Spartan Superway Personal Blog

This past week I worked closely with the controls team. I was on top of delivery and helping in any aspect I can to get both motors working simultaneously. We came across an issue where the motor might torque itself off the motor shaft when it initially propels the system forward. I researched into loctite to glue the shaft from the motor and our designed motor shaft in hopes of overcoming the initial torque. As a backup plan, I also thought about using loctite to glue the metal plate that came with the motor to further increase stiffness.

This week: Ordered second motor controller and relay contactors for controls team (delivered) Picked up manufactured shaft from central shop Set a hard deadline to central shop for motor casing Updated presentation due to not having time to present previous week Researched on regen braking

This week, I researched on solution to solve the problem of the motor's unidirectional issue that affect the whole Superway. One solution me and my co-lead found was to weld the clutch so it enables the motor to become bi-directional. However, that would cause a lot of issues for the motor. The motor would lose a tremendous about of its durability. Another issue with welding is starting the motor will cause a lot of lag and grinding. Considering these cons, I still looked into shops that would weld the clutch for us as a backup plan. I also helped the controls team purchase contacts for the motor due to an issue with blowing out relays. I also placed the purchase for our second motor controller with the confirmation that the first one works.