Embedded Files
For this project, I worked in a larger group. We were tasked with building an electric go-kart. We were given a motor, motor controller, wheels, and a steering wheel. We had to figure out how to piece these parts together and create a working chassis. We took a very hands-on approach to this project, cutting materials mostly by hand and solving problems as they arose. My primary role was working on the electronics, chassis, and the back wheels.
Wood Prototype
We started our go-kart by creating a wood prototype to measure out dimensions and figure out a shape that we liked. Although we liked how the seat was raised on our wood prototype, we guessed that make the raised platform stable and safe would be difficult. So on our final version we made the chassis of the go-kart flat.
Front
Back
Side
Manufacturing
For our final version, we used 2x4 rectangular metal tubes for the frame and diamond pattern steel sheet. We used a horizontal bandsaw and chop saw to cut the metal. We used a water jet to cut our floor and steering column. At first we attempted welding our frame and floor together, but we quickly found that we were not very good at welding. Instead we opted to bolt the floor to our questionably welded frame.
Frame
IMG_0772.MOVWater jetting the steering column
IMG_5497.MOVHorizontal band saw
Electrical
It took us a decent chunk of time to figure out how to wire our motor and motor controller because almost everything was not labeled, and the things that were labeled were in Chinese. Eventually after testing different configurations out we were able to get it to work. The go-kart had a forward and reverse switch, as well as 3 different speeds. To power out go-kart we used 4 12 volt batteries. We housed two batteries on each side of the go-kart next to the drivers seat. To attach the motor to the the wheels we used a chain. It was actually pretty difficult to get the chain attached correctly with a good tension. We ended up putting washers underneath the motor to slightly increase the tension on the chain.
IMG_5418.MOVIMG_4628.MOVInitial tests
IMG_5505.MOVSoldering circuit together
Test Driving
rotate (online-video-cutter.com).mp4IMG_0619.MOVGoogle Sites
Report abuse