Grassroots Mechanic Movement

  Post vehicle, wheeled, ground-testing. After a short pause caused by things in life that have required my undivided attention, I’m back & ready to get busy.   So, the on-road testing would be considered a success, and the “hybrid-assist” effect is undeniable. The “failures” encountered within that round of testing were due to the prototype building methods and materials. It is hard to justify the cost in time and materials for a more durable build when it is being taken apart and changed multiple times. Total cost of materials for a single planet gear, without the weight, is around $8 US. The cost of a machined, straight toothed, drilled hole center, spur gear of the same size is around $200 to $300 US. In that light, the component failures are an acceptable offset to the cost differential. Now we move forward with further testing of the PIE 2.0 while still getting ready to build a next version.  ****************************************************************************

PIE 2.0 All Pretty -- Before Being Worked Hard, Out in the Real World  I find that it has been tough to get busy and simply do what needs to be done lately. The PIE 2.0 has had to take a “back seat” to far more important family business, but I finally did get some time to finish up some “real world” testing at a reasonable speed of 55 MPH (88 KPH). It is not an easy thing to find a “flat” stretch of highway in the Northeastern United States (about 350 miles inland), so I have made do with a straight stretch with only some small rolling hills and with an estimated elevation rise from start to finish of approximately 15-20 feet (not verified with altimeter). As before, measurements are taken and only considered valid if measured values are repetitively similar. I was able to bring the PIE 2.0 up to slightly over 120 RPMs and test before it broke this last time and left a weight laying in the truck bed. So, here is a simplified recap of test results obtained on this test roadway a

Next Gen Test Gear After some unexpected personal business (death in the family) to be attended to, I am excited to pick up where I left off with the PIE 2.0. I had to remove the test rig from the test vehicle in order to transport several loads of “rubbish” from a deceased family member’s apartment to be delivered to either a charity donation center or a dumpster for disposal. The Pie 2.0 is fastened back into the test vehicle, testing routs are mapped out for highway speed testing, and I am ready to start recording data. As seen in the photo above, I have also been working on an improved method of obtaining and making planetary gears. The latest idea on this front is an inside-out chain drive/sprocket assembly. I don’t think that it is a long-term production solution, but it seems to present a reasonably inexpensive alternative to making gears from scratch. The nice people at www.RollerChain4less.com (Nitro Power Products, LLC) have 17-tooth idler sprockets with a