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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
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<title type="text">Olin REVO - Blog</title>
<subtitle type="text"></subtitle>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://olinrevo.org"/>
<id>http://olinrevo.org/blog</id>
<updated>2013-09-29T21:50:34+00:00</updated>
<generator uri="http://joomla.org" version="2.5">Joomla! - Open Source Content Management</generator>
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<entry>
<title>Disassembling the Zero XU</title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://olinrevo.org/blog/45-disassembling-the-zero-xu"/>
<published>2013-04-02T07:55:11+00:00</published>
<updated>2013-04-02T07:55:11+00:00</updated>
<id>http://olinrevo.org/blog/45-disassembling-the-zero-xu</id>
<author>
<name>Evan</name>
<email>[email protected]</email>
</author>
<summary type="html"><div class="feed-description"><p>As much as we loved having a gorgeous looking bike for a few days, we knew the day would come when we had to take it apart. After cleaning up all the drool from our team members, we gathered together one afternoon and got down to business. The entire disassembly went off seamlessly, with the battery pack sliding out in a matter of minutes, and the powertrain, motor and all, being extracted in less than two hours. Along the way we made sure to keep all the parts neatly organized and labeled so that assembly of the racing kart can be just as smooth.&nbsp;</p>
<p>After getting everything apart, our powertrain team decided to make sure everything was in working order. In no time they had the motor up and running off the batteries, separate from the rest of the bike. Next up, getting it on the racing kart!</p>
<p>Also, check out this cool time-lapse video of the dissasembly!</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">
<object data="http://www.youtube.com/v/yY2mKcm-8tw?version=3&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="640" height="360"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/yY2mKcm-8tw?version=3&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /></object>
</p></div></summary>
<content type="html"><div class="feed-description"><p>As much as we loved having a gorgeous looking bike for a few days, we knew the day would come when we had to take it apart. After cleaning up all the drool from our team members, we gathered together one afternoon and got down to business. The entire disassembly went off seamlessly, with the battery pack sliding out in a matter of minutes, and the powertrain, motor and all, being extracted in less than two hours. Along the way we made sure to keep all the parts neatly organized and labeled so that assembly of the racing kart can be just as smooth.&nbsp;</p>
<p>After getting everything apart, our powertrain team decided to make sure everything was in working order. In no time they had the motor up and running off the batteries, separate from the rest of the bike. Next up, getting it on the racing kart!</p>
<p>Also, check out this cool time-lapse video of the dissasembly!</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">
<object data="http://www.youtube.com/v/yY2mKcm-8tw?version=3&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="640" height="360"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/yY2mKcm-8tw?version=3&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /></object>
</p></div></content>
<category term="Blog" />
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Zero Motorcycles - XU Arrival</title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://olinrevo.org/blog/19-external/44-zeroxu"/>
<published>2013-03-26T14:00:11+00:00</published>
<updated>2013-03-26T14:00:11+00:00</updated>
<id>http://olinrevo.org/blog/19-external/44-zeroxu</id>
<author>
<name>Mark</name>
<email>[email protected]</email>
</author>
<summary type="html"><div class="feed-description"><p>The partnership between REVO and <a href="http://www.zeromotorcycles.com/">Zero Motorcycles</a> has been a long time in the making. We <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.313825248717670.57239.277714688995393&amp;type=1&amp;l=76b46c0397">visited their headquarters</a> in Santa Cruz in January and were impressed by their stable of beautiful bikes and were blown away by their hospitality&nbsp;amidst their 2013 production ramp up. Since then, they have agreed to sponsor us by heavily discounting our purchase of our first professional electric vehicle for study and disassembly, a 2012 Zero XU. Before leaving for break, we unveiled it to the team in a surprise "emergency" meeting.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a title="ZERO Arrival 2 :: " href="/media/rokgallery/f/f99b2b6c-fe4f-4c99-ce34-de875ba0e769/9a34ab9a-bcfe-49c5-847a-bc8ef0ecd7ab.jpg" rel="rokbox[1200 800]"><img style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;" title="" src="/media/rokgallery/f/f99b2b6c-fe4f-4c99-ce34-de875ba0e769/9a34ab9a-bcfe-49c5-847a-bc8ef0ecd7ab-thumb.jpg" alt="" /></a><a title="IMG 7671 :: " href="/media/rokgallery/f/f99b2b6c-fe4f-4c99-ce34-de875ba0e769/9a34ab9a-bcfe-49c5-847a-bc8ef0ecd7ab.jpg" rel="rokbox[1200 800]">&nbsp;</a><a title="ZERO Arrival 4 :: " href="/media/rokgallery/7/74bdf0a2-06e9-4ddb-a7b2-db2f7811762d/5345256f-f2a4-4d08-d95a-445a34e2d2e9.jpg" rel="rokbox[1200 800]"><img style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;" title="" src="/media/rokgallery/7/74bdf0a2-06e9-4ddb-a7b2-db2f7811762d/5345256f-f2a4-4d08-d95a-445a34e2d2e9-thumb.jpg" alt="" /></a><a title="IMG 7671 :: " href="/media/rokgallery/f/f99b2b6c-fe4f-4c99-ce34-de875ba0e769/9a34ab9a-bcfe-49c5-847a-bc8ef0ecd7ab.jpg" rel="rokbox[1200 800]">&nbsp;</a><a title="IMG 7671 :: " href="/media/rokgallery/f/f99b2b6c-fe4f-4c99-ce34-de875ba0e769/9a34ab9a-bcfe-49c5-847a-bc8ef0ecd7ab.jpg" rel="rokbox[1200 800]">&nbsp;</a></p>
<p>The clearly excited team has been wating anxiously for this moment since Fall semester. The plan for the bike and our partnership is simple: they provide the bike, we take it apart, learn as much as we can from how it operates, retrofit it onto the existing racing kart chassis, and hopefully clench a win at the EV Grand Prix as a result. This process will start on Friday afternoon and we will not stop working until the powertrain has been extracted. Stay tuned for evidence of the deconstruction.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a title="ZERO Arrival 6 :: " href="/media/rokgallery/e/ebfe6e97-af25-466d-ec26-859b4e691f3e/a8cc5dcf-3eba-41c9-d8d1-230c8fc47ad2.jpg" rel="rokbox[1200 797]"><img style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;" title="" src="/media/rokgallery/e/ebfe6e97-af25-466d-ec26-859b4e691f3e/a8cc5dcf-3eba-41c9-d8d1-230c8fc47ad2-thumb.jpg" alt="" /></a>&nbsp;<a title="ZERO Arrival 7 :: " href="/media/rokgallery/a/a37a5475-90a7-4560-bfe1-9b5d67fa994e/a7c23db6-e069-40ed-cf0b-f5753c510b69.jpg" rel="rokbox[531 800]"><img style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;" title="" src="/media/rokgallery/a/a37a5475-90a7-4560-bfe1-9b5d67fa994e/a7c23db6-e069-40ed-cf0b-f5753c510b69-thumb.jpg" alt="" /></a></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">We would like to thank ZERO for their generous donation as well as Aerospace Robotics for the remaining funds necessary for the purhcase of this bike. It's a beautiful piece of technology that we'll be sad to disassemble, but we are more excited to see what ZERO's powertrain can do for the performance of our racing kart. With a speed limit of 55 mph during the EV grand prix, we should gear to have even better acceleration than the already stellar ZERO bike.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a title="ZERO Arrival 1 :: " href="/media/rokgallery/c/c2074a8c-a0b9-4834-ab75-9a3e25e3ffd3/45eb7125-a0b4-4cbf-e2d6-ef7aba1c8266.jpg" rel="rokbox[531 800]"><img style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;" title="" src="/media/rokgallery/c/c2074a8c-a0b9-4834-ab75-9a3e25e3ffd3/45eb7125-a0b4-4cbf-e2d6-ef7aba1c8266-thumb.jpg" alt="" /></a>&nbsp;<a title="ZERO Teamphoto :: " href="/media/rokgallery/7/7ab79dd8-b19c-4af8-a33c-ad5b10ed3bd0/b9f04ab8-ab54-4671-9094-6ffdc40b1584.jpg" rel="rokbox[1200 779]"><img style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;" title="" src="/media/rokgallery/7/7ab79dd8-b19c-4af8-a33c-ad5b10ed3bd0/b9f04ab8-ab54-4671-9094-6ffdc40b1584-thumb.jpg" alt="" /></a></p></div></summary>
<content type="html"><div class="feed-description"><p>The partnership between REVO and <a href="http://www.zeromotorcycles.com/">Zero Motorcycles</a> has been a long time in the making. We <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.313825248717670.57239.277714688995393&amp;type=1&amp;l=76b46c0397">visited their headquarters</a> in Santa Cruz in January and were impressed by their stable of beautiful bikes and were blown away by their hospitality&nbsp;amidst their 2013 production ramp up. Since then, they have agreed to sponsor us by heavily discounting our purchase of our first professional electric vehicle for study and disassembly, a 2012 Zero XU. Before leaving for break, we unveiled it to the team in a surprise "emergency" meeting.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a title="ZERO Arrival 2 :: " href="/media/rokgallery/f/f99b2b6c-fe4f-4c99-ce34-de875ba0e769/9a34ab9a-bcfe-49c5-847a-bc8ef0ecd7ab.jpg" rel="rokbox[1200 800]"><img style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;" title="" src="/media/rokgallery/f/f99b2b6c-fe4f-4c99-ce34-de875ba0e769/9a34ab9a-bcfe-49c5-847a-bc8ef0ecd7ab-thumb.jpg" alt="" /></a><a title="IMG 7671 :: " href="/media/rokgallery/f/f99b2b6c-fe4f-4c99-ce34-de875ba0e769/9a34ab9a-bcfe-49c5-847a-bc8ef0ecd7ab.jpg" rel="rokbox[1200 800]">&nbsp;</a><a title="ZERO Arrival 4 :: " href="/media/rokgallery/7/74bdf0a2-06e9-4ddb-a7b2-db2f7811762d/5345256f-f2a4-4d08-d95a-445a34e2d2e9.jpg" rel="rokbox[1200 800]"><img style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;" title="" src="/media/rokgallery/7/74bdf0a2-06e9-4ddb-a7b2-db2f7811762d/5345256f-f2a4-4d08-d95a-445a34e2d2e9-thumb.jpg" alt="" /></a><a title="IMG 7671 :: " href="/media/rokgallery/f/f99b2b6c-fe4f-4c99-ce34-de875ba0e769/9a34ab9a-bcfe-49c5-847a-bc8ef0ecd7ab.jpg" rel="rokbox[1200 800]">&nbsp;</a><a title="IMG 7671 :: " href="/media/rokgallery/f/f99b2b6c-fe4f-4c99-ce34-de875ba0e769/9a34ab9a-bcfe-49c5-847a-bc8ef0ecd7ab.jpg" rel="rokbox[1200 800]">&nbsp;</a></p>
<p>The clearly excited team has been wating anxiously for this moment since Fall semester. The plan for the bike and our partnership is simple: they provide the bike, we take it apart, learn as much as we can from how it operates, retrofit it onto the existing racing kart chassis, and hopefully clench a win at the EV Grand Prix as a result. This process will start on Friday afternoon and we will not stop working until the powertrain has been extracted. Stay tuned for evidence of the deconstruction.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a title="ZERO Arrival 6 :: " href="/media/rokgallery/e/ebfe6e97-af25-466d-ec26-859b4e691f3e/a8cc5dcf-3eba-41c9-d8d1-230c8fc47ad2.jpg" rel="rokbox[1200 797]"><img style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;" title="" src="/media/rokgallery/e/ebfe6e97-af25-466d-ec26-859b4e691f3e/a8cc5dcf-3eba-41c9-d8d1-230c8fc47ad2-thumb.jpg" alt="" /></a>&nbsp;<a title="ZERO Arrival 7 :: " href="/media/rokgallery/a/a37a5475-90a7-4560-bfe1-9b5d67fa994e/a7c23db6-e069-40ed-cf0b-f5753c510b69.jpg" rel="rokbox[531 800]"><img style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;" title="" src="/media/rokgallery/a/a37a5475-90a7-4560-bfe1-9b5d67fa994e/a7c23db6-e069-40ed-cf0b-f5753c510b69-thumb.jpg" alt="" /></a></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">We would like to thank ZERO for their generous donation as well as Aerospace Robotics for the remaining funds necessary for the purhcase of this bike. It's a beautiful piece of technology that we'll be sad to disassemble, but we are more excited to see what ZERO's powertrain can do for the performance of our racing kart. With a speed limit of 55 mph during the EV grand prix, we should gear to have even better acceleration than the already stellar ZERO bike.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a title="ZERO Arrival 1 :: " href="/media/rokgallery/c/c2074a8c-a0b9-4834-ab75-9a3e25e3ffd3/45eb7125-a0b4-4cbf-e2d6-ef7aba1c8266.jpg" rel="rokbox[531 800]"><img style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;" title="" src="/media/rokgallery/c/c2074a8c-a0b9-4834-ab75-9a3e25e3ffd3/45eb7125-a0b4-4cbf-e2d6-ef7aba1c8266-thumb.jpg" alt="" /></a>&nbsp;<a title="ZERO Teamphoto :: " href="/media/rokgallery/7/7ab79dd8-b19c-4af8-a33c-ad5b10ed3bd0/b9f04ab8-ab54-4671-9094-6ffdc40b1584.jpg" rel="rokbox[1200 779]"><img style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;" title="" src="/media/rokgallery/7/7ab79dd8-b19c-4af8-a33c-ad5b10ed3bd0/b9f04ab8-ab54-4671-9094-6ffdc40b1584-thumb.jpg" alt="" /></a></p></div></content>
<category term="External" />
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Regenerative Braking</title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://olinrevo.org/blog/17-powertrain/31-regenerative-braking"/>
<published>2013-02-19T10:08:24+00:00</published>
<updated>2013-02-19T10:08:24+00:00</updated>
<id>http://olinrevo.org/blog/17-powertrain/31-regenerative-braking</id>
<author>
<name>Rahil</name>
<email>[email protected]</email>
</author>
<summary type="html"><div class="feed-description"><p style="text-align: center;">
<object width="560" height="315" data="http://www.youtube.com/v/rwekOfNinvA?version=3&amp;hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/rwekOfNinvA?version=3&amp;hl=en_US" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /></object>
</p>
<p>This semester, the battery box sub-team has undertaken an exciting project that we may later be able to implement into our racing kart. We are studying regenerative braking, a concept based on the idea that vehicles lose a significant amount of energy due to friction while braking. The purpose of regenerative braking is to capture and conserve some of this energy. This can be done using a super capacitor, making a system over 10% more energy efficient. So far, we have been able to model this system on a small scale, and are looking to perfect it before we attempt it on a large scale.</p></div></summary>
<content type="html"><div class="feed-description"><p style="text-align: center;">
<object width="560" height="315" data="http://www.youtube.com/v/rwekOfNinvA?version=3&amp;hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/rwekOfNinvA?version=3&amp;hl=en_US" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /></object>
</p>
<p>This semester, the battery box sub-team has undertaken an exciting project that we may later be able to implement into our racing kart. We are studying regenerative braking, a concept based on the idea that vehicles lose a significant amount of energy due to friction while braking. The purpose of regenerative braking is to capture and conserve some of this energy. This can be done using a super capacitor, making a system over 10% more energy efficient. So far, we have been able to model this system on a small scale, and are looking to perfect it before we attempt it on a large scale.</p></div></content>
<category term="Powertrain" />
</entry>
<entry>
<title>A Visit from Belgium</title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://olinrevo.org/blog/26-a-visit-from-belgium"/>
<published>2013-02-14T12:26:54+00:00</published>
<updated>2013-02-14T12:26:54+00:00</updated>
<id>http://olinrevo.org/blog/26-a-visit-from-belgium</id>
<author>
<name>Evan</name>
<email>[email protected]</email>
</author>
<summary type="html"><div class="feed-description"><p style="text-align: center;"><a rel="rokbox[1200 800]" title="REVOxIMEC :: " href="/media/rokgallery/4/46c95a66-95a1-45f3-8cb4-5a8f9a853c60/fdab5459-4f16-44e6-8b58-7362fcab09a7.jpg"><img src="/media/rokgallery/4/46c95a66-95a1-45f3-8cb4-5a8f9a853c60/fdab5459-4f16-44e6-8b58-7362fcab09a7-thumb.jpg" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;" alt="" title="" /></a></p>
<p>REVO was happy to welcome guests from IMEC and Groep T to our general meeting this week. Here to find fresh Olin talent for some exciting internship positions, we invited them to come check out what we have been working on and more importantly, to meet our team. Some of our team members who previously worked with IMEC and the Formula Group T team were happy to be reunited with their collegues, including a former Olin exchange student. We had fun showing them around and were even able to give a few working demos. It was a great visit and we hope to see some more members of REVO going to work with them in Belgium again this summer!</p></div></summary>
<content type="html"><div class="feed-description"><p style="text-align: center;"><a rel="rokbox[1200 800]" title="REVOxIMEC :: " href="/media/rokgallery/4/46c95a66-95a1-45f3-8cb4-5a8f9a853c60/fdab5459-4f16-44e6-8b58-7362fcab09a7.jpg"><img src="/media/rokgallery/4/46c95a66-95a1-45f3-8cb4-5a8f9a853c60/fdab5459-4f16-44e6-8b58-7362fcab09a7-thumb.jpg" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;" alt="" title="" /></a></p>
<p>REVO was happy to welcome guests from IMEC and Groep T to our general meeting this week. Here to find fresh Olin talent for some exciting internship positions, we invited them to come check out what we have been working on and more importantly, to meet our team. Some of our team members who previously worked with IMEC and the Formula Group T team were happy to be reunited with their collegues, including a former Olin exchange student. We had fun showing them around and were even able to give a few working demos. It was a great visit and we hope to see some more members of REVO going to work with them in Belgium again this summer!</p></div></content>
<category term="Blog" />
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Restoring the Racing Kart</title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://olinrevo.org/blog/16-chassis/25-restoring-the-racing-kart"/>
<published>2013-02-14T08:46:38+00:00</published>
<updated>2013-02-14T08:46:38+00:00</updated>
<id>http://olinrevo.org/blog/16-chassis/25-restoring-the-racing-kart</id>
<author>
<name>John</name>
<email>[email protected]</email>
</author>
<summary type="html"><div class="feed-description"><p><a rel="rokbox[1200 800]" title="kart CAD session :: " href="/media/rokgallery/a/ab5bfdcf-d3a3-476a-a37e-1761b05dd98e/efd6bd7f-f73f-4ff8-d5ab-24d79c5d7545.jpg" style="line-height: 1.3em;"><img src="/media/rokgallery/a/ab5bfdcf-d3a3-476a-a37e-1761b05dd98e/efd6bd7f-f73f-4ff8-d5ab-24d79c5d7545-thumb.jpg" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" alt="" title="" /></a></p>
<p>Chassis sub-team has been busy working to bring our used Tony Kart Extreme 1999 back to operational condition including spec-ing out replacement parts, especially the aging brake system and bearings. &nbsp;Much work has also gone into having a full CAD model of the go-kart so we can begin designing new parts needed to use an all-electric powertrain. &nbsp;Veteran member Ankur Das is working with new REVO members to design a lightweight, structural roll cage for the racing kart. &nbsp;Mason Del Rosario and Sean Karagianes are leading the project team to design and fabricate the mounting of the powertrain and batteries as well as optimizing weight distribution. &nbsp;Joe Kochevar has been working on an Ackerman steering sketch to optimize the Tony Kart steering configuration. &nbsp;In the near future, we will be working with Zero Motorcycles’ CAD model of their 2012 XU motorcycle, in particular their batteries and motor, in order to begin design and mounting for each. &nbsp;Stay posted for updates on this exciting project!</p></div></summary>
<content type="html"><div class="feed-description"><p><a rel="rokbox[1200 800]" title="kart CAD session :: " href="/media/rokgallery/a/ab5bfdcf-d3a3-476a-a37e-1761b05dd98e/efd6bd7f-f73f-4ff8-d5ab-24d79c5d7545.jpg" style="line-height: 1.3em;"><img src="/media/rokgallery/a/ab5bfdcf-d3a3-476a-a37e-1761b05dd98e/efd6bd7f-f73f-4ff8-d5ab-24d79c5d7545-thumb.jpg" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" alt="" title="" /></a></p>
<p>Chassis sub-team has been busy working to bring our used Tony Kart Extreme 1999 back to operational condition including spec-ing out replacement parts, especially the aging brake system and bearings. &nbsp;Much work has also gone into having a full CAD model of the go-kart so we can begin designing new parts needed to use an all-electric powertrain. &nbsp;Veteran member Ankur Das is working with new REVO members to design a lightweight, structural roll cage for the racing kart. &nbsp;Mason Del Rosario and Sean Karagianes are leading the project team to design and fabricate the mounting of the powertrain and batteries as well as optimizing weight distribution. &nbsp;Joe Kochevar has been working on an Ackerman steering sketch to optimize the Tony Kart steering configuration. &nbsp;In the near future, we will be working with Zero Motorcycles’ CAD model of their 2012 XU motorcycle, in particular their batteries and motor, in order to begin design and mounting for each. &nbsp;Stay posted for updates on this exciting project!</p></div></content>
<category term="Chassis" />
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Switching to Atmel</title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://olinrevo.org/blog/18-sensing/23-switching-to-atmel"/>
<published>2013-02-07T09:26:41+00:00</published>
<updated>2013-02-07T09:26:41+00:00</updated>
<id>http://olinrevo.org/blog/18-sensing/23-switching-to-atmel</id>
<author>
<name>Sharon</name>
<email>[email protected]</email>
</author>
<summary type="html"><div class="feed-description"><p style="text-align: center;"><a rel="rokbox[1200 800]" title="DRAGON AVR :: " href="/media/rokgallery/e/e84aa286-c394-4639-d835-8b07d03b4a20/ea14034b-895b-450e-e6b8-09b1404b5302.jpg"><img src="/media/rokgallery/e/e84aa286-c394-4639-d835-8b07d03b4a20/ea14034b-895b-450e-e6b8-09b1404b5302-thumb.jpg" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;" alt="" title="" /></a>&nbsp;<a rel="rokbox[1200 800]" title="PARALLAX PROPELLER :: " href="/media/rokgallery/0/05269976-5fe5-424c-f7b8-c4af6c3b06d3/32cd1a5b-b34c-4985-a7e5-0131fc74df31.jpg"><img src="/media/rokgallery/0/05269976-5fe5-424c-f7b8-c4af6c3b06d3/32cd1a5b-b34c-4985-a7e5-0131fc74df31-thumb.jpg" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;" alt="" title="" /></a></p>
<p>We recently decided to make the switch from Parallax propellers to Atmel AVR microcontrollers. &nbsp;Originally, we wanted to use Parallax products because they had generously provided us with their technology to experiment with. &nbsp;They sent us a selection of their propellers to choose from, and we spent a few weeks learning the Parallax language. &nbsp;At this point, we have decided that while Parallax presents an interesting opportunity for our team to gain valuable programming experience, the risks from lack of technical support and the time required to learn the technology outweigh the benefits. &nbsp;We started looking at other potential ways of managing the sensor inputs and outputs. &nbsp;We had a few criteria for choosing a new management system - it had to be programmed in a usable language and our team members needed to have some experience programming in that language. &nbsp;This really only left one option: Atmel. &nbsp;Atmel devices are programmed using C, which is well-supported and well-known by our team, as the Powertrain subteam moved to Atmel microcontrollers and AVR Studio last year for our motor controller's control board. &nbsp;We also do not have much need for the higher end computing offered by Atmel, so we decided to go with the AVR series. &nbsp;We recently recieved new Atmel microcontrollers and an Atmel Dragon AVR to program them and are eager to keep pushing forward with our BMS.</p></div></summary>
<content type="html"><div class="feed-description"><p style="text-align: center;"><a rel="rokbox[1200 800]" title="DRAGON AVR :: " href="/media/rokgallery/e/e84aa286-c394-4639-d835-8b07d03b4a20/ea14034b-895b-450e-e6b8-09b1404b5302.jpg"><img src="/media/rokgallery/e/e84aa286-c394-4639-d835-8b07d03b4a20/ea14034b-895b-450e-e6b8-09b1404b5302-thumb.jpg" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;" alt="" title="" /></a>&nbsp;<a rel="rokbox[1200 800]" title="PARALLAX PROPELLER :: " href="/media/rokgallery/0/05269976-5fe5-424c-f7b8-c4af6c3b06d3/32cd1a5b-b34c-4985-a7e5-0131fc74df31.jpg"><img src="/media/rokgallery/0/05269976-5fe5-424c-f7b8-c4af6c3b06d3/32cd1a5b-b34c-4985-a7e5-0131fc74df31-thumb.jpg" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;" alt="" title="" /></a></p>
<p>We recently decided to make the switch from Parallax propellers to Atmel AVR microcontrollers. &nbsp;Originally, we wanted to use Parallax products because they had generously provided us with their technology to experiment with. &nbsp;They sent us a selection of their propellers to choose from, and we spent a few weeks learning the Parallax language. &nbsp;At this point, we have decided that while Parallax presents an interesting opportunity for our team to gain valuable programming experience, the risks from lack of technical support and the time required to learn the technology outweigh the benefits. &nbsp;We started looking at other potential ways of managing the sensor inputs and outputs. &nbsp;We had a few criteria for choosing a new management system - it had to be programmed in a usable language and our team members needed to have some experience programming in that language. &nbsp;This really only left one option: Atmel. &nbsp;Atmel devices are programmed using C, which is well-supported and well-known by our team, as the Powertrain subteam moved to Atmel microcontrollers and AVR Studio last year for our motor controller's control board. &nbsp;We also do not have much need for the higher end computing offered by Atmel, so we decided to go with the AVR series. &nbsp;We recently recieved new Atmel microcontrollers and an Atmel Dragon AVR to program them and are eager to keep pushing forward with our BMS.</p></div></content>
<category term="Sensing" />
</entry>
<entry>
<title>We Finished the Bike!</title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://olinrevo.org/blog/17-powertrain/16-we-finished-the-bike"/>
<published>2012-11-27T09:27:56+00:00</published>
<updated>2012-11-27T09:27:56+00:00</updated>
<id>http://olinrevo.org/blog/17-powertrain/16-we-finished-the-bike</id>
<author>
<name>Rahil</name>
<email>[email protected]</email>
</author>
<summary type="html"><div class="feed-description"><p>Last weekend, we completed our first project of the year: the electric bike. As first years, this was our first real experience working with high power electronics. Initially, we started with an electric bike that was disassembled and needed improvements. Thanks to a donation from Mezzazine and Micro, these improvements became possible, in the form of new battery cells and battery management systems (BMSs). As members of the powertrain sub-team, we spent a lot of time working to create two batteries with four cells each, and then to connect each battery to a BMS. We learned a lot about the parts we were working with in the process of assembling the bike. For example, we saw how helpful the BMS is in assessing the voltage levels of our batteries, so we could ensure that they were working safely and performing to the most efficient caliber.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a rel="rokbox[1200 800]" title="Bike Ride :: " href="/media/rokgallery/8/8e598fd0-ffe6-4bf5-d011-2c46a6d6746d/fb82ae4b-0dd4-4344-be25-d1098ff3bd8a.jpg"><img src="/media/rokgallery/8/8e598fd0-ffe6-4bf5-d011-2c46a6d6746d/fb82ae4b-0dd4-4344-be25-d1098ff3bd8a-thumb.jpg" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;" alt="" title="" /></a>&nbsp;<a rel="rokbox[1200 800]" title="Late Night Bike Build Group :: " href="/media/rokgallery/6/6708d7e5-fe98-468f-9278-c58ee932631d/35cace8c-5764-4130-d686-8a26c7c25bfb.jpg"><img src="/media/rokgallery/6/6708d7e5-fe98-468f-9278-c58ee932631d/35cace8c-5764-4130-d686-8a26c7c25bfb-thumb.jpg" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;" alt="" title="" /></a></p>
<p>In addition, we acquired many useful new skills, like soldering and crimping, which were really helpful in creating the electrical connecting mechanisms. We also learned the most efficient way to connect the batteries to eliminate as much risk as possible. In the end, after a final stretch of almost 11 hours of continuous dedicated work (contributing to some first years’ first college all-nighters!) we completed our bike in preparation for the Decade One celebration and proudly demonstrated it to parents, alumni, and community members.<br />&nbsp;<br />The initial model for our bike is complete, but we are still continuing to make improvements on it. Specifically, we want to create a more secure caging mechanism to ensure that the batteries and rider are safe in the instance of a crash.</p>
<p>For our next project, we are looking to create an electrically powered go kart, which will eventually compete in the EV Grand Prix competition. The Powertrain sub-team has divided up into sub-sub-teams to work on tasks for this. One group is building a motor controller from scratch while another is designing a new battery box.</p>
<p>The energy level of all members has been increasing and everyone is very eager to start working on these new projects!</p></div></summary>
<content type="html"><div class="feed-description"><p>Last weekend, we completed our first project of the year: the electric bike. As first years, this was our first real experience working with high power electronics. Initially, we started with an electric bike that was disassembled and needed improvements. Thanks to a donation from Mezzazine and Micro, these improvements became possible, in the form of new battery cells and battery management systems (BMSs). As members of the powertrain sub-team, we spent a lot of time working to create two batteries with four cells each, and then to connect each battery to a BMS. We learned a lot about the parts we were working with in the process of assembling the bike. For example, we saw how helpful the BMS is in assessing the voltage levels of our batteries, so we could ensure that they were working safely and performing to the most efficient caliber.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a rel="rokbox[1200 800]" title="Bike Ride :: " href="/media/rokgallery/8/8e598fd0-ffe6-4bf5-d011-2c46a6d6746d/fb82ae4b-0dd4-4344-be25-d1098ff3bd8a.jpg"><img src="/media/rokgallery/8/8e598fd0-ffe6-4bf5-d011-2c46a6d6746d/fb82ae4b-0dd4-4344-be25-d1098ff3bd8a-thumb.jpg" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;" alt="" title="" /></a>&nbsp;<a rel="rokbox[1200 800]" title="Late Night Bike Build Group :: " href="/media/rokgallery/6/6708d7e5-fe98-468f-9278-c58ee932631d/35cace8c-5764-4130-d686-8a26c7c25bfb.jpg"><img src="/media/rokgallery/6/6708d7e5-fe98-468f-9278-c58ee932631d/35cace8c-5764-4130-d686-8a26c7c25bfb-thumb.jpg" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;" alt="" title="" /></a></p>
<p>In addition, we acquired many useful new skills, like soldering and crimping, which were really helpful in creating the electrical connecting mechanisms. We also learned the most efficient way to connect the batteries to eliminate as much risk as possible. In the end, after a final stretch of almost 11 hours of continuous dedicated work (contributing to some first years’ first college all-nighters!) we completed our bike in preparation for the Decade One celebration and proudly demonstrated it to parents, alumni, and community members.<br />&nbsp;<br />The initial model for our bike is complete, but we are still continuing to make improvements on it. Specifically, we want to create a more secure caging mechanism to ensure that the batteries and rider are safe in the instance of a crash.</p>
<p>For our next project, we are looking to create an electrically powered go kart, which will eventually compete in the EV Grand Prix competition. The Powertrain sub-team has divided up into sub-sub-teams to work on tasks for this. One group is building a motor controller from scratch while another is designing a new battery box.</p>
<p>The energy level of all members has been increasing and everyone is very eager to start working on these new projects!</p></div></content>
<category term="Powertrain" />
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Thanks to Olin's Go-Bikes</title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://olinrevo.org/blog/13-thanks-to-olin-s-go-bikes"/>
<published>2012-11-13T15:20:28+00:00</published>
<updated>2012-11-13T15:20:28+00:00</updated>
<id>http://olinrevo.org/blog/13-thanks-to-olin-s-go-bikes</id>
<author>
<name>Nick</name>
<email>[email protected]</email>
</author>
<summary type="html"><div class="feed-description"><p style="text-align: center;"><a rel="rokbox[1200 800]" title="BIKE DONATION BLOG POST :: " href="/media/rokgallery/2/2bfa19b5-d0a9-4a8f-cf8c-a9fd910c4b6b/6f1ce81f-0282-444d-e611-d2d2a562229e.jpg"><img src="/media/rokgallery/2/2bfa19b5-d0a9-4a8f-cf8c-a9fd910c4b6b/6f1ce81f-0282-444d-e611-d2d2a562229e-thumb.jpg" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;" alt="" title="" /></a>&nbsp;<a rel="rokbox[1200 800]" title="SENSING SUBTEAM 1 :: " href="/media/rokgallery/2/258a2c4d-661b-4431-bc33-46eebc2c2eee/b624c8ac-8591-4161-c998-abd6aad99bea.jpg"><img src="/media/rokgallery/2/258a2c4d-661b-4431-bc33-46eebc2c2eee/b624c8ac-8591-4161-c998-abd6aad99bea-thumb.jpg" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;" alt="" title="" /></a></p>
<p>We were just given a used electric bike frame by Olin's Go-Bike group. This dedicated group of students takes care of Olin's community bikes that are free for anyone to use. Their donation will really help kickstart our bike project and will give us a good start to make it run again. Though it still has the motor and controller, most of the wires have been cut, the electronics have been opened, and the batteries are nowhere to be found. looks like we'll be making our own battery pack.</p></div></summary>
<content type="html"><div class="feed-description"><p style="text-align: center;"><a rel="rokbox[1200 800]" title="BIKE DONATION BLOG POST :: " href="/media/rokgallery/2/2bfa19b5-d0a9-4a8f-cf8c-a9fd910c4b6b/6f1ce81f-0282-444d-e611-d2d2a562229e.jpg"><img src="/media/rokgallery/2/2bfa19b5-d0a9-4a8f-cf8c-a9fd910c4b6b/6f1ce81f-0282-444d-e611-d2d2a562229e-thumb.jpg" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;" alt="" title="" /></a>&nbsp;<a rel="rokbox[1200 800]" title="SENSING SUBTEAM 1 :: " href="/media/rokgallery/2/258a2c4d-661b-4431-bc33-46eebc2c2eee/b624c8ac-8591-4161-c998-abd6aad99bea.jpg"><img src="/media/rokgallery/2/258a2c4d-661b-4431-bc33-46eebc2c2eee/b624c8ac-8591-4161-c998-abd6aad99bea-thumb.jpg" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;" alt="" title="" /></a></p>
<p>We were just given a used electric bike frame by Olin's Go-Bike group. This dedicated group of students takes care of Olin's community bikes that are free for anyone to use. Their donation will really help kickstart our bike project and will give us a good start to make it run again. Though it still has the motor and controller, most of the wires have been cut, the electronics have been opened, and the batteries are nowhere to be found. looks like we'll be making our own battery pack.</p></div></content>
<category term="Blog" />
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Official Olin Organization</title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://olinrevo.org/blog/12-we-ve-officially-become-an-olin-organization"/>
<published>2012-11-13T15:17:31+00:00</published>
<updated>2012-11-13T15:17:31+00:00</updated>
<id>http://olinrevo.org/blog/12-we-ve-officially-become-an-olin-organization</id>
<author>
<name>Nick</name>
<email>[email protected]</email>
</author>
<summary type="html"><div class="feed-description"><p style="text-align: center;"><a rel="rokbox[250 100]" title="final revo logo :: " href="/media/rokgallery/c/c9d5a314-8880-43a3-e9c1-0e7219e6e94b/c43bc4f6-8fb2-4362-d6e5-3a536a2690c9.png"><img src="/media/rokgallery/c/c9d5a314-8880-43a3-e9c1-0e7219e6e94b/c43bc4f6-8fb2-4362-d6e5-3a536a2690c9-thumb.png" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;" alt="" title="" /></a><a rel="rokbox[300 76]" title="OlinLogo :: " href="/media/rokgallery/0/06ada7e1-d587-477d-b251-5d53c4c6391e/0ff0b4b1-050e-4afe-c6d2-7d76e904e26b.png"><img src="/media/rokgallery/0/06ada7e1-d587-477d-b251-5d53c4c6391e/0ff0b4b1-050e-4afe-c6d2-7d76e904e26b-thumb.png" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;" alt="" title="" /></a></p>
<p>What doest that mean? What is the difference between an Olin club and an organization? Well, for starters, now we can directly access all of our funds. If we bring in sponsor donations, we don't have to go through the red-tape of the college in order to use it. This also means we should be able to directly track where all of our team money is going and we'll be able to report to sponsors how we spend their generous donations. This is also a milestone for our little group, as any Olin organization must have three things before they become official: regular weekly meetings, participation in school and external events, and over a year of being a "club." So hurray for our first official anneversary of being a club and our transition into an officially recognized organization. Thank you Olin College!</p></div></summary>
<content type="html"><div class="feed-description"><p style="text-align: center;"><a rel="rokbox[250 100]" title="final revo logo :: " href="/media/rokgallery/c/c9d5a314-8880-43a3-e9c1-0e7219e6e94b/c43bc4f6-8fb2-4362-d6e5-3a536a2690c9.png"><img src="/media/rokgallery/c/c9d5a314-8880-43a3-e9c1-0e7219e6e94b/c43bc4f6-8fb2-4362-d6e5-3a536a2690c9-thumb.png" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;" alt="" title="" /></a><a rel="rokbox[300 76]" title="OlinLogo :: " href="/media/rokgallery/0/06ada7e1-d587-477d-b251-5d53c4c6391e/0ff0b4b1-050e-4afe-c6d2-7d76e904e26b.png"><img src="/media/rokgallery/0/06ada7e1-d587-477d-b251-5d53c4c6391e/0ff0b4b1-050e-4afe-c6d2-7d76e904e26b-thumb.png" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;" alt="" title="" /></a></p>
<p>What doest that mean? What is the difference between an Olin club and an organization? Well, for starters, now we can directly access all of our funds. If we bring in sponsor donations, we don't have to go through the red-tape of the college in order to use it. This also means we should be able to directly track where all of our team money is going and we'll be able to report to sponsors how we spend their generous donations. This is also a milestone for our little group, as any Olin organization must have three things before they become official: regular weekly meetings, participation in school and external events, and over a year of being a "club." So hurray for our first official anneversary of being a club and our transition into an officially recognized organization. Thank you Olin College!</p></div></content>
<category term="Blog" />
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Scrap Go-Kart Frame</title>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://olinrevo.org/blog/16-chassis/11-we-found-a-go-kart-frame"/>
<published>2012-11-13T10:02:34+00:00</published>
<updated>2012-11-13T10:02:34+00:00</updated>
<id>http://olinrevo.org/blog/16-chassis/11-we-found-a-go-kart-frame</id>
<author>
<name>Nick</name>
<email>[email protected]</email>
</author>
<summary type="html"><div class="feed-description"><p style="text-align: center;"><a rel="rokbox[1200 800]" title="CHASSIS :: " href="/media/rokgallery/2/2c4b8bd3-ec32-4b2b-e700-ea58ed529d69/1c575fa6-2d94-42d6-ce85-ba94417767b0.jpg"><img src="/media/rokgallery/2/2c4b8bd3-ec32-4b2b-e700-ea58ed529d69/1c575fa6-2d94-42d6-ce85-ba94417767b0-thumb.jpg" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;" alt="" title="" /></a>&nbsp;<a rel="rokbox[1200 800]" title="CHASSIS CAD ASSEMBLY :: " href="/media/rokgallery/1/1b3416a9-c897-45e6-ca86-aa451c2fdcb7/0a9aff4d-609e-48f5-aef3-9e86acda50cd.jpg"><img src="/media/rokgallery/1/1b3416a9-c897-45e6-ca86-aa451c2fdcb7/0a9aff4d-609e-48f5-aef3-9e86acda50cd-thumb.jpg" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;" alt="" title="" /></a></p>
<p>We found an old go-kart frame on Olin's campus, probably an old frame someone pulled out of a dumpster to use on a project. In any case, its rusted out and probably not useable for EV Grand Prix but it'll be a good place to start until we can actually buy a decent one.</p></div></summary>
<content type="html"><div class="feed-description"><p style="text-align: center;"><a rel="rokbox[1200 800]" title="CHASSIS :: " href="/media/rokgallery/2/2c4b8bd3-ec32-4b2b-e700-ea58ed529d69/1c575fa6-2d94-42d6-ce85-ba94417767b0.jpg"><img src="/media/rokgallery/2/2c4b8bd3-ec32-4b2b-e700-ea58ed529d69/1c575fa6-2d94-42d6-ce85-ba94417767b0-thumb.jpg" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;" alt="" title="" /></a>&nbsp;<a rel="rokbox[1200 800]" title="CHASSIS CAD ASSEMBLY :: " href="/media/rokgallery/1/1b3416a9-c897-45e6-ca86-aa451c2fdcb7/0a9aff4d-609e-48f5-aef3-9e86acda50cd.jpg"><img src="/media/rokgallery/1/1b3416a9-c897-45e6-ca86-aa451c2fdcb7/0a9aff4d-609e-48f5-aef3-9e86acda50cd-thumb.jpg" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;" alt="" title="" /></a></p>
<p>We found an old go-kart frame on Olin's campus, probably an old frame someone pulled out of a dumpster to use on a project. In any case, its rusted out and probably not useable for EV Grand Prix but it'll be a good place to start until we can actually buy a decent one.</p></div></content>
<category term="Chassis" />
</entry>
</feed>