Custom UTV

[kdlklm]

I'm building a custom UTV, it has a lowering front-end so it can be accessed by someone in a wheelchair. The photo only shows the front half, it uses articulated steering. I want each wheel to be able to retract independently, ultimately I want to get rid of the bolt on the end of the shaft that holds the motor mount. I would like it to be as narrow as possible. So I would like to do away with the bolt and welded the motor mount directly onto the shaft. I'm looking for some suggestions on how to reconfigure the shaft so each wheel and motor can be independently moved. And it also needs to be able to be taken apart for maintenance.

Thanks guys

 

[kdlklm]

here are a few modifications that I made, I split the shaft in the center, and remove the nut from the outside, and then the shaft can be welded directly onto the motor mount plate. I'm using a flanged bushing on either end of the internal shaft, I'm just looking for some input, as to whether this looks good the way I have it, or should the bushings be difference in some way.

 

[workinprogress]

Might want to check out these axles from Surplus center.

Surplus Center - UTILITY VEHICLE TRANSAXLE W/AUX 4WD SHAFT

This axle has the forward, neutral and reverse along with parking and regular brakes. Have thought about using these on a build.

Bernie

 

[kdlklm]

To get the ground clearance with the ability to lower the front end I can't have a differential.

 

[babypp2]

WOW!!! Nice Post!Kind Regards

 

[Dmace]

This is a very cool project! I'm excited to see it come to life.

Are you looking to go electric powered? Also, are you looking to only power the rear wheels on the articulated part? It would be difficult to power those front wheels and allow them the vertical movement.

 

[kdlklm]

This is a very cool project! I'm excited to see it come to life.

Are you looking to go electric powered? Also, are you looking to only power the rear wheels on the articulated part? It would be difficult to power those front wheels and allow them the vertical movement.

I'm using a 30 hp Kohler fuel injected engine, to run a triple pump. It's going to be fully hydrostatic. 4 x 4

And yes, the biggest challenge so far is making the front wheels able to lower and have them powered as well. But I think I'm getting it figured out here. The hydraulic motors are very small, yet very powerful. Which allows me to stick them into a very tight place.

It is been a huge learning experience, it's a big project, of course if I had an unlimited budget, it would be easier. But I think it would lose some of its creativity.

We have started building the machine already, the frame is mostly done, I'm just waiting for the parts to come back from the laser cutter to start assembling the articulated joint. I will be posting some pictures of that when it is complete.

 

[Sasquatch4100]

Wow! Awesome build! Looks like you're on a decent track.

Some key points to think of:

Sounds like a good motor you have chosen. You need to hook up with a hydro expert and work out your flow and pressure requirements for a full 4wd independent set up. If you're driving in from the back you also might not need a hydro suspension tailgate or tilting platform to drive onto. (use of a ramp style t. I love complexity and do dads and stuff, but the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid)principle is always best. Less to go wrong, easier to fix and troubleshoot and often more durable/reliable.

Also, Bravo on the CAD work!

 

[mjncad]

I just spent a day using a ride-on vibratory roller with articulated steering, and it's a different beast handling wise. Have you ever driven anything using articulated steering?

I see you have the frame started according to your post. Can you modify it to a more conventional steering setup if the articulation doesn't handle to your needs?

 

[kdlklm]

Wow! Awesome build! Looks like you're on a decent track.

Some key points to think of:

Sounds like a good motor you have chosen. You need to hook up with a hydro expert and work out your flow and pressure requirements for a full 4wd independent set up. If you're driving in from the back you also might not need a hydro suspension tailgate or tilting platform to drive onto. (use of a ramp style t. I love complexity and do dads and stuff, but the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid)principle is always best. Less to go wrong, easier to fix and troubleshoot and often more durable/reliable.

Also, Bravo on the CAD work!

all the hydraulic equipment has already been specked out, from a hydraulics company. They actually got the hydro-gear engineers to run it through all their formulas to make sure that it would give me exactly the performance and the horsepower that I'm looking for. So I'm very confident with what we've come up with.

I've attached the spec chart for the hydraulic system.

 

[kdlklm]

I just spent a day using a ride-on vibratory roller with articulated steering, and it's a different beast handling wise. Have you ever driven anything using articulated steering?

I see you have the frame started according to your post. Can you modify it to a more conventional steering setup if the articulation doesn't handle to your needs?

I have been on machine that uses articulated steering, and you're right, it is definitely different. But the whole machine is designed around the articulating joint. I like it, because it is very simple. This is not going to be a high-speed machine anyway. It's going to top out at about 20 mi./h

 

[hddnis]

I've been following this from your first post and I'm impressed by your design ability. Going to work to "build it on paper" will make building the actual machine much easier and less expensive. Nothing to add really, just wanted to offer an encouraging word and compliment your design work.



Mr. HE

 

[kdlklm]

I've been following this from your first post and I'm impressed by your design ability. Going to work to "build it on paper" will make building the actual machine much easier and less expensive. Nothing to add really, just wanted to offer an encouraging word and compliment your design work.



Mr. HE

thanks, I really appreciate the vote of confidence. This is been a vision that I have had for over 10 years. So I have had a lot of time to think about it. But I'm not going to take full credit for it, there is a machine out there that is very similar, and I definitely did model mine after it. I don't think there were very many made, and it's not made anymore. But in my opinion they were seriously underpowered and very slow. Not enough for me to have a good time, I do like speed and the ability to go through anything. So I'm hoping this is my ticket.

It is taking me almost a year to get the 3-D model completely design in Autodesk Inventor. I have changed a good chunk of the design over five times. Which without computer software would've took me building a machine probably about five times to get it to where I have it now. So the software is a huge huge advantage. I can make all the parts movable, and it can tell me if I have pieces contacting each other, and also do stress analysis. Now that we have started building the frame, it is obvious how exact the software is, to what you're actually building. I get a few the old schoolboys that tell me it's a good start, but building it will be very different. Which is somewhat true, but everything so far has been very precise. A lot of this machine is being cut by laser, which is so simple, I just sent the parts to the laser cutting company. And in a week or two I've got them exactly as I drew them up. When it comes to stuff with high precision, like the bearing inserts, they require a little manual labor. But not too bad.

I will be posting some photos once I started assemble the articulating joint, which will hopefully be next week.

Once again, thanks for the vote of confidence. I'm hoping this machine will change a lot of people's lives. Including my own.

 

[Sasquatch4100]

Awesome that some company was able to do all the speciing out of your hydro system. That's a lot of work in itself. Can't wait to see the construction pics.

For a tighter turning radius have you thought of using a similar style of steering like Genie Scissor lifts? The hyrdo drive motor is mounted to the pitman arm and the arm is mounted at the top to turn. (It would let you keep the 4wd, in fact you could have 4wd with 4wd with incredible ground clearance too. Dang! I might need to build one!) This lowers the center of gravity on the lift making it safer, but if done on a buggy such as yours it will give you lots of ground clearance if you don't build below the upper mount. Kind of like portal axles Portal axle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Humvs use them. Also is your pivot articulated to twist as well or is it going to just be able to turn? If it could twist it would be a great plus to off roading capability. Kind of hard to engineer but would have a major cool factor. I've seen these for wheelchairs. pretty cool. May give you some ideas for access to your buggy.Wheelchair Motorcycles & Handicap Trikes | Mobility Conquest

It looks like one of the coolest projects on this forum to date. No offense to those with cool projects. You're doing an awesome job, now give us some pics! haha:laughing:

 

[kdlklm]

The unfortunate part is that I can't have an axle in the front part of the machine. The front-end needs to be able to lower. There will be roughly about 10 inches of ground clearance, which is way too much for just the foldout ramp. I also want to be able to make the machine as compact as possible. the axle I have, is more of a mounting bracket for the side motors.

I've got a few photos of the articulating joint, it moves all directions, left and right, and also the backend will be free to rotate.

I love those photos of the motorcycles, that is my next project, is a sidecar that is wheelchair accessible. In my world, I can't get out of my chair without a lift, so everywhere I need to go, my chair has to go with me. And it's about a 300+ pound object strapped to my ***. So the less I have to get out of it, the more independent I am.

 

[mjncad]

A lot of this machine is being cut by laser, which is so simple, I just sent the parts to the laser cutting company. And in a week or two I've got them exactly as I drew them up.

What file format did you send them? I had some 3/8" plate waterjet cut recently and they could only accept 2-D DXF files. I had to export my Inventor model to DXF, open it in AutoCAD, and strip off the 3-D elements, then convert the splines to closed loop polylines. Far more work than I expected to have to do. Fortunately my parts are simple.

 

[Mike476]

Just wanted to add my admiration for the work you've done to date, you're obviously a person with vision and patience and I wish you the best of luck. Will definitely be following your post to see how things turn out for you.

Regards

 

[kdlklm]

What file format did you send them? I had some 3/8" plate waterjet cut recently and they could only accept 2-D DXF files. I had to export my Inventor model to DXF, open it in AutoCAD, and strip off the 3-D elements, then convert the splines to closed loop polylines. Far more work than I expected to have to do. Fortunately my parts are simple.

I do create DXF files, to go out to the laser cutter, but I create my parts individually. And then assemble them into an assembly file in Inventor.

I create a standard drawing file or a IDW, and import my Part file or ITP file into that, put on the dimensions and then save it as a DXF file. It doesn't take very long doing it this way. And I've sent files to a number of different places, and have never had a problem. But of course it comes down to how up-to-date the software is of the company doing the cutting.

There are a ton of YouTube videos that will show you how to do this stuff. And just about anything else you want to do in Inventor.

 

[kdlklm]

Just wanted to add my admiration for the work you've done to date, you're obviously a person with vision and patience and I wish you the best of luck. Will definitely be following your post to see how things turn out for you.

Regards

It's the positive feedback, that I've been getting from people like you. That pushes me to make it better and hopefully available for a lot of other people.

 

[mjncad]

I do create DXF files, to go out to the laser cutter, but I create my parts individually. And then assemble them into an assembly file in Inventor.

I create a standard drawing file or a IDW, and import my Part file or ITP file into that, put on the dimensions and then save it as a DXF file. It doesn't take very long doing it this way. And I've sent files to a number of different places, and have never had a problem. But of course it comes down to how up-to-date the software is of the company doing the cutting.

That's what I did, so I'm going to assume the waterjet company isn't current on its software, or isn't skilled with their software, or both.