You are currently browsing the Rob’s RAVolt! weblog archives for the day April 1, 2007.
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Archive for April 1, 2007
Busy Weekend - updates in reverse
April 1, 2007 by Rob.
This was a pretty busy weekend for the RAVolt and it may take a couple of days to catch-up. I’m going to cheat and fudge the post dates so they show up in the correct order 
Here is the short version: I did some minor work, learned that welding takes more work that I’d expected, tested the motor, and finalized the battery layout.
On top of that, Larry E with the 97 RAV4 said it was OK to post his pictures and emails. I’ll create a new just category for that.
Posted in Storyline | No Comments »
First spins - engine test!
April 1, 2007 by Rob.
It was a little anti-climatic, but the DC motor spun for the first time today! It spun for about 15 seconds before it drained the battery too much. I can’t imagine how much power it will need when it actually has to turn the wheels!
I used my jump start battery pack (red box on right) and some jumper cables to connect all the terminals. The Advanced DC 9″ is series wound with 4 terminals. That means that I have to jumper 2 of the terminals to put the coils into series. I’ll explain this more when I start actually wiring up the power (aka traction) batteries.
Posted in Pictures, Storyline | No Comments »
Chris R demos welding; I decide to outsource
April 1, 2007 by Rob.
Chris R gave an excellent demonstration of metal joining techniques including soldering, brazing, stick, MIG, and TIG welding. We also got to use his super cool (hot?) plasma cutter as a bonus.
Chris effectively showed that while I could learn MIG welding quickly, the overall effort required would slow down my target date. I’m going to try and find a professional welder to come out an build the boxes for me based on my design. A big part of my decision was the cost of the metal. Just buying some preliminary pieces of steel at Lowes cost me $60. A contractor seems like a good deal between the learning curve, equipment, material, and safety factory. [note: now I’m back to trying it myself]
We had 6 people here and everyone got to try welding and cutting. Alexander turned out to be a star student and now has a backup career :).
Posted in Pictures, AustinEV, Planning, EV Tech | 1 Comment »