tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61998926106851469412024-02-03T00:25:48.206+11:00Open Electric Motorcycle ProjectOpen source electric motorcycle projectBradley Jarvishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13699836317162644350noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6199892610685146941.post-2891490756370132702010-06-15T15:58:00.002+10:002010-06-15T16:04:48.962+10:00A slight distraction<p>I have an interest in alternative vehicles and power, and lately have been working with someone (Steve) who works for a company that I contract too. He introduced me to recumbent bikes. As a result of talking with him and research on the internet I have built my own HPV.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDLb5TfF9XgIqQzA2QHS5DitouYMJsX6EYWfcwvuRIaXscTdMAC1eEzfPA2XRtZ6uiTrmqCtFgvFcY10_q09PVMP5FBOTK6IgZJZQnm5xx9fE4v4bnDz_Mc7uo_L6L9t8pJ3CSq2p4xNo/s1600/p1019181.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDLb5TfF9XgIqQzA2QHS5DitouYMJsX6EYWfcwvuRIaXscTdMAC1eEzfPA2XRtZ6uiTrmqCtFgvFcY10_q09PVMP5FBOTK6IgZJZQnm5xx9fE4v4bnDz_Mc7uo_L6L9t8pJ3CSq2p4xNo/s320/p1019181.jpg" /></a></div><p>It's a recumbent trike which has been made from 2 donor kids mountain bikes reclaimed from the local waste transfer station. The wheel size is 24".</p><p>It is mostly finished now, I need to get new road tyres for it as the existing nobbly off-road tires are severely deteriorated. I also want to fit some lights and other stuff to make it a bit more visible. I am hoping to use it for local trips in the area and work my fitness up to the point where I can ride it to town (it's a 30 minute drive through forest and farmland).</p><p>I have not done a lot on the electric bike lately (I did have a sit on it the other day). We are looking at starting to build a house on our property and need to get started on building it before the end of the year, so unfortunately this will stop me from working on the electric bike for the most part, but I am hoping to build the inverter and start writing the software for it before the end of the year. I have purchased a few sample ATxmega processors from Farnell for the inverter.</p>Bradley Jarvishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13699836317162644350noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6199892610685146941.post-67600510233384243182009-11-10T11:10:00.003+11:002009-11-10T11:37:01.125+11:00Progress updateWe have now moved up to our property and have sorta settled in. We have setup a small 1kW off grid solar power system with a 1380Ah 12V battery bank. We are heading into summer so at the moment we are generating lots of surplus power. We have usually recharged the battery bank to 100% full before lunch time at the moment.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHnAqffAHx6aQWmgh9tZNWuUsVl9vuJFikNWUV22frBgpz52bMYNK7EJVLA71C9FGB850NF1K9xgjAQcWYWodw3vTn6OHVehyuNKCrcjckb_24Wp_blQ2ENLi10jw10gwH-suHQZL37BM/s1600-h/P1017187.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHnAqffAHx6aQWmgh9tZNWuUsVl9vuJFikNWUV22frBgpz52bMYNK7EJVLA71C9FGB850NF1K9xgjAQcWYWodw3vTn6OHVehyuNKCrcjckb_24Wp_blQ2ENLi10jw10gwH-suHQZL37BM/s320/P1017187.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402266570770343522" /></a><br /><br />This is good because the surplus can be used to recharge the bike. Speaking of the bike I have not done too much work on it since the move, however I have been thinking and planning on it. I have got some work with a local induction motor manufacturing firm which is giving me a better insight into the working's of the induction motor. I have seen the regenerative braking effect and am pretty confident that this will be quite easy to add (the motor when driven slower that the motor rotational speed will cause it to turn into a generator that backfeeds DC voltage, perfect)<br /><br />I was planning on using the Atmel AT90PWM3B processor for the inverter, however now Atmel have released there XMega series of processor, they look very cool. I don't need much incentive to play around with new stuff but these processors are jammed packed full of very nice features like 2million ADC samples per second (12 bit), advanced waveform generator (perfect for motor control), new event bus and DMA to namea few. Farnell have listed the 44pin ATxmega64A4 which I think would be perfect. It is a 3V part so I may have to tweek my current inverter design. They have the 100pin A1 part already in stock at the moment, but the pin spacing is a little too fine for a handmade board and I don't need all the IO. The current design uses the 28pin AT90PWM3B which only just had enough IO with no room for expansion.<br /><br />Will hopefully now update the blog more often as I expect to be spending a bit of time each week on the bike.Bradley Jarvishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13699836317162644350noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6199892610685146941.post-20006057283251919922009-05-23T19:43:00.002+10:002009-05-23T19:50:04.835+10:00Even busierWell, we completed the renovation on the house and sold it within 4 days of putting it on the market (we were thinking it would take a few months). So this has put the bike on the back-burner even more so for the short term. We will be moving mid year so once the move is complete and we're settled in then I hope to get back onto the bike.<br />The move will create some additional problems however with the bike, the place we are moving to has no mains power so recharging will have to be done with leftover power from an off-grid solar power system. Which could work out ok since I like to ride in the summer so that is when we should have left over power.Bradley Jarvishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13699836317162644350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6199892610685146941.post-3890997805952106982009-03-06T10:00:00.002+11:002009-03-06T10:15:42.342+11:00Busy year so farThis year has been very busy with work and house renovations, unfortunately it's taking time away from the bike project. I have updated the schematic and sourced a better suited IGBT for the drivers and added some on board capacitance after some good feedback(thanks <a href="http://kermitthecar.blogspot.com/">Will</a>). I am just setting up my subversion server and an ftp server here so that I can host the project files a bit easier.<br />I have setup a workbench and purchased some steel to make up the motor brackets. I am just saving some money for the batteries and components for the motor controller. I have made up a small low power encoder(this is a for another project) which will be able to detect motor direction and speed. It will have 2 encoder counts per revolution.<br />So the todo list ATM is:<br />- Purchase battery's and battery charger<br />- Make motor brackets<br />- Make battery cradle<br />- Extend chain by 2 links<br />- Make and test motor controller(lot of work here, build prototype and write software)Bradley Jarvishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13699836317162644350noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6199892610685146941.post-33682939401423887892009-01-14T22:14:00.002+11:002009-01-14T23:43:02.971+11:00I have now completed the initial schematic for the 3-phase motor controller. I have to update some footprints and then it will be time to start on laying out the PCB. You can download stuff from here<br /><br /><a href="http://www.pocketinnovations.com.au/ev/mc.pdf">Schematic PDF</a><br /><a href="http://www.pocketinnovations.com.au/ev/hardware.tgz">gEDA project</a><br /><a href="http://www.pocketinnovations.com.au/ev/lib.tgz">gEDA symbols</a><br /><br />The schematic is done on gEDA, the PCB will be done on PCB the PCB editor that is part of the gEDA package. The software will be written for avr-gcc. Both gEDA and the c complier are open source projects, and very good at what they do. Currently gEDA only works under Linux, but the compiler will work under windows with wan-avr(Just a side note I am designing and writing all the software for this project on a asus eee 901 with gentoo installed on it, a fantastic piece of hardware).<br /><br />To get the gEDA project to run you need gEDA suite installed, uncompress the project and uncompress thje symbols. You need to make the gschem point to the schematic symbols directory. To do this you can simply uncompress the symbols tar into your linux home directory and everything should work. Otherwise you could just copy everything in the /lib/schematic directory into the /hardware/mc directory. Otherwise have a look in /hardware/commonrc and update/add the schematic directory to the component directories. One this is done change directory to the /hardware/mc directory and run make edit, this will open gschem. Have a look in /hardware/makefile for a list of other things you can use make to do.<br /><br />Please if you do know anything about 3-phase motor control I would appreciate any feedback on the design, and I will post updates and corrections as I make them.Bradley Jarvishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13699836317162644350noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6199892610685146941.post-43911080143232643642009-01-06T17:41:00.004+11:002009-01-06T18:09:08.356+11:00Motor controller and batteriesI have got caught up over the holiday doing stuff on the house, but I have been researching and drawing up the schematics for the motor controller on <a href="http://www.geda.seul.org/">gEDA</a>. The first draft of the schematic is about 80% complete and I have layed out the components, I just need to do some tweeking and adding in component details(resistor and cap specs etc). I hope to have to up within the week for comments/feedback.<br /><br />I am now looking at getting 18 of the <a href="http://www.csb-battery.com/english/01_product/02_detail.php?fid=13&pid=83">EVH15120</a>. These are a comprimise between price and performance. Since they are designed for EV use they should last a while, they will fit into the frame of the bike, and there not too heavy. The upside is there easy to get and at least half the price of Lithium. The downside will be the weight and the charge time.<br /><br />I have attached the LED blinkers to the bike and here is a pic.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKfiwgxw3OzHRlFsrIIohpDOfNEdHcMFttYOzgZ1MPc2nFu-fz955dKIzBL0f4FHIxLzrcwcL24p5LFoqG6ywHhANfILGG4ggXfCotP_pk274iHtiUg6-oM2HWWc_xjWqJNK3lZeCKaO4/s1600-h/front+blinkers.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 319px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKfiwgxw3OzHRlFsrIIohpDOfNEdHcMFttYOzgZ1MPc2nFu-fz955dKIzBL0f4FHIxLzrcwcL24p5LFoqG6ywHhANfILGG4ggXfCotP_pk274iHtiUg6-oM2HWWc_xjWqJNK3lZeCKaO4/s320/front+blinkers.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288072689288260258" border="0" /></a>And the back...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfSwbNgMgKorGYy8azAre42fQBCaRnC-9ttO4InuKco29bmoukTsl42t-svUjC1vFXg04KeM6JXDNJupGzEuYStwk1PEs2QAsww8d3E89nmA2s3YvRdHSwBH8Uh8rxzOfQHtxlzo0sPy0/s1600-h/back+blinkers.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfSwbNgMgKorGYy8azAre42fQBCaRnC-9ttO4InuKco29bmoukTsl42t-svUjC1vFXg04KeM6JXDNJupGzEuYStwk1PEs2QAsww8d3E89nmA2s3YvRdHSwBH8Uh8rxzOfQHtxlzo0sPy0/s320/back+blinkers.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288072685653324498" border="0" /></a>I have bought some workshop equipment that will help me with the fabrication of the batttery case/tray and motor mounting brackets etc. I have got most of the electronic components that I need to build the controller too.Bradley Jarvishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13699836317162644350noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6199892610685146941.post-80705979591775057702008-12-04T23:17:00.003+11:002008-12-04T23:49:52.153+11:00Indicators, Grips and the MotorI have been getting quite motivated lately to get some work done on the bike. I have just received some led blinkers. I have ordered the 0-5v hall effect twist grip throttle that should be arriving tomorrow. I have done some more research on Mosfets and IGBT's for the motor controller. At the moment I am leaning toward a 600V IGBT. I am switching 360V which is a little on the high side for mosfets, and there are some quite quick IGBT's. I am about to start the schematic for the motor controller.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcpZj4Q5dqv245XKNs8Eg0XqGIIei9mPCIaitdpdRgtTCNUtVRdOWTdRX7PbGzzAc7EXe78ij1lqa19yGkpLcl7YMAX1MA7OIOyz7WJH_9hgay9mlw75K0-KNGlyvVV-hxxecvhq52Mlg/s1600-h/motor+wiring.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcpZj4Q5dqv245XKNs8Eg0XqGIIei9mPCIaitdpdRgtTCNUtVRdOWTdRX7PbGzzAc7EXe78ij1lqa19yGkpLcl7YMAX1MA7OIOyz7WJH_9hgay9mlw75K0-KNGlyvVV-hxxecvhq52Mlg/s320/motor+wiring.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5275915508087175058" border="0" /></a>The good news is that I have finally cracked open my 3kw 3 phase induction motor and had a peak at modifying the wiring to half the voltage I need to drive the motor with. I started by cutting the tape holding the wiring together and numbering each slot. The motor is a 4 pole motor with 36 slots. This gives me 12 slots per phase,and each slot is paired to make 6 coils per phase. There are the 6 wires coming into the motor and 9 wires that jump between coils. After writing all this down I then had to work out what it meant and what I have to cut to take the 6 in-series coils in half to get 2 3 in-series coils and run them in parrallel to get half the voltage. I figured out that each phase has 3 slots next to each other and then the next phase has 3, then the next and so on. This give me 4 sets of 3 slots per phase which is where the 4 pole comes from. So I have found the 3 wires I need to cut to halve the voltage. Yay!!!Bradley Jarvishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13699836317162644350noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6199892610685146941.post-16361771482026815082008-11-24T17:30:00.005+11:002008-11-26T11:49:34.066+11:00Update On Battery PackAfter a long break I am looking at getting back into the bike conversion (been very busy with work and family). I am itching for a ride everytime I see the dust covered Across. I have re-evaluated the battery pack and after seeing some other conversions and considering the cost of the lithium batteries. I am now looking at a 336VDC @ 7AH battery pack. This will be either gel or SLA for cost purposes to begin with and then upgraded to a lighter and higher powered lithium pack if all goes well.<br />Running the battery pack at this voltage will allow for a simpler 3-phase motor controller since I won't have to increase the voltage. I can simply use PWM to lower the voltage and frequency to the required levels. The motor will be run in delta configuration which requires 230V AC and then re-connect each of the windings so that I run them in parallel not series so this will end up requiring ~120VAC which is about 340Vp-p and within the battery pack voltage.Bradley Jarvishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13699836317162644350noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6199892610685146941.post-50251327504126212992007-11-22T13:47:00.000+11:002007-11-22T13:56:21.826+11:00The Battery PackAfter much investigation I have come to the conclusion that lithium rechargeable battery's are the battery of choice. They are the best value for money in terms of power to weight ratio. I have to keep the bike somewhere in the original weight range to get it registered, and i also want the bike to have as great a range as possible with the latest technology available. I am looking a making a battery pack consisting of 40 3.2V 40A lithium battery's that weight about 1.5kg each. So that gives me a total battery pack with a nominal voltage of 128V at 40A and a weight of 60kg. This works out to be a ~5kw battery pack. So it should run the 3kw motor for at least 1.5 hours.<br /><br />I am going to make 40 fake batteries of the same dimensions that i am looking at using to make sure i can physically fit them in the bike. I have the leftover room where the electric motor is and petrol motor was, i also have some room up front near the headlight that I may be able to squeeze a few in and also where the air-cleaner was and of course under the seat where the petrol tank used to be. I also have to be careful to leave enough room for the battery charger and motor inverter.Bradley Jarvishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13699836317162644350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6199892610685146941.post-19474291802028595222007-10-03T17:18:00.000+10:002007-11-22T13:47:08.071+11:003-Phase MotorI have now got the electric motor. It is a 3-phase induction motor by CMG. I have had a cog machined up to fit onto the shaft of the motor. The motor will sit in the frame with the cog slightly forward of the original gearbox output, so i have to extend the chain by 3 links. I have had some motor mounting brackets made but they need some modification (the chain sits on the swingarm at the moment).<br /><br />The motor is designed to take 380V-415v at 50Hz in star configuration. It is a 4-Pole motor and the speed of the motor when supplied with this is ~1425RPM at 82% efficiency. I am looking at running the motor in delta configuration which is 220V-240V at 50Hz, the efficiency is still 82%. Because the motor is actually 4-pole. I should be able to hopefully (this depends on how the motor is wound) make a modification inside to change the poles so that instead of in serial they are parallel. This will then bring the motor voltage into the 110V-120V range. Which is about the voltage of the battery pack that I'm planning on using. If i can do this it will simplify the inverter design.<br /><br />I have also painted and fitted the mirrors.Bradley Jarvishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13699836317162644350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6199892610685146941.post-34339642754708245572007-09-27T12:37:00.000+10:002008-12-10T17:43:45.456+11:001990 Suzuki Across<p>I found a 1990 Suzuki Across at a wreckers, I bought the complete bike minus engine for $800. It had been dropped with most of the damage being done to the front panels. It needed a good going over and a new paint job (the picture left is after the panel repair and respray, its not all together yet).</p><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFQ7bPlfi7Cp5pRFwWvfOgWyCQDCc5FMSDAa-BQa5Cu2Sx6yjhZbSYaG4nkpuoITfGISC_h3rr3oTAbgrxtKSYiKQTOJeB0Ygdo3oTacnloGb_hgtUeez6CX73pcyGQqoSwMHaevZ6448/s1600-h/p1012920.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFQ7bPlfi7Cp5pRFwWvfOgWyCQDCc5FMSDAa-BQa5Cu2Sx6yjhZbSYaG4nkpuoITfGISC_h3rr3oTAbgrxtKSYiKQTOJeB0Ygdo3oTacnloGb_hgtUeez6CX73pcyGQqoSwMHaevZ6448/s320/p1012920.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114744394157025666" border="0" /></a></div> <p>The original colour was black with a metallic fleck through it. I think the new paint will make it standout a bit more. I am also replacing the screws that hold the panels on with stainless steel allen key screws.</p><p>I cleaned up the frame and touched up the paint. Also recovered the seat.</p><p>There is heaps of room where the engine and petrol tank was for the electric motor, batteries and controllers.</p>Bradley Jarvishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13699836317162644350noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6199892610685146941.post-68411057522073652932007-09-27T12:17:00.000+10:002008-12-10T17:43:45.709+11:00Choosing a bike<p>There were many factors to consider when choosing the motorcycle to convert. The major factors were:</p><ul><li>Cost</li><li>Aerodynamics (better airflow=more efficient)</li><li>Weight (less energy to accelerate)</li><li>Appearance</li><li>Ease of conversion</li></ul><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-t-D7HBfRDqR1DNfuwfv61rlHdGokpW3IPDxIlCeXrqw7PHcjYW2cwqnfh19LynG5Dx3X6IAzF1VgGthPTMt-VrCsGucwPUOn21DZfMj_H79-XbIjeB_gmR-oEbAZzyQPAoVu8Ji-8Yc/s1600-h/1990_GSX-R250_across_450.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-t-D7HBfRDqR1DNfuwfv61rlHdGokpW3IPDxIlCeXrqw7PHcjYW2cwqnfh19LynG5Dx3X6IAzF1VgGthPTMt-VrCsGucwPUOn21DZfMj_H79-XbIjeB_gmR-oEbAZzyQPAoVu8Ji-8Yc/s200/1990_GSX-R250_across_450.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5114751472263129490" border="0" /></a>After taking these factor into consideration the ideal bike to convert was the Suzuki Across. They are classed as sports-touring. The Across is fully faired so the aerodynamics are pretty good (at worst they are better than a cruiser), also the conversion can be hidden underneath the fairings with the main thing to distinguish it as different would be the absence of the tailpipe.</p><p>The bike is relatively light weighing in at 160kg dry according to spec sheet. The Bike is big enough that i would be comfortable riding it (I'm 6" tall). They are getting old now so they are cheap to buy and get parts for.</p><p> The other big advantage to the Suzuki Across is where the petrol tank is on a normal bike the Across has a boot big enough to fit a large helmet, and the petrol tank is under the set. This is perfect for the electric motorcycle because the unused petrol tank can be removed without affecting the look of the bike.</p>Bradley Jarvishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13699836317162644350noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6199892610685146941.post-24998507285846843412007-09-26T09:48:00.000+10:002007-09-27T12:36:00.158+10:00Project Aims<p>The aims of the Open Electric Motorcycle Project are to take an existing motorcycle and to convert it to be an electric vehicle, this bike is then going to be registered and use for daily commuting.</p><p>Using an existing motorcycle eliminates the need to design and engineer a complete bike. Only the electric motor brackets and battery pack will be need to be engineered for registration. The time in building a bike from scratch takes a lot of time and resources too.</p><ul><li>A range of at least 100 kilometers is required.</li><li>A top speed of at least 100kph is required.</li><li>All schematics and software for the battery management and motor control are released as open source.</li></ul>Bradley Jarvishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13699836317162644350noreply@blogger.com1