Electric car(a graduation project)

[Tee]

Hi all , I'm in my final year in college and for my graduation project , I wanted to make an electric car (not make it actually , we(me and my friends) will convert a gasoline motor based car into an electric one , but i don't know where to begin or what knowledge basis i should have before starting , or even if this idea is suitable for the graduation project , so i was hoping i can get some expert views here , thanks in advance and your replies are much appreciated.

 

[chroot]

This is an absolutely enormous undertaking. It'll probably cost you $50k and some 10 man-years of work. If you have the resources and time, I can give you some options for starting the project.

- Warren

 

[berkeman]

Here's one of my undergrad engineering school's electric vehicle projects (actually a plug-in hybrid project and competition):

http://www.team-fate.net/


As chroot says, building an electric vehicle is pretty expensive. Even if you have a donated car to start with, the batteries and motors alone will set you back a lot of money. Maybe you can build a Segway instead?

http://www.segway.com/

 

[chroot]

Here's the team I worked on for three years back in my undergraduate days:

http://www.me.vt.edu/hevt/

- Warren

 

[Tee]

Thanks a lot for all the replies , actually after posting this thread i came across an article at howstuffworks.com , it says (just like berkeman said) , the batteries cost 2000$ and last 3 years , not only that , it has to be recharged after 80 km and they weight 500kg , Plus what you (chroot and berkeman ) said about this project needing time and experience , unfortunately i only have one year to accomplish the project successfully , and i also want to make a new , unique project i don't want to make something 'worn out' , you know ? because there is an evaluation at te end of the year which can help me a lot with my final grade ...

so please if you can share with me your experience of your final project , what was it , how did you get started (where to start learning about it) and also what were the other projects around , maybe i can get an inspiration or something :).
Thanks again.

 

[chroot]

You haven't even told us what kind of engineering you're taking, nor what the requirements are for the project. It'd be pretty tough for us to help you think of something with so little knowledge of what you're supposed to be doing.

- Warren

 

[Tee]

Sorry :) , it's electrical engineering , but i don't understand what do you mean by 'the requirements for the project' , i just want to know what did you do for your project , what was the concept ... say for example : controlling a car via bluetooth , or remote controlling of an electricity distribution network using satellite ... what did You do for your project ? (don't worry , i don't want to steal anything i just want to collect some ideas , you can trust me on that

 

[edmondng]

have you thought about the mechanics? Its just not electrical control supplying current and control, more about interfacing with the mechanics of the vehicle.

I would first start off with the old fashion, "How car works"
Understand what a car needs to run, how it runs, why it runs the way it does. If you understand all those, then ideas will soon come out to tell you, "They should have done it this way ...or i can probably replace that function with this so and so..."

Hope this helps

 

[Tee]

It helps so much :), would you please recommend a resource (a book or a website )?

Thanks.

 

[mgb_phys]

If you are more interested in the control systems you could start with an existing electrical vehicle like an electrical shopping scooter and add bluetooth control or autonomous navigation etc.
These should cost <$500 used and already have all the power and drive systems built for you.