UPDATE - Sept 2008,
There is now a full
information pack available for the DIY Wi-Fi Bot which includes
drive software, user guides, wiring diagrams, flash programs and
detailed technical drawings. Most of this is available free from
the Bot web pages, however the
full version of the driver software and the detailed engineering
drawings are available as part of the paid-for
Full Access Passwords set here.
UPDATE - Aug 2008,
I've had a number of
projects on the go and it looks like it's the
BFF DIY Wi-Fi Bot that will make
it to the site first. I haven't made up a plans and information
set for it yet but there are a couple of pages of write up
here.
UPDATE - May 2008,
I've worked up a
design for a 1500W electric kart - one that's a bit bigger and
faster then the 500W kid's kart already on the site. I haven't
found time to build and test it yet but the design look
reasonably sound to me and shouldn't throw up significant build
problems. More details at the 1500W
kart page.
UPDATE - April 2008,
I've added a basic
set of dimensioned drawings of the Platform 2 and updated the
Linear Actuator drawing set to reflect some design improvements.
The platform drawings are here.
UPDATE - Feb 2008,
Platform 2 prototype is now up and running
and I'll now be testing it to see how it runs - more details on
the Platform 2 pages.
I've completed the design of the flight sim
motion platform 2 and the build is now underway. Three linear
actuators have been made and are up and running albeit without
load. An interesting experiment has been to run the 24V drive
motors on 36V to see how the speed response of the actuators
improves. Movie clips of the actuators running can be seen on
the Platform 2 page here.
The remaining structures shouldn't be difficult to make and I
should have the whole platform running by the end of the month.
UPDATE - Nov 2007,
Low cost motion drive software is now
available on the motion cockpit
downloads page here.
This offers an attractive solution for DIY motion platform
builders looking to reduce the build costs of their systems.
I've also made available informational plans for a low-cost
linear actuator that might
be of interest in more conventional platform designs - the plans
are bundled free with the motion drive software.
UPDATE - Sept 2007,
I've updated the DIY 3 DOF Motion Cockpit
pages and made available detailed information about the drive
software and drive and control system. This includes free
software, micro-controller programs and wiring diagrams. You can
see them here.
UPDATE - July 2007,
The main moving cockpit mechanical system is built and moved
indoors from the workshop. I've done most of the electrical
system fit-out and have the control system running and stable,
although I need to do some testing now to see how the system
runs. There is a short
movie clip here to let you see the cockpit in motion under
test (still without a pilot though).
UPDATE - May 2007,
I've added a few pages giving a bit of a
progress report on the latest project. This is a 3 DOF flight
simulator movement cockpit and
will be quite a challenge. Have a look and see what you think.
UPDATE - April 2007,
The 1300W Yard Tractor plans set is now available and is
included with the Full Set Download and on the Plans-on-a CDROM
available from the plans page.
I'm working on putting some preview sheets up on the site for
free - probably just of the assembly drawings, for builders
interested in seeing some ideas for their own projects. Update -
the assembly drawing previews are now up - go to the
Yard Tractor page.
Design work on
the next project is underway - this one will be quite a bit
different!
UPDATE - March 2007,
I've just about finished the 1300W Yard
Tractor build and am now drafting the plans set. There are some
newer photos on the tractor page - get to it from the home page.
UPDATE - February 2007,
I'm pleased to say that work on the 1300W Yard Tractor is under
way. Most of the steel steering and drive components are made
and work has started on the wooden chassis. See images below - I
hope that another couple of weeks will see good progress and
something in the workshop that looks more like a tractor than at
the moment.
Left - work started on the chassis.
Right - Front beam axle, still unfinished but looking sturdy.
UPDATE - December 2006,
Version of the vehicle power calculator
added for imperial (inch & lbs) units.
UPDATE - December 2006,
For designers/builders interested in
vehicle power calculations I've added a simple calculator that
can be used to experiment with vehicle and drive condition
parameters and see effects on power consumption. You can find it
here (I'm afraid only a
metric version is available at the moment).
Design work on the new yard tractor has progressed and
although plans aren't ready I've added a write-up
here
UPDATE - November 2006,
I started design work on the next vehicle - a sort of towed wheeled sled pulled by a "pack" of electric bogies. This sounded interesting to me - you could stand on the rear of the sled and steer the "pack" by steering the lead bogie, a bit like steering a dog team (I guess - never having driven a real dog sled!). I explained this idea to my oldest son and got a, well, muted response - "a bit weird maybe", "not to everyone's taste?" I took the hint am am
now working instead on an updated garden tractor design - one that uses proper lawn tractor wheels and a more efficient electric motor drive than the old mini-tractor on the site. Should have the new tractor design finished by Christmas for building in the New Year.
UPDATE - September 2006,
I've now been able to add FREE plans for the 1000W antique style Voiturette -
check here
The Voiturette plans are also available now as a convenient download with overall materials and components lists and are included in the full
paid-for plans set and the Plans on a CDROM.
UPDATE - August 2006,
FREE plans for the go kart and gearbox have been added to the site -
check here.
UPDATE - August 2006,
Our 3/4 scale electric Voiturette has been built and is running - see the link from the home page. Work
will start soon on a set of detailed plans for the vehicle which will be available in a month or two.
UPDATE - May 2006,
Work is continuing to collect the parts needed for the replica Voiturette build and work will begin on this very soon now.
I've also started to add new Plans Walk-Through pages which will let visitors see what's in the plan sets in a bit more detail. For those just interested in ideas about construction it should be possible to see in the images the general approach used in many of the vehicle designs. I've started with the tilting scooter and the walk-through can be accessed through the scooter links.
UPDATE - April 2006,
Design work is proceeding on the next vehicle which will be an antique car replica - something a bit larger than the kids' karts. I've had another article published in Engine & Wheels
TM
Issue #44
which discusses the early part of this project. You can find it at the SmallCarPlans web site
here.
A second article on the replica antique car design has been published in issue #45 of Engine & Wheels
TM. See the link below to the SmallCarPlans web site or you can download pdf copies of both articles from our site here -
Article Part 1
and
Article Part 2
UPDATE - March 2006,
The powered yard or garden flatbed/walled trailer plans are now available in all the usual formats. The trailer plans have also been added to our "fullset" downloads and our "Plans on a CD".
Time to move on to the next design!
UPDATE - February 2006,
I've had a technical article on electrical drives for small EV's published in the web-publication "Engine and Wheels
TM
" Issue #41. You can find it through the SmallCarPlans web site
here
or download a re-print from our site
here
- enjoy!
UPDATE - January 2006,
First of all many thanks to our customers and site visitors from all over the world and your encouraging comments. With Christmas come and gone the next vehicle - the power assisted hand trailer - has moved off the drawing board and into the workshop, although as I type it's mainly a pile of bits. Winter in Scotland is usually a cold and damp affair and the problem is our unheated workshop can de described in similar terms which makes it difficult to work the wooden parts - time to roll out that old space heater!
It's at this time of year I get jealous of those visitors to the site from the southern hemisphere.
UPDATE - November 2005,
Have finished testing the back-office systems and order pages are now available. If you have any problems with them please let us know at the e-mail link at the bottom of the page.
UPDATE - November 2005,
Work has been continuing on the first set of new buggy designs and on a major upgrade of the web site. We have finished the first set of plans and have decided to release the new web site - but to hold back the plans order pages until we finish testing the "back-office" systems. These will be up soon. The mini-tractor plans can be downloaded now for FREE!
UPDATE - July 2005,
Two of the new vehicles have been built and tested and the plans prepared. Work is progressing on number three. Once I have this one ready plus one other I should have time to put some work into
updating the web site and making the plans available. Still on course for release later in the summer.
UPDATE – March 2005,
Work on EV4 is still on the back burner I'm afraid. Instead a new range of easy to build vehicles is well under way with the first one being built and tested this month. Details of these should be available in the summer from our new web site at -
http://buggies.builtforfun.co.uk/
Come back and pay us a visit in the summer; in the meantime enjoy the rest of the site.
UPDATE – October 2004,
Unfortunately design work on the single seater has had to take a “back seat” due to pressure of other “real” work and time spent during the summer on some other vehicle design ideas. Work will resume however ASAP and I'll post developments when I have them!
NEXT BUGGY?
EV4 will be a rugged single seater for adults, probably
4WD again and will make use of the articulated steering approach used in EV1 and a drive system similar to the tractor's.... I think......
As you can see, still a bit of work to do on this one.
