Blog / April 2013

Posted on 7 April 2013 at 12:03 am (CET)
Category: Batteries, Drawings
Posted on 7 April 2013 at 12:03 am (CET)
Category: Batteries, Drawings

Was a bit bored today waiting for the plate for the motor mount to arrive. So I played around a bit in SketchUp and replicated the batteries I will be using. Think it turned out pretty well, first time actually using the program.

E-Streetquad 3D drawing of the batteries


Also made one of the battery box (the biggest one) in which the batteries will be held together. And I'm in luck, there are 2 sizes given for the width of the batteries on the supplier's website but the smallest size seems to be correct. I always assumed the larger size to be correct. This will give me another 3mm to spare for each battery which is quite a lot really. Will be even easier to place them.
Only problem is I have to make sure they won't be able to move inside of the box. That's why I'm making this 3D drawing, to discover a solution for this.

I also filled up the box with batteries, pretty fun program. Easy to work with.

E-Streetquad 3D drawing of the batteries


Think I'll continue and add the BMS boards and connections as well.

Posted on 4 April 2013 at 05:10 pm (CET)
Category: Parts
Posted on 4 April 2013 at 05:10 pm (CET)
Category: Parts

Got something again today, from Belgium this time. It's definately becoming an international quad bike this way.

E-Streetquad New rear sprocket


Blank rear sprocket (530) with 44 teeth. Only still need the holes drilled. My friend who is making the motor mount will also do this so it'll be alright.

I almost have all parts complete now, just a few more small things. And ofcourse the batteries but they should arrive here in 2-3 weeks.

Posted on 3 April 2013 at 10:19 pm (CET)
Category: Batteries, Parts
Posted on 3 April 2013 at 10:19 pm (CET)
Category: Batteries, Parts

Today I received the BMS (Battery Management System). Had to get this all the way from America since we don't have anything like this here. Or well, only 3-4x more expensive. Pretty quick delivery, bit less than 2 weeks. Also didn't have to pay much tax for import, way less than expected.
The BMS is there to take care of the batteries so you can't under- or overcharge (very important for lithium batteries). The batteries also get balanced while charging so that you can get the maximum capacity out of them for a bit higher range.

Here you can see the whole system. All the small printboards will come on each of the batteries and are connected in series. I ordered a few extra just in case I'd destroy one making a wrong connection.

E-Streetquad Some more important parts, the BMS


On bottom left is the head-end board as they call it. The whole loop of battery boards will be connected to this and this one basically manages everything.
In the middle is a sensor that can measure the current, voltage, temperature and some more things. It sends all this information to the display you can see on top right. On this display you can also see the capacity of the batteries.

E-Streetquad Some more important parts, the BMS


Head-end board coincidentally fits in the small box that I got with the charger. This was actually meant for the little relais but I can place this in there as well now.

E-Streetquad Some more important parts, the BMS


Last week I still got some more parts, will post them here as well since it's all part of the project.

E-Streetquad Some more important parts, the BMS


Black cable glands in trade for the wrong gray ones. Rubber insulator caps for the terminals of the controller and motor. Some more cable shoes with different sizes (will still have to order more of the big M6 ones since the batteries also need M6 instead of M10). Orange heat shrink only for color coding on the black cables I received for the charger and DC-DC converter since this is also high voltage.
Then there's still a small charger that can charge one 3.2V lithium battery at a time. I will need this to charge all of the batteries for the first time to get them balanced. The batteries will all be connected in parallel for this. After that the BMS will keep them balanced. Came all the way from Czech Republic, just can't get these things here. This won't be fitted to the quad bike but it does make sure the batteries are immediately ready for use.
Also 2 steel blocks. I will have these routed together with the motor mount so they'll get a bit smaller, sloped and lighter. After that I can get them welded on the rear swing arm and the motor mount will be attached to these blocks.

The plate for the motor mount is also ordered already. It was pretty hard to find the correct size. I again couldn't find it here so I ordered it in Germany.