UBC Tuner — Modular One-Wheel Drivetrain

Ongoing
Role Team Lead
Tools SolidWorks, Shigley, Mott
Team 7 Members · MECH 325
01 — The Concept
A campus kart, built around our drivetrain

A compact, electric kart concept for moving students between distant buildings on UBC's campus. I led our team in designing a purpose-built drivetrain as the core of the vehicle.

The current render uses a Krazy Kart base as a placeholder to visualize packaging. The real chassis is being redesigned from scratch around our drivetrain.

UBC Tuner concept render on a campus roadway
02 — The Drivetrain
Four modules, one package

The drivetrain is broken into four modules that together drop into the chassis as one unit:

  • Frame interface — an open-ended mount so the drivetrain can bolt into a custom kart without dictating the rest of the chassis.
  • Steering shaft — a bicycle-style fork, chosen for simplicity and proven geometry, riding on angular contact bearings.
  • Motor and chain drive — a 750W brushless DC motor paired with a No. 40 chain drive, sized for 30 km/h with headroom for grade and acceleration.
  • Wheel and shaft — a stepped steel shaft on sealed bearings, driving a single front wheel.
Full drivetrain and steering assembly render Exploded view of wheel, chain drive, and motor
03 — In Progress
Redesigning the kart around the drivetrain

The drivetrain module is defined. The focus now is the kart itself, which I am rebuilding from scratch to host it properly.

What I am working on:

  • A purpose-built chassis to replace the Krazy Kart placeholder
  • Packaging the drivetrain and steering cleanly into the new frame
  • FEA on frame welds and major load paths
  • First build and a campus test run
Front view of the drivetrain and steering module
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