Sn0wchyld's 12kw custom frame mid drive

[sn0wchyld]

FINALLY i can post an update with some (admittedly minor) progress on this build. Never have i had so many hardware/software failures in such a short time before... everything from my soldering iron shorting out and blowing up its power supply, to my coolant systems solenoid valves failing, to other supply wires melting, to my extractor/vacuum's blower fan falling off its driveshaft, to CAD/CAM software crashing every time i try to check my CAM tool paths, and more.... Fortunately I (touch wood) have all the gremlins found and fixed. Took some extra time to replace and make everything work better than it did before, rather than just band-aiding it, which seems to have helped both reliability and usability. Also managed to squeeze in a basic commuter bike build too, should help saving some time commuting to work now that the weather is improving.

But yea, first part finally finished, only some 30 to go lol. Didn't end up using the half cut part that came unstuck, would have been fairly easy to re acquire the coordinates but I made some minor changes to the design to reduce machine time considerably and improve strength (looks better too imo). Should be able to get a large part done during each week, and at least 1 each weekend, much more once i get to the smaller parts, so about a month or so to the parts are done (assuming no further issues, im bear hugging rather than just touching wood at this point...).

I also forgot to answer Jansevr: yes quite possibly, though i dont think in the immediate future, possibly early next year? I'd like to put more time into it but works getting kinda hectic atm and I've no real ability to upgrade my machines until i find more space for a larger workshop, all of which is slowing me down (in addition to the above issues).

 

[Rube]

Nice to see some progress. Sounds like you have quiet the task with another 30 components.
I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on the design after you've been through the machining process.
I hear you with the weird delays, last week I was massively busy and then every ceiling light in the workshop blew in space of half an hour which is a problem because the place is piratically a cave.

 

[sn0wchyld]

Seems i cant get a break with this thing. have been trying to cut more pecies, only to have my cnc machiene develop a short that caused the stepper motors to drive the endmill down into the bed, ruining the part in the process. Now that I managed to find out where and fix that issue the PC that runs the whole thing has spat the dummy and died (HDD i think, but hard to tell, wont boot at all). So now I've orderd myself a standalone controller that will replace the PC, little less flexibility but cheaper than a new PC, and (I hope!) more reliable.

Posed this on FB a while back, but for those not on ES FB, here's the small extra progress i made before the above fiasco.



some good news is the chamfering worked a treat, the first parts i did didn't have any, but first time lucky, they've worked out great on the latest parts. no more by-hand debarring!! Very happy with the finish when things work, so its just a matter of making things work a little more often!

 

[Ham]

That's both amazing (the finished product) and crapola (the mangled equipment)!

Looking forward to seeing it come together. Thanks for the update

 

[Rube]

Nice work, so many triangles. Is the pedal hanger and head tube a bolt on arrangement? I assume you'll produce two of these as largest components of the chassis?
Any lessons in the machining that would inform future designs?
Sounds like you walked under a ladder while kicking a black cat :?

 

[sn0wchyld]

Nice work, so many triangles. Is the pedal hanger and head tube a bolt on arrangement? I assume you'll produce two of these as largest components of the chassis?
Any lessons in the machining that would inform future designs?
Sounds like you walked under a ladder while kicking a black cat :?

haha yea while dropping and breaking a mirror.
yep, entire thing is a bolt together affair. idea being if anything doesn't work so well I can re-make only a couple of panels and have (if nessasary) a completely different bike.

Machining, when things have worked, has gone pretty well. Already had some experience making other parts so already had some idea about what to do. The updates to the coolant system also works really well, very happy with it. Basically a home made fogbuster, but with a flexible tube and a blower fan to make sure i can blow away any large piles of chips that build up. Will be making some fixture plates for some of the parts but generally has gone well. its everything else thats breaking Main thing i'd change is having a larger machine so i can cut a couple of parts at a time.

 

[Rube]

Hi, any news or are you too busy enjoying your other bikes? All the best ☺

 

[sn0wchyld]

Little in the way of recent progress, unfortunately. I've just bought my first house, and changed jobs. Between all that chaos this build has been put on the back burner. The good news is the new house has a much bigger workshop, so once i've finished setting it up and settling in, then i'll be back on this project. The new role has also put me in touch with some local machinists, so I may also look at outsourcing that side of it for the 1st round, and save myself some time!

 

[trazor]

Hey I've just found this build thread. Any progress?
To me, the most exciting part of your project seems to be the two gears box. I wonder if it is really practical on an e-moto. I would love to have a low gear when riding on sand to not overheat in couple minutes.

 

[sn0wchyld]

no progress sadly... life (work,house etc) gets in the way and I've got plans to buy a new CNC that would make the job much easier, which doesn't help the motivation to work with my relatively crap cnc.

yea the 2 speed is probably going to get dropped... it just doesn't offer enough over putting the same weight into getting a bigger motor, and for me the use cases will be too limited to justify the work required. I'd still like to make it but given the time its taken to get this far its not looking promising

 

[KarlJ]

did you already have the adaptto or......they have gone!

 

[sn0wchyld]

yea already had it from a few years back, when they were in their heyday

 

[ElectricGod]

I love all that CNC router work!
I wish I had that kind of equipment.
Maybe stuff went wrong, but hey, that metal work is still pretty gorgeous.

 

[rider63]

hello, some news of your project?

 

[Deafcat]

Do the smart thing and outsource the cutting. You'd be done years ago, for less cost, with less headache. Your machine didn't fail because of bad luck, it was lack of experience (and cheap equipment). You can outsource the cutting to a professional jobbing shop with expensive, reliable tools, and then you can move on to steps which are better suited to your home shop. Cheers!

 

[owhite]

These guys are great:

https://sendcutsend.com/