by Luke Loranger |
The smooth hum of an electric golf cart may soon be heard driving around campus. A group of senior engineering majors are turning a gas powered golf cart into an electric golf cart for their senior capstone project. The group is comprised of seniors Justin Plummer, John Chadbourne, Michael Beck, Chris Quine, Fabian Perktold, Joe Da Silva and Chris Füreder.
The inspiration for the project came from a class that Plummer and Beck took last year entitled “Renewable Energy,” which sparked an interest in creating something using renewable technology.
“Since I have been old enough to understand the importance of sustainability, it has been a big thing for me,” Plummer said. “It was interesting to come to college and [meet people] who had not been raised learning how to recycle.”
The idea for the project, however, came from Alan Hansen, Technician Supervisor for the School of Engineering. Hansen had been interested in having a senior convert the engine for several years. He had first salvaged the cart from Physical Plant when they got rid of a series of old golf carts three years ago. The ultimate goal is to be able to use the golf cart as a tool to carry engineering equipment from Physical Plant, in addition to material from Mailing Services and Information Services, especially as UP grows.
“You need a mixture of electrical and mechanical engineering majors [for this project],” Hansen said. “The first version of this vehicle needs to be a simple conversion from mechanical to electric. My hope is that [this cart] will be a platform for more advanced technology, and the opportunity for something students can play around with.”
Plummer said that one of the big criterion for the project is ensuring that the golf cart is able to get up the hill behind Shiley Hall with all of its necessary equipment.
Beyond getting the cart up the hill, the group wants to engineer the cart so that the top speed is 25 MPH and the cart has a range of 15 miles, so that it can be used for teaching and specialized by future students and educators.
“We have gotten the golf cart into the shop, and taken out the engine,” Da Silva said. “Hopefully this week we can start the actual engineering part of the project, which is making the designs.”
Every senior engineering project is allocated $300 from the School of Engineering, but Plummer is looking to take advantage of outside funding opportunities for the electric motor that will power the golf cart.
“A lot of other universities are working on electric vehicle and technologies such as solar power,” Hansen said. “It is time that we joined the ranks and put [our] brilliant minds to use on these issues.”
Luke Loranger is a reporter for The Beacon and can be reached at @loranger18 or loranger18@up.edu.
