Weekend Update

The 3Z1 isn't done yet, but the race is in 6 weeks. Fortunately the Monstrosity 620 is running great, so I'm able to get in some seat time. The 12.2 mile run doesn't have much elevation change, but the pavement/dirt mix is comparable to Pikes Peak.

The center rocker is almost done. Machining a big chunk like this can be tricky with a small 3-axis machine but it came out pretty well. We'll get the bearings and dampers assembled next week.

 

Most of the Laeger Pro-Trax parts came in last week, so the upright spec is almost finalized. We'll order the materials and finish up the prints today.

Reassembly in Progress

The engine, EFI, cooling system and rear suspension are in place. UPS owes us a lot of goodies and we should have a lot of bespoke parts headed our way. Hang tight, we'll be riding in a month. That means some sick new YouTube videos and some knee dragging action shots. Ok enough of that, back to the drawing board (or 37" CAD screen) to put the final details on the uprights before we send them to Southern Machining.

Hubs, Frame and Leaf Spring Testing

 Hubs are done. Bearings are not shown, but they have been installed. I only had three wheel studs, so the others are on order. The rotors also bolted right up with the original Z1000 bolts so no issues there. The ZX10 rotors do a nice job of filling out the wheels and should be more than sufficient for some nice nose wheelies. Plus, the Aprillia wheels look sweet in orange.

The frame is also done. We just went back with black for simplicity, although the orange looks good in electronic.The engine will go back in this week, so it will be nice to finally be in the "reassembly" stagee. All systems go for ride testing in June.

 Our friends at the University of Mississippi have completed some destructive tests on a few of our old Flex-Form springs. We had hoped to test these in an MTS rig, but leaf springs are a bit oddball so we ended up testing these on a hydraulic ram rig. Special thanks to James McPhail in the machine shop for setting it up; James also worked on the Monstrosity project, machining our hubs and center rocker, among other parts.

The guys from senior design also preformed some FEA wizardry, simulating various clamp designs to optimize for refuced stress concentrations. Changes in the design resulted in about 30% lower maximum stress concentration as well as increased maximum wheel travel. Thanks to Jeremy, Dan and Thomas for their excellent work on this project.

Keep Poundin'

Yes, we're still here, and yes, we've been working hard. Flex-form has us a composite leaf spring on the way, thanks to the excellent work of our guys at the University of Mississippi Department of Mechanical Engineering. Laeger Racing also has our ProTrax parts on the way so hoepfully the UPS gods will smile on us soon... in the meantime:

Hubs are machined! It's a nice change to see 3D models turned into engineering drawings, .dxf files and finally into tangible 6061 chunks. Thanks to Joey at Southern Machining for the excellent work on these parts.

Upper control arm design is completed, and the jig is almost ready. We've got a few more waterjet brackets to pick up from Valley Racks (thanks Brad) and these will be ready for fabrication this weekend. We'll also be adding the final steering head braces and the seat mounts. If the schedule holds, we'll be painting the frame Monday and reinstalling the motor, rear suspension, etc next week. Much more to come.

Progress is Made

Recently, TreMoto have been building trikes... The frame is almost complete. We still have a lot of suspension bits to build of course, and there are never enough hours in the day. Generally, though, we are on course to complete the build in May. This should leave ample time for test and tune prior to PPIHC.

This week we'll be finalizing the seat mounts, orange-ing up the front wheels and sending the wheel hubs to machining. Very excite...

Jigsaws Falling Into Place

Graphics are in. This will allow us to design the number panels and bodywork, saving some room for sponsor logos (tremotollc@gmail.com to be one).  This trike is gonna be bright and wild.

Mockup of the frame with some suspension components. We'll have it all jigged and welded up over the weekend. If all goes well it will be ready for powdercoat next week, although we also have to make the seat mounts and add lugs below the foootpegs for the lower cradle. Things are moving along quite quickly.

In other news, Jeremy and Dan have completed some destructive testing on the composite leaf spring as well as some nice FEA. They have designed a new spring clamp that allows for more wheel travel and reduced stress concentrations.We'll finalalize the spec next week and have parts in early May.

Finally, I'll throw a reccomendation to read scarbsf1.com for any technically minded vehicle dynamics enthusiasts... Maybe not too many people, but try Spring-less rear suspension in F1 for a few insights on how TreMoto suspension deisgn dovetails with modern F1 philosophy.

Frame Design ++

 

 So here's the rest of the frame. Bulkheads 1 and 4 now have double brakes and will be TIG'd to 1&3 for additional rigidity. Testing with Monstrosity showed that this was the primary area for flex. Materials are all 4130 of various diameter and thickness.

Special thanks to Brad & Janet at Valley Racks in Elliot Mississippi for their excellent waterjet services. They're cutting our parts first thing next week. Waterjet cutting allows us very precise tolerances, and the whole thing practically snaps together. With an artisan like Jeff on the torch, this frame should spring to life next weekend.

In other news, the orange braided brake lines are here and graphics are on the way from DeCal Works! We'll be designing the RM250-style side number panels around them once the mounts for the 'monoposto' are complete. Ergos are going to be rather pro-quad once the titanium footpegs are mounted. Stay tuned...