Project REV at Bishop Reding: Post 3: Design Challenges As We Go!

As students begin work on the REV (Reding's Electric Vehicle), Mr. Da Silva will be leading the observation of various design challenges along the way.

It is throughout the construction of the build, that we note particular challenges for which students must work together utilizing the theories they have learned in other subject areas to help obtain the best solutions for these challenges.

At each stage of the build, we will highlight each design challenge, and the details of how it is solved. It is this strategy of utilizing the talents of various disciplines and subject areas to find tangible solutions to real world problems; blending together theory and application!

And now... WE BEGIN the BUILD!

Keep an eye out for each DESIGN CHALLENGE as we go!

-Late October:

With the details of the build explained to members of Project REV, we set to work first by obtaining a rough blueprint of the Henry Ford Quadricycle.

Design Challenge #1: How to obtain the dimensions of the vehicle in order to recreate a scaled version.

Under the lead of Mr. Mule's TDJ Tech Design Class, students were able to import the drawing into a design software program and resize the image to scale. From the picture, he was then able to show students how to extrapolate general sizes of things like wheelbase, total width, and spacing of the frame members. Students continued to measure key distances and draw up a list of materials for the build.

With that, the team set to work on ordering the steel for the chassis from our community partner Solex Metal Fabrication. And when it arrived, members of Mr. Da Silva's TTJ Transportation Technology program measured and cut the steel for assembly and welding by the REV team.

With the chassis construction underway, other students set to work on the steering system.

Having noted the difference between the Ford Quadricycle steering and suspension, and ours, we were unable to find small scale leaf springs for the REV, so we elected to make the REV a hardbody, with no suspension. As a result, we decided to make custom spindles that utilize 9/16" hardware to hold upgraded bicycle wheels, much like that of the original vehicle had over 100 years ago.