CarBen Concept EV Open Source Project

[smilingcat]

I'll go for Joule even though I have no need for a mini-mini-van of sort.

[NeilBlanchard]

Here's a couple of views of the stacked sections; mimicking the assembled cut foam pieces.



Please note that the door, wheel skirts, and the hood are separated from the main chassis, just as the foam will be, so they can be assembled separately.

I plan on importing this into SketchUp and smoothing it -- this will make the model much smoother and "tighter" so that hopefully I can then do CFD testing; which should give an approximate Cd (coefficient of drag).

[Ken Fry]

Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard

Here's a couple of views of the stacked sections; mimicking the assembled cut foam pieces.

I like the stripes. Paint the first one like this and wear shorts with matching knee socks.

Great to see the progress.

[SEGsby]

Lookin' cool, Neil!

[randyd]

Originally Posted by Ken Fry

I like the stripes. Paint the first one like this and wear shorts with matching knee socks.

Great to see the progress.

+1

[dfbvt]

Hi Neil,

Are you planning to fiberglass on both the outside and the inside of the foam core to get the benefits of the inherent strength of sandwich composite construction? If so then how are you planning to fill the core sections with rigid materials at the many needed “hard” points for attaching things like suspension, seats, motor/ transmission, ECT?

Perhaps you would fiberglass the outside and then remove the foam core in the needed shapes from the inside down to the outside surface, glue in the hard material and then fiberglass over them starting with big oversized patches and then lay on smaller and smaller pieces with the weave at 45 degrees relative to one another in order to “feather” out the loads. In any case I’m just interested of your plans for this issue.

The look of the multi colored stacked sections in the image makes for an interesting looking picture.

Keep up the good work.

Dave Bowles

[NeilBlanchard]

Hi Dave,

Yes, I will first fiberglass the underside of the chassis, and the inside of the battery bays, and the upper parts like the roof and the windows (and I'll have to buy a Smart ForTwo windshield, and the wipers). I'll need to work out hinges for the front wheel skirts, and the doors and the hood.

The next step will be to install suspension, and the needed anchors and front subframe. The front should be less difficult than the rear -- I think a front suspension from a Honda Civic or similar could work; though if I stay with the FVT electric drivetrain, it might be best to use their suspension, too.

The rear suspension needs to fit in a more specific space. I'm thinking a set of trailing arms and lateral links in the floor bay (in a space between the two battery bays between the rear wheels) will be what I use, and this would probably have to be custom fabrications.

So, the areas inside the hood and around the wheel wells would be fiberglassed only after the suspension is installed.

My challenge will be to do the inside fiberglassing on the large one piece chassis -- it will need cribbing supports in various positions.

Here are the half-sections reimported into SketchUp, so I can make a more accurate, smoother and tighter model, that hopefully will work for CFD!

[NeilBlanchard]

Well, I just finished doing the TV "shoot" for Chronicle at WCVB TV, the local ABC affiliate, and we had a long chat about ecodriving and ecomodding. They probably got plenty of material, with several shots outside the xA, me driving on the local streets, then inside the car for some ecodriving techniques; and also a fair amount on my CarBEN EV5 design: the 3D model and CAD drawings, as well as the three scale models and the full sized pieces.



I'll know more about possible broadcast date, etc. and when I do, I'll post it here.

[palmer_md]

awesome. Great news. Glad you've got some interest outside us "nuts" on the internet.

[NeilBlanchard]

The Chronicle show that I was interviewed for will be shown a week from today -- Thursday June 14th @ 7:30pm. It's on Channel 5 here in the Boston area.

I was interviewed, and I showed my aero-modded Scion xA, I drove it; and I showed my CarBEN EV5 open source design as well. They were here for over two hours, and took probably an hour of video, so most of it won't make it into the show.

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Our show on alternative fuels/hypermiling, etc is slated for next Thursday, the 14th. The show will be posted on our website the following day...but just for ONE DAY. You can bookmark the video link for each segment, though, and you will have access for ever and ever. Feel free to post on websites, and share w family, friends, and Hollywood talent agents.

That's Ch 5 at 7:30. But you knew that...

Big thanks to all!

Cheers,
Clint


Clint Conley
Field Producer
WCVB-TV Boston :: WCVB.com
Chronicle facebook.com/wcvb5

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