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Links  OPPD Powerdrive WebsiteOfficial website of Powerdrive. Rules, access to school EV websites, schedule of events and much more. Announcements April 2012The last step of completing the car this month was putting the final coat of cherry red and silver paint on and...Tada! A downright masterpiece of a machine. But, the E.C. journey doesn't end there, now it's racing season. The team got off to a less than satisfying beginning compared to the winning tradition we're used to. The first trip was to Columbus and the Friend Electric Car team was, frankly, lucky to make it out of there alive! We had issues of flat tires one race, to collisions and cars whipping in circles the next. However, it's going to take a bit more than whiplash to stop this crew. The van ride to Hastings for race #2 proved to be much more pleasing. The team brought home two 1st place trophies, and left the people at Hastings track drooling over a new distance record of 35.4 miles. An even more important factor, no crashes reported. Bonus! Now, may the rest of the season be just as successful. March 2012Everyone has been in a state of mind that has kept them diligently working. With the beginning of the racing schedule right around the corner, it is getting down to crunch time. This month's focus has continued to mildly be on the cosmetics of the car alongside getting brakes, the coolest brake light you have ever seen, and all the precise wiring of the electric car. In addition to these key components to be added to the car, was battery testing (I am sure that it comes as no surprise that this is a critical feature to the car). When we busted out the batteries the selected drivers took their car out for a test drive. The battery worked splendidly! However, we discovered that there were to be some polishing up in other areas such as the fact that the back wheel was flat and a bolt on the wheel seemed to be catching on a piece it should NOT be catching on. But, have no worries, these issues were taken care of ASAP. The next step to completing the car will be paint. So, let the priming begin! Februrary 2012The month of February was consumed by the construction of the cosmetics of the car. Starting at the beginning of the month we laid fiberglass on the canopy of the car. We cut the fabric then so that it would fit over the whole canopy. The resin and hardener were then applied to the fabric. This process was repeated three times to get a structurally sound canopy. After that we began laying plexiglass over the frame. This process entailed cutting the glass in the required shape and using 3M panel adhesive to glue into position. After we applied the glue and laid the glass we clamped the glass to the frame while it had time to dry. Once all of the adhesive and fiberglass had dried we began the tedious process of applying bondo and sanding it to acquire the most aerodynamic and efficient shape possible. To arrive at this state requires many hours and an abundance of bondo. We then added wings on the front axle to help with aerodynamics. To install them we put them where they needed to be then applied fiberglass to hold them into shape. Another minor addition we added was putting the taillight on. A dremel was used to cut a small line in the back of the car. One change we made to how we are putting on the lights is that instead of the traditional taillight we got a LED strip that runs the length of the back tail. This allows us to keep a more aerodynamic shape. At the end of February we are still working on sanding and bondoing the body. January, 2012To kick off the whole process of assembling this year's electric car, we started with the basic plans from last year. Although the design is very similar, we used autocad to make some modifications to the design. Once we got the designs how we wanted them we then proceeded to assemble the car starting with the frame moving toward the steering mechanism and finally the molding of the canopy.
Some modifications we applied to the design included making the widest point of the car smaller and instead of the previous diamond shape we modified it so the sides had a more flat appearance allowing for the same room for the swing arm and in turn making the car thinner. Once we said goodbye to the design process, we sent plans to Tuttle's (the local welding shop) to have profiles cut out. When we got the profiles back, we began assembling the frame. To kick off this process, we made a jig out of plywood to get the correct shape and then began welding on profiles, roll bars, and support angle irons. After we completed the frame, we installed the rear swing arm which held the rear wheel and motor. To mold the canopy we started with 2" thick sheets of foam stacked, glued, and cut to meet the length, width, and height requirments. After that we shaped it into an aerodynamic and symetrical shape. Once we accquired the desired shape of the canopy, we applied fiber glass and bondo (a putty substance) to make it more smooth and hold the shape. The fiber glass had hardened, and we carved out the foam so we were left with the canopy.  (in order) Blake Due, Kegan Riley, Anthony Nun, Dustin Johansen, Grant Hitchcock, Drew Stutzman, Garett Stutzman, Jared Segner, John Clouse, Reed Waller.  Swing arm |
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