WCI Electric Vehicle Project

In 2008, the students at Waterloo Collegiate Institute took up a challenge issued by the Reduce The Juice Foundation and began a project to create a solar-recharged electric vehicle.

 

While the mechanical aspect of the project was well understood, there was little information available with respect to the electrical and control elements.

 

An original vehicle design was replaced after students from the University of Waterloo Alternative Fuels Team (UWAFT) provided engineering support for a stronger-framed vehicle.

 

This new design would require close to a year to build, and it would be many months before the students would be in a position to start adding the electric motor, batteries, and controller.

 

With support from Cybersystems Inc and the Navitas Vehicle Systems division of Accelerated Systems Inc, a small-scale "test bed" was created to teach the fundamentals of motor control.

 

Basic objectives of the project included:
- basic electric circuits and diagrams,
- learning to solder,
- learning to "unsolder",
- motor control concepts
- safe sequencing rules
- switch requirements (key, direction, "deadman")
- DC motor voltage/RPM relationship
- simple gearing

 

The eCar was successfully driven in the 2009 Oktoberfest parade.