Xof1 across Ontario - Day 3

Keep going Marcelo.

XOF1 WALK - day 3 from XOF1 on Vimeo.

Xof1 drag across Ontario - Day 2 Video

Marcelo pulls Xof1 Solar Car across Ontario for the second day.

XOF1 Walk - Day 2 from XOF1 on Vimeo.

Xof1 on the road again...under Monkey power

The driver of the Xof1 solar car was sometimes referred to as The Monkey. Its a reference to Ham the Chimp who was a passenger on a Mercury capsule. Also so that the Xof1 builders could refer to the semi-imaginary monkey shocking devices in the car. In Ontario Xof1 is not allowed on the road due to regressive EV licensing policies, so Marcelo, The Monkey is pulling the car from Niagara Falls to Toronto.

XOF1 WALK DAY 1 from XOF1 on Vimeo.

Xof1 Solar Car: Longest Ice Road

Ice Road Challenge 2010 from Marcelo Da Luz on Vimeo.

Xof1 Photo Artifacts 10: NGM Motor

The Xof1 Solar Car has an amazing electric motor. The motor is an axial flux brushless DC motor that can produce 7 hp, yet weighs less then 40 pounds. A typical industrial 5 hp electric motor weighs 200 pounds. In the picture you can see the stamped flat plat copper coils and further inside the iron laminations of the slotted stator. The copper is covered in a varnish insulation which is why everything looks goopy. This motor is made by New Generation Motors and is specifically designed for solar powered cars.

Xof1 Photo Artifacts 9: Electronics compartment test assembly

This is a picture of an early test assembly of the electronics compartment. The big black box is the motor controller. There is also a telemetry radio, the telemetry computer, various patch panels, and a Vicor DC DC converter.

There were probably 100 of these test assemblies.  The final system did not include the telemetry computer or radio.

The (scary looking) little brown board in the upper right is a board with calibrated shunts for doing current monitoring.

Observe the tape on the one side of the box.  "NO METAL TOOLS....".  Dropping a metal tool in this box with the power on would be a very expensive and dangerous light show.  When working on an electric vehicle its good practice to completely cover metal tools with fusion tape to ensure they cant short various things.

Xof1 Photo Artifacts 9: Xof1 solar array encapsulation

The Xof1 Solar Car array getting encapsulated in 2004. To make the solar array durable, it is coated in an optically clear resin. Many coats are required to make something like 1/16th of an inch coating. The resin got a bit thick part way through the day and we had to go find a jug of xylene on a Saturday. Some local paint shop had an ancient can in the back room.