Swift Flyer

The design and build process of the Swift Flyer

[lykle]

Chassis is done

The chassis design is complete. The frame is tested, strong enough and I have even managed to create space for two battery packs. Do not need two, to be fair, but it is nice that there is enough space to add another pack, if my range is not sufficient.

View of the chassis with the various electronics in place. The dashboard, the 2 battery and the controller at the back. Oh and not to forget, the nice headlight up front.

My attention now will shift to the bearing pack in the main rotating tube to enable the tilt. I have a rough design, but I am not happy with it yet. The need for thermal expansion is making it hard to get a good grip on the bearing layout. 

[lykle]

New bodywork idea

Work has been progressing, albeit a bit slower than expected. Other things need more focus. In th mean time I have been thinking about the bodywork and have not been able to get a shape that I like.

Here is a new shape, I call it the “Hammerhead”

Nowhere near complete of course. Just some rough ideas. Still not there.

I have completed all of the mechanical design, did the math on the brakes, electrics and strength of the chassis. The only thing I still want to do is have a better look at the hand controls. Since the steering is done with the feet, the hands are used for the brake and throttle. 

Currently the design is simple, two clip-ons with motorcycle type throttle and brakes. I am thinking about replacing that with joysticks, a little like the throttle on fighter jets. Only movement forwards or back, forwards is increase speed, pull back to brake.

My conclusion is to make a platform so that I can bolt on various solutions. A lot in the design has flexibility built in, so that it is easy to change suspension pickup points or wheel angles. I will do the same with the hand controls.More on this later.

[lykle]

Ribbon body

Slightly different approach for the body work. Just a few simple surfaces.

It looks ok, I think. It will not be very aerodynamic and it might not offer much protection. But it would be simple to make an be totally different from anything else out there. 

Still needs a lot of work of course, cockpit edges are far too thin, need a little more space around the feet, cutouts for the suspension parts, etc.

But it is nice to start somewhere.

[lykle]

Change of pace

Here is a first peek of the bodywork for the Swift Flyer.

After the hard work on the strength and stiffness of the chassis, I decided to change the focus for a little while.

This is just a first rendering and there are quite a lot of areas that will not work. For instance under the nose, that whole area is simply building up air that has nowhere to go, so that will decrease the wheel pressure at the front. Not a good idea.

Also I will need to create pretty big holes in the bodywork to allow all the suspension parts to come out and have enough travel. Overall, it is a nice idea. I think in reality, I will only keep the sidepods and do something else in the middle. Hmm, maybe keep the sides open as in the sidepods and the roll over hoop. Things to consider.

[lykle]

Stressful

It are stressful times over at the Swift design shop. 

Here is a quick peek as to why that is.

It is clear from this image that the front tubes (60mm diameter) are too large and the main long tubes towards the end chassis box are a bit on the light side. 

So I will be doing a little bit of redesigning to see if I can stiffen up the middle section. The only realistic way of doing this is by increasing the diameter of the long tubes. There is not much I can do regarding the geometry. But I will give it a go.

By the way, the deflection show is not to scale, you will be glad to know. The actual deflection at the front tip is about 2.4 cm. Still too much though. 

[lykle]

More eye candy

Here are a few more images for your viewing pleasure.

This is with most of the mechanical design work done. All the linkages are in place, the electrics as well. The Flyer is at full tilt, 45 degrees and about 15 degrees of steering.

Speed and brake controls are mounted on stalks beside the seat. Current design is for standard bike controls, but I am thinking of changing this to more joystick type of control. But for now it is simple and fine. 

Headlight is mounted in the bottom main tube so that stays horizontal, always good for the light pattern. All of the electrics, Battery, control box, motor and throttle control are selected.

Now the tedious work begins to finalise the design, put dimensions on it and start sourcing the frame materials. This will be a while, besides, I have lots of other things to do as well.   

[lykle]

Side view

Here is a quick rendering of the sideview.

It shows clearly how low the whole thing is. My head will just about top 1 meter. The center of gravity is just above the overall tilt axis, so that should make for a positive feel of cornering forces.

The motor has been selected for now, a Leaf hub motor. It has re-generative braking, reverse and even cruise control all in a simple package. The motor is available in 1000W or 1500W so I can pick how far over the official legal limit to go. This should have enough range to drive around the area here with a 20Ah battery pack. The math will show what kind of theoretical range this gives.

Starting to work on the overall bodywork now. Still not clear how it can be both aerodynamically correct and protect my lower body parts from stones. I am sitting there with my legs wide apart, less than 15 cm above the ground. It is going to be tricky to protect myself.

[lykle]

Here is the Swift Flyer, tilted and in action. 

The front wheels are slightly tilted and are steering to the left. I am designing the Flyer to be able to tilt to 45 degrees. It is clear that I need to work on the chassis as it was about 100 mm under ground level. Ah well, at least I know where to do the work.

[lykle]

New Logo

Here is the new logo for the Swift Flyer. 

It is completely made out of simple parabolas and resembles the Swift.

I have a 3d print of it.

I will use this to cast an aluminium version to fix on the Flyer. Only trouble is, I just realised that I have no central piece of bodywork where I can attach it to. Ah well, this is something that will have to be solved in the shaping phase I think. 

Any comments so far?

[lykle]

Better image and a wider stance

Here is a slightly better image. A lot has changed in the design. 

First of all, the track width has increased by 240mm. It looks more balanced now and it has increased suspension travel too. The shocks are now mounted differently and I have included a larger rear wheel. 

I am not too sure about the rear wheel yet. I am going to print a scale model to see what effect a large and a small rear wheel has on the tilt. There should be no difference but I want to check. As soon as I receive my 3d printer and get it dialled in. (A whole project all by itself) 

[lykle]

Change in direction

After a long discussion with myself I realised I needed to change direction, tilt another way so to speak.

Because if the initial complexity of my design, combined with the absolute impossibility to get my design road legal here in Cyprus, I have decided to make a much simpler and much much lighter design.

The biggest change is the fact that the tilting and the steering is done with the feet. The hands are only used for throttle and brake control.

This will result in a feeling similar to skiing. So now I am carving the road. (Nice reference to the Carver, still one of the smartest tilting vehicles around.) The amazing thing is, suddenly things are falling into place and also, I already know how it is going to feel on the road. It is so simple and so believable that I can already feel it in my feet.

First design is for a very light small vehicle that will be classed as a bicycle, so I don’t have to worry about the legality of it too much. (I hope)

Here is a quick overview of the overall layout. No body work yet, but I have a few things in mind. The design as it stands now can be built with the tools I have available, but I am still looking to see if I can simplify. 

Next post will have more details on the tilt mechanism and later the suspension will be detailed.

[lykle]

Why Privacy matters

Why does privacy matter? Because it is an integral part of who we are. Privacy is the protection of your identity and your identity defines who you are. Lose your identity and you lose your life. (Remember that movie ""The Net""?)

Here is a very interesting presentation on this very issue: 

Alessandro Acquisti: Why privacy matters | Video on TED.com

The line between public and private has blurred in the past decade, both online and in real life, and Alessandro Acquisti is here to explain what this means and why it matters. In this thought-provoking, slightly chilling talk, he shares details of ...

Original article on http://www.ted.com published on: Thu, 17 Oct 2013 15:00:14 GMT

[lykle]

Well, I do admit, it has been a while after my last post.

The link shows you what I have been doing this past time. Working hard inventing new and wonderfull war machines for the man that has everything.

[lykle]

Quick sketch of the way I think the bodywork around the front suspension must be shaped. The trouble is that the top and the bottom part of the nose must be able to move independently of each other. So I need to leave quite a large gap between them.

It ain't pretty yet, but it is getting there. At least now I have a better understanding of the movement and the shapes involved. I think this part of the Flyer will have to wait till I have time to do some serious modelling, in 3d or in clay.

I think I will leave the front bodywork for now and accept that I will need to come back at it. So, what should I do next? Chassis, control mechanism, steering? Choices choices....

[lykle]

The trouble is..

that it just does not look good.

The current suspension layout will work, technically. But not aesthetically. It just looks cluncky.

OK, I know, it is only a initial design. Now that I have the technical bits working, theoretically, I can start with the "look good" aspect of it. But the basic structure of the construction does not allow for much freedom. For one thing, there is a lot of movement going on and I want to cover it with bodywork. The bodywork will have to be very large or full of big holes to allow for all the movement. I think the solution will be full of holes, like the Blackjack Zero.

Yes, I love a challenge, sure, but there are limits! I will start sketching again and hopefully my next post will be a sketch of how I made it look good. I think I will need to modify the technical solution a little to maximise the looks.

I have been designing a lot of stuff lately, from a nice toy for a big boy (a stainless steel trebuchet) to a lovely candle holder in wood and aluminium. I am in the process of making the candle holders now. So all these creative juices must now be channeled into finding a good looking front end.

But, this is what keeps me alive and kicking. So, so far so good.

[lykle]

I knew it was tough..

but I hoped it would not be this hard. Shortening the Swift Flyer has become a real issue and the only way I have been able to come close to the 3 meter target is by switching powerplant.

By using a Suzuki Burgman (for instance) I can get closer to the 3 meter target. Yes I am sitting a lot higher that I intended to do and I will need to figure out how to insulate my bum from the heat of the engine, but it is somewhat realistic I think.

Power is a bit more limited, but I did not want a super fast machine anyway, it is much more about the fun than the outright speed.

[lykle]

This is getting real...

.. tough now. This is where the final overall layout is to be defined.

I have the structure, the general positioning of the parts and how it can work. Only trouble is, it is more than 4 meters long at the moment. That is not very realistic.

So I will need to try and shave a meter off, somehow. This is not going to be easy. OK, 3 meters is the target length and to be honest, I don't think I will be able to get to that, but I need to get a lot closer to it than 4 meters.

There are three areas where I think I can reduce the length a bit. One, I can make the whole front suspension set up smaller and shorter, that will help a little. Two, I can change the sitting position and size, plus move it further forward. But I have the check to make sure the brake and throttle pedals are OK. Three, I can see if I can modify the bike frame in such a way that I can move the whole thing forward. But I don't want to cook my back with the exhaust pipes.

Nevertheless, I will need to shorten the design. I think I will gain most in the seating area. The trouble is, I like sitting low and deep inside a vehicle. Reminds me of my racing days. The only way I can make up a lot of space is by sitting more upright and higher off the ground. Pity. I will do some measurements on my car and see how I sit in there and what the total length requirement is. That should help.

Alternatively, I could redo the front suspension again. Flip it around, make it point forward instead of back. But that means I can only use one swing-arm per side, not two as I have now. The cross-member would fit under my knees, across the Flyer. Springs, shocks and tilting mechanism must all be fitted under there.

It will be a nightmare in packaging, but that's what we got brains for.