Post 6: Steering and Coachwork

 With the chassis welded, it is time to install steering components as well as install some of the body panels, namely the front fascia to the REV, to mimic the original Quadricycle.

During an informative trip to the Mohawk College Stoney Creek Campus for Trades and Apprenticeship, many SHSM students who are also on the Project REV team were able to discover several trades programs available as post-secondary pathways to their future after high school.

Students visited several areas of apprenticeship including welding, transportation, carpentry and elevator technician to name a few.

After our trip, students returned to work on the REV. Mr. Mule's, and Mr. Peca's SHSM construction students began work on assembling the front fascia for the REV. After several cuts, gluing and screws later, the front part was lifted into place, denoting the front of the old style vehicle.

 

Once the front was installed, one of Mr. Mule's senior SHSM construction students went on to create a replica of the driver's seat for the REV. It too was temporarily installed on the leg braces and measurements taken, before it gets some foam and upholstery in the new year:

 

For a little fun on the last day before holidays, the REV team members and Mr. Da Silva used torches to begin bending some reinforcement rails for the bench seat. 

We will need to create more reinforcement to the bench seat to keep the back perpendicular to the seat portion, and then bend and weld in side rails to look similar to the old style online:

Eager to see more of the Reding Electric Vehicle come together, some students helped to lay out and measure potential bends for the upper steering arm of the vehicle. Using torches and jigs, we were able to heat and bend the steering arm into shape. With instruction from Mr. Ferko's OYAP Electrical class, we were able to cut threads into various steering tubes to help assemble the steering system into the front fascia. We also used special pillow block bearings from our Community Partner Atlantic Bearings in Milton.

After painting the main steering components overnight, the REV team did a primary assembly of the steering system to see how the handle, shafts, joints, tie rods and spindles worked together. 

And with this, some members stood behind for a quick picture of the vehicle thus far. 

Chassis, seat, wheels and steering systems nearly complete. 

But once back after the Christmas holidays, the REV team will continue to design, construct and optimize the vehicle's many systems to get it ready for unveiling in June- in fact, we will aim for an official unveil on June 4th, 2024, which will be exactly 128 years, to-the-day, after Mr. Ford unveiled his exciting quadricycle!

From everyone at Project REV and BR, we wish you a happy and safe holiday, and hope to see you back soon for more exciting build updates in 2024!

Post 5: Let's take those Measurements!

 Continuing on with the build, we moved onto figuring out how to connect the drive sprocket to the left rear wheel.

By having one drive sprocket, the team will go with a one-wheel drive set up. This is also a good idea because the rear axle is not fixed, and if we did drive a fixed rear axle, we would need a differential to turn each rear wheel, which turns at different speeds during small turns.

Now that we have the four wheels for the vehicle, we used one of the front disc brakes as a reference for the bolt point for the drive sprocket. By using careful measurements, we were able to find the ideal location for six new bolt holes to mount the drive sprocket to the rear wheel's disc brake mount. 

Additionally, since the drive sprocket we ordered is for a go-kart, we had to make this modification of bore size and mounting hole locations to fit the bicycle wheels.

By then using a millimeter ruler and liquid paper, we transposed the mounting area onto the drive sprocket.

We then went on to use the drill press to accurately bore open the center of the drive sprocket to fit the wheel, then drilled six new holes to mount the sprocket to the rear wheel. 

Sometimes, if we don't have dedicated equipment to perform a task efficiently, we have to be creative and create a mechanism that can still fulfill the task with a degree of safety and precision. A CNC machine and lathe would have been best, but in this case, we used some jigs, clamps and our drill press to get the needed result!

During this time, the REV team was able to prop up and finish priming and painting the frame of the vehicle in spots that were missed. At times we have to remove and prep, then reassemble the vehicle throughout the build.

  

After receiving a few new pieces of measuring equipment, the REV team began to take measurements of key parts and mounting points of the vehicle. One challenge we encountered in the build is the mounting points of the rear wheels in relation to the frame member. We utilized the new scales to take measurements of possible mounting locations of the rear wheels relative to the frame proximity. 

We are considering: a closer mounted wheel to the frame may cause less bending force on the solid axle, while a rear wheel mounted farther from the frame gives the vehicle a more accurate width of stance. In doing this, we can measure force on the axle at different mounting points, and calculate torqu on the axle with passenger weight on the vehicle.

By gathering more data, we will turn this Design Challenge over to the Ms. Mulica's Physics team members, who can evaluate and calculate which mounting location is best, in order to minimize the bending force on the axle and wheels:

With a couple of Design Challenges underway, the team will use the winter season to research and generate the best build methods and procedures for the REV!

Next up, post 6 will speak to the start of the construction of the steering system for the REV!

See you soon!