmission into the wooden mock-up of the Motor Module frame. Yes. I can do that. I set the wooden frame on the ground, put the transmission inside and adjusted the left/right position so that the Netgain Warp9 motor will fit beside it, still within the motor module frame. The transmission appears to be a bit to the right ... the right axles sticks out of the frame further than the left does. The WIKISPEED frame is 4 inches wider than the motor module, then the suspension module is bolted onto the frame. I think I understand why Joe suggested cutting the axles and then welding them together. The axles may be too wide for the WIKISPEED car?

- check the transmission gear ratios. Yes, I can do that. Not the way that I wanted to, with a tachometer .. but manually. I put some tape on the axles and on the input shaft of the transmission. I begin with the axles both having their tape on top, at the 12 o'clock position. The same is true for the transmission input drive shaft.

I turn the axles (or the output shafts) once and count the turns of the input shaft. I'm not perfect on the ratios - I round the ratios to the nearest quarter turn. These are my results:
First gear, which is Down and Front as facing the transmission 14.25:1
Second gear, which is Down and Back as facing the transmission 7.75:1
Third gear, which is Mid and Front 5.00:1
Fourth gear, which is Mid and Back 4.00:1
Fifth gear, which is Up and Front 3.00:1
Reverse, which is Up and Back, with a wiggle -13.00:1

[thingstodo]

Looking up some stuff about Warp 9s:

3500 rpm continuous, 5500 redline. Electric MR2: Warp9 Disaster - overspeed motor

Measured current for a Warp 9, assuming 3500 rpm (rated) at various voltages:
72V, 25 ft-lbs, 196 amps http://www.go-ev.com/PDFs/003_09_02_...preadSheet.pdf
96V, 20 ft-lbs, 155 amps http://www.go-ev.com/PDFs/003_09_02_...preadSheet.pdf

So 48V would involve higher current .. like perhaps 250 or 275 amps, at 3500 rpm, if it can even get there, and perhaps 30 ft-lb of torque.

Plugging 48V, Trojan T105 batteries, 100% DoD, 1000 lbs removed, 500 added, 195/60 R14 tires, 1% incline, no wind, roll resistance of .015 and brake/steer of .003 into EV Calculator EV calculator gives about:
20 mph 48V 70 amps 3600 rpm first gear
25 mph 48V 100 amps 2600 rpm second gear
30 mph 48V 140 amps 2300 rpm third gear
40 mph 48V 175 amps 2100 rpm fourth gear
45 mph 48V 210 amps 1900 rpm fifth gear

Second gear sounds like a winner to me. 25 mph is more than fast enough for a parking lot demonstration. The acceleration should be very good even with lead acid batteries. The used batteries should be able to supply 100 amps for short periods of time. 2600 rpm is fast enough to cool the motor well if we were to make several test runs.

[thingstodo]

Going off on a tangent (as I do a lot), and checking various voltages ...

Raising the battery voltage to 72V with Lithium Ion Thundersky batteries (higher peak current, lower weight) drops the weight and increases the available current. Third gear appears to be the best acceleration, still at rated speed, and close to highway speed. WAY TOO FAST FOR A PARKING LOT!!!
20 mph 48V 70 amps 3600 rpm first gear
35 mph 72V 100 amps 3600 rpm second gear
50 mph 72V 150 amps 3500 rpm third gear
47 mph 60V 150 amps 2500 rpm fourth gear
45 mph 48V 150 amps 1900 rpm fifth gear

Raising the battery voltage to 96V with Thundersky's. Third gear still appears to be the best acceleration, still at rated speed, and closer to highway speed.
20 mph 48V 70 amps 3600 rpm first gear
35 mph 72V 100 amps 3600 rpm second gear
50 mph 74V 150 amps 3500 rpm third gear
55 mph 72V 150 amps 3000 rpm fourth gear
55 mph 72V 150 amps 2300 rpm fifth gear

Raising the battery voltage to 144V with Thundersky's. Fourth gear appears to be the best top end ... but acceleration will suffer.
20 mph 48V 70 amps 3600 rpm first gear
35 mph 72V 100 amps 3600 rpm second gear
50 mph 74V 150 amps 3500 rpm third gear
65 mph 90V 150 amps 3400 rpm fourth gear
65 mph 78V 150 amps 2800 rpm fifth gear

OK - that's enough investigation into weights, batteries, and voltages

[thingstodo]

So, back on topic. What else can I do, without the flywheel?

- wire the reversing contactor into the HVJB. Yes, I can do that without a flywheel. I fit the reversing contactor into the proposed standard 10 x 14 junction box (barely) and it still fits into the clear plastic container that I'm using for a touch-safe cover. I need an interface to the F-N-R shifter on the car, so that I can select Reverse with the contactor. The contactor has Normally Closed contacts, so I used those for the forward direction. Applying power to the contactor changes the wiring from forward to reverse. This is ONLY when power is applied to the contactor. I would like this to be set by a controller so that interlocks prevent this from happening when there is power flowing to the motor. But I did not get the wiring done

- Play with the mounting of the HVJB, LVJB, charger, controller, batteries to see what will fit, and where it can fit, inside the motor module.
Brackets will be needed to mount the transmission to the frame, the motor to the frame, the batteries to the frame, the charger, hvjb, lvjb, and controller to the frame. I'll work on that, using my scraps of 1.5 x 1.5 (2 by 2) to make a grid that the parts will bolt to.

While this is an excellent idea, practicality did not allow for this. I ran out of 2 x 2 stock! I DID learn that one additional 20 foot piece of 1.25 square stock may not be enough for all the brackets required ... so I'll order another one on Tuesday.

Back on topic, the arrangements will take a few pictures to explain. That will be the next post ... when I get the pictures downloaded and edited

[MPaulHolmes]

Man you have been busy!! Mating the motor to the transmission was definitely the hardest part for me. I found a drill press at Harbor Freight for $50 that worked out well.

[thingstodo]

Originally Posted by MPaulHolmes

Man you have been busy!! Mating the motor to the transmission was definitely the hardest part for me.

I have not gotten past that part ... I have a flywheel, which has holes that match up to the motor coupler I bought from CanEV, and I have a clutch plate (the part with the friction pads, springs and splined hole) that fits onto the splined shaft of the transmission. I'm not sure that's enough parts.

I need to call CanEV this afternoon and have Randy walk me through this procedure. I should have called him much earlier. Thanks to Rob for pointing that out ...

From the people I have talked to, it appears that I will need pretty much the rest of the clutch mechanism to push the clutch plate and flywheel together firmly ... even though I don't WANT any of the clutch. I'd be happier with a coupler that mates the keyed shaft of the motor to the splines on the transmission directly. But this is my first one, so I should likely do it the way it was designed to work before I start changing stuff.