MelonKart
Category Archives: MelonKart
Results from Garage Runs
Download excel file here: raceResults
Race results, visual provided by Shane Colton.
| Vehicle | Students | Time | Power | Wattage |
| 50 Meter Drag Race best times, scooters | ||||
| Cruscooter | dgonz | 8.80s | ||
| Pedalscooter | ianm92 | 9.28s | ||
| Razor Kitten | wkalb | 9.62s | ||
| 50 Meter Drag Race, kart | ||||
| Melonkart | djwise, jsly | 8.28s | ||
| 50 Meter Drag Race, other | ||||
| Skull Skates | orozco | 8.86s | ||
| Garage Hillclimb best score, scooter | ||||
| Cruscooter | dgonz | 77.4s | 10.0 Wh | 774 |
| Razor Kitten | wkalb | 95.4s | 10.0 Wh | 954 |
| Pedalscooter | iamn92 | 79.8s | 13.0 Wh | 1037.4 |
| Victor’s scooter | viictor | 88.1s | 15.5 Wh | 1365.5 |
| Garage Hillclimb, kart | ||||
| Melonkart | jsly | 87.4s | 27.3 Wh | 2386 |
| Melonkart | djwise | 79.5s | 26.8 Wh | 2130.6 |
| Garage Hillclimb, other | ||||
| Rick’s trike | rzang | 119.5s | 13.7 Wh | 1637 |
| Instructors, 50 Meter Drag Race | ||||
| Tinykart | scolton | 6.52s | ||
| Chibikart | charlesg | 8.26s | ||
| Pneu Scooter | scolton | 10.8s | ||
| Instructors, Garage Hillclimb | ||||
| Tinykart | scolton | 53.9s | 26.7 Wh | 1439 |
| Chibikart | charlesg | 64.9s | 20.9 Wh | 1356.4 |
2.007 Reflection: Part I
Reflection, Part I: Assessment of your machine’s performance.
MelonKart’s performance. I think it’d probably be easiest if I divided this into several categories – then we’ll see how MelonKart measured up in each of the these categories.
Categories to judge performance
- Handling (steering)
- Stability
- Speed
- Power
- Battery usage (Watt consumption)
Handling: Originally, we thought MelonKart was going to have spectactular steering. This is not true. For future MelonKarts, the steering mechanism needs to be more robust.
Stability: MelonKart’s low center of gravity is not enough to counteract MelonKart’s low mass. While in most scenarios MelonKart is stable enough, David had the good fortunate to prove (twice) that if operated at high enough speeds and tight enough turning radii, MelonKart is not very stable.
Speed: MelonKart goes much faster than initial calculations would have suggested. Partially due to MelonKart’s final weight being much lower than MelonKart’s original ’design’ weight. MelonKart also accelerates extremely quickly.
From the competition ..
| 50 Meter Drag Race, kart | ||||
| Melonkart | djwise, jsly | 8.28s | ||
The speed curves for the Turnigy motor are included below.
Figure 1: Torque/Speed Curve for Turnigy “Melon” Motor
Figure 2: Speed/Power Curve for Turnigy “Melon” Motor
Figure 3: Torque/Power Curve for Turnigy “Melon” Motor
Power: As MelonKart demonstrated in the hill-climb, it packs some serious power. Not extremely energy efficient but eh. It is a giant toy. MelonKart’s purpose is purely amusement. From Charles’ records of the competition:
| Garage Hillclimb, kart | ||||
| Melonkart | jsly | 87.4s | 27.3 Wh | 2386 |
| Melonkart | djwise | 79.5s | 26.8 Wh | 2130.6 |
2.007 EV: Group Photo, Try 1
Hopefully one of the professional photographers got a better shot. I forgot to put my camera on the right settings before handing it off to my friend & sorority sister Katie Chasins. Anyway, here you go! The 2.007 EV Section ’12 in all their EV glory. With Charles and Shane in their “County Fair” Costumes.
2.007 Electric Vehicles 2012
2.007 Reflection: Part IV
I still can’t believe that MelonKart was conceived as an idea, fabricated, outfitted with electronics and thoroughly tested within a semester. To be fair, David and I worked round-the-clock on MelonKart and our effort paid off. Especially when I consider the amount of attention MelonKart has already gotten.
- Science Extravaganza ’12
- SwapFest ’12 (Here and here)
- 2.007 Filming
- DeFlorez Design Competition
- PCWorld Article
Charles recommended that I focus on the following areas in my reflection piece.
- Assessment of your machine’s performance.
- Comparison to other machines and designs.
- Gauge your own learning
But I’m adding one last section – a reflection as half of the only team project in the EV section. I think David and I have some powerful things to say to the incoming EV sections of the future – if you want to make a bad-ass, large vehicle you’re going to need more than $300 and one set of hands to do it. But there’s more you should consider as well.
PART IV: REFLECTION AS HALF OF THE ONLY EV TEAM PROJECT …
Continue after the jump.
MelonKart spends some time in front of a (video) camera
Today MelonKart was filmed for the 2.007 project showcase. David and I tagged along to talk about how we built it.
Dan Gonzalez, another 2.007 EV student / builder of Cruscooter / fellow camera enthusiast, took these photos. I’m so pleased! They came out beautifully. Dan said he was excited about test-running my new lens (from SwapFest ’12) and I think that shows in the photos.
I’m hoping to get a hold of the footage at some point. Here’s photos from the filming though.
Oh, also MelonKart got accepted into the DeFlorez Mechanical Engineering Design Competition! David and I will be presenting MelonKart this upcoming Friday (4/27) at the poster session for the competition.
———————————
- Link to David’s blog: http://wisebeachbum.blogspot.com/
- Link to Dan’s blog: http://yameb.blogspot.com/
- DeFlorez Design Competition: http://pcsl.mit.edu/deFlorez.html
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The feed from the video camera – MelonKart, David and I are pictured.
Introductions! What is a MelonKart? Why is it a Melon – Kart?
Additional photos after the jump.
MelonKart Spec Sheet – Draft 1
MelonKart Specs. I want to update with information specific to no-load speed / maximum travel distance / estimates for how frequently batteries need to be charged.
Download PDF: MelonKart Spec Sheet – Draft 1
Links to Parts
Another 40A fuse bites the dust
MelonKart = fuse killer?
Welding Adventures 3/4/2012
New post but with old photos. Here are the pictures from when Dario taught David and I to T.I.G. weld for the construction of MelonKart’s frame.
** If you’re interested …
Instructables on TIG Welding http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Weld-TIG/
TIG Welding tips from UCDAVIS http://www.tractors.ucdavis.edu/TOMBELLTIGTIPS1.pdf
SwapFest 4/15/2012
On Charles’s suggestion, David and I took MelonKart to the SwapFest (link: http://w1mx.mit.edu/flea-at-mit)
SwapFest was awesome! I enjoyed looking at all the parts up for sale – very tempting but I managed to walk away without doing much damage. I did buy a new lens for my Sony Alpha, a book on Fluid Mechanics (Binder, ’43), a Dwight-from-The-Office sticker for my sister.
But more importantly, MelonKart got some fresh air. Charles took it for a spin down the pavement that runs parallel to the rail road tracks. I then took it for a similar ride and blew a fuse. MelonKart has blown a 30amp fuse in the past but this was the first time a 40amp fuse blew.
More pictures from SwapFest are below but here are pictures of the 40amp fuse before and after.
Before
After
Pictures of MelonKart and SwapFest:
Additional photos after the jump …
