Niklas and Daniel during assembly
Niklas, Stefan and Jonas have all been working on the drive train for both vehicles, which basically means everything between the gas tank and the propelling wheels. Jonas has concentrated on ICE improvements, Stefan on Baldos II’s drive train and Niklas on Baldos ‘X’s drive train. This is the pumping heart of the cars and of course vital for Team Baldos ability to compete as a whole.
The drive train for Baldos II has changed a great deal since the test-run in January. In fact, everything but the alternator (the alternator generates electricity and charges the supercapacitor) has been exchanged, and it won’t be long until that one is upgraded as well. The drive train has a more intuitive distribution of parts, a new position in the vehicle and is a lot more stable than before. As with Baldos ‘X’ it is mounted on a plate to make it easy to detach and configure outside the vehicles. All the brand new components – the ABB Torductor, the new type of alternator and the Tesla exhaust turbine – have been given space in the engine compartment. The former system for the starter engine, which was a typical cause for breakdowns, has been redesigned (the new starter engines were supplied by Asia Motors). Combined with Jonas complete revision of the ICE (helped by Oerlikon with a coating to reduce friction) the drive train both looks and works smoother than ever before.
The Baldos 'X' drivetrain. NuVinci down left in the photo.
Since Baldos ‘X’ is new for this year, its drive train had to be designed and manufactured from scratch. The biggest issue while doing this was to squeeze everything in to such a limited space – there’s only about 350 x 400 x 300 mm for everything needed to move the vehicle forward. Stefan and Niklas worked for a long time with the CAD-drawings trying to puzzle everything in. This was partly solved by a clever positioning of the bearing supports (bearings have been sponsored by SKF) to require minimum space. During the design, functionality and low weight has been prioritized, but the results also look kind of good. Overall the Baldos and Prototype has been given similar characteristics in the drive train to ease production and to use knowledge from one system in the other.
The typical work process while doing this has been to start off with a CAD-drawing, sometimes backed up with FEM calculations. Thereafter the finished blueprints were transformed into physical products in the workshop, or handed over to Janne to do the CAM preparations and actual CNC operations. Stefan and Niklas later assembled all produced parts into the finished system. Most parts have been made out of ALUMEC supplied by Uddeholm.
Stefan in the workshop. Mascot in the background.
A feature worth mentioning in the drivetrain is the NuVinci hub. It’s a hub with variable shifting levels – enabling good efficiency values and decreased tear of the engine while shifting (more information can be found here). Valvoline has sponsored us with traction fluid for the NuVinci. Apart from that Niklas and Stefan have also helped with various driver’s controls – shifting, steering and brakes (springs for the brakes supplied by Sodemann). They’ve also designed the fuel supply system – Bosch Rexroth helped is with various hydraulic components for that.
Although Jonas, Niklas and Stefan set out with the intention to start with production really early, it turned out to be too late either way. The reason is that everything linked to detail design and production has taken about double the time expected. If they’d have the chance to do it again they would have started even earlier – both of them have been working day and night to get everything ready. This has meant putting their focus on parts that work rather than parts optimized for the race. Next year’s Team Baldos may receive the privilege of optimizing the engines rather than designing and building it, which could be a real pleasure considering the massive groundwork already done.
.
