To be honest, i haven't done any design work in the racer for about 3 months. For a weird coincidence, i met Ev about that time Priorities change, and this job will have to sit on the back burner for a while.
I have run a few rough stress tests on the wheel hub assembly, and it will need strengthening/redesigning.
The basic idea for the racer is there, it just needs time to define it, time i don't currently have.
To build the racer, I will need tools. The first “tool” acquired is an arc welder. I will use it (or a MIG welder) to fabricate the space frame for the gravity racer. I dont know if it works or how good it is, but this will be found out in due course...
I have been without my desktop computer for roughly 2 months; this meant I wasn’t able to work on the gravity racer design. During that time, I have been using my netbook (when connected to a big monitor it is surprisingly good). The reason for the slow fix was due to the lack of the internet, so not being able to order new parts. I thought the computer motherboard had died, so when I was finally connected to the internet, I ordered a new one. The new motherboard was delivered and within a few hours of delivery it was connected up and ready to go. Pressed the Button... NOTHING!! This meant the fault didn’t lie with the motherboard, NUTS!! Next on the list of possibly faulty parts was the power supply, so I ordered a new one and it was delivered the next day. My new PSU, OCZ 600W Swapped the PSU’s around, pressed the button, IT WORKED!! The next task was to swap the motherboards back and send the new one back and reinstall vista (in the process of trying to get the computer working I wiped the hard-drive). The faulty Hiper 580W PSU Anyhow, with a working computer, I can now start to design the gravity racer in detail. I know roughly how I want the racer to look and have some fundamental design ideas which I hope to include in the racer design.
Now the task is to take each design function, and produce a solution for each.
I have recently moved house, to live near my new job (It's going well btw). I came to an agreement with my housemates, if they buy the washing machine, I would buy the vacuum cleaner. Not knowing too much about the vacuum cleaner market and being an engineer, I bought one, which I think, has all the necessary design features, the DC25...
I have recently moved house to be closer to my new job. The move of house, however, involved being without the internet and TV for a number of days (I know, the horror). To fill some of the time I have scribbled some brief rambling down, here they are... Check and send e-mails... No Watch TV on the BBC iplayer... No Read about Formula 1 news... No Use MSN... No Use Opera... No
I think I coped okay on the first day; in the morning I did some packing, watched a DVD. In the afternoon I played monopoly with my housemate. I won quite convincingly I owned all the plots bar one, and had a house/hotel on each plot... Photos were taken to enjoy the victory later... On the second day without internet or TV, I went on a bike ride in the Peak District. I think I only did about 9 miles, but, the weather was sooo hot. Every time there was a bit of shade, we stopped for a water break. My Bag and Bike I dipped my feet in a river to cool them down but then had wet feet for the rest of the ride For the third day, I biked to a friend’s house, checked my emails, biked back, ate food, watched DVD’s....
On the fifth day (Friday), we got a phone call saying all the paperwork for the house is complete, apart from one form that needs a signature. The form was e-mailed, signed and then faxed back. A few hours past, so we phoned to check if the letting agent had received the fax. They denied they had received it, this was annoying as it was a Friday, the estate agents closed at 5pm, so it wouldn’t get sorted until Monday. With a Formula 1 race at the weekend, this was not an option. Anyhow, long story short, their fax machine had a paper jam or ran out of paper and no-one had thought to correct it. With paper now in the fax machine, about 4 copies of the form were printed out. With the form, keys were then exchanged
With the keys, the first van load of stuff was moved into the house, followed by a trip to Ikea to buy beds (so we had something to sleep on). I won the bed building race and with only one paper cut... On the eighth day I pottered around the house. I got a phone call from the company I am going to work for, asking when I would be free for a drugs and alcohol test, roll on Wednesday @ 6pm...
For the ninth day (Tuesday), I ventured into the city centre, mainly to find the library to check my emails and to buy a bin for the kitchen. The main annoyance of the day was when I switched on my desktop computer; it just set there with all the fans spinning (all 11). No post screen, nothing, just fan noise. So, I think motherboard or graphics card have died, which is VERY annoying, luckily I have other computers I can use, but none that are anywhere near as powerful. So when I get the internet, I might have to buy a new GPU, try that, buy a new MOBO, try that and so on...
13th day... I passed the drugs and alcohol test, so am eligible to work on Monday
I have started my new job. Fortunately, I haven’t started “real work” yet; as computer access has not been set up yet. I can’t take any photos at work; this is to protect national security... My first weekend after starting work, I went for a bike ride. I think I did just over 18 miles, but when I got back to the house, the odometer read 999 miles. So, the next time I go out on my bike I will have done over a thousand miles on my bike
On Monday evening I went karting with a few people I met at work. It was the first time I have raced a kart and it was very good. I was fine in the kart, but when I got out I was in a little pain, my ribs, back, arms and hands.
Due to the bruises to my ribs and back, I took the remainder of the week very lazily...
Saturday, as I didn’t get the bike out during the week, I thought I best get back on the saddle. I biked towards Leicester, along the canals and disused railway lines. I travelled just over 21 miles, so have now done 1020 miles on my bike
This week I found out my university results, I am now a Bachelor of Engineering with Honours!!!! To celebrate, my housemates, friends and I had a BBQ.
Ending Note, I still don’t have the internet. Hopefully, this will be corrected soon...
For the last few weeks I have been learning a few Polish words and phrases. Mogę to zrobić? Tak...
I wanted to hear what the Polish accent sounded like. While looking on the TVP website I found a TV program called Londynczycy. The program is about Polish people working in London. I found an episode on YouTube, I didn’t fully understand what was being said but I got the gist of what was happening. I quite like the accent....
Priorities change, and this job will have to sit on the back burner for a while.
My new PSU, OCZ 600W
The faulty Hiper 580W PSU
I owned all the plots bar one, and had a house/hotel on each plot...
Photos were taken to enjoy the victory later...
My Bag and Bike
I dipped my feet in a river to cool them down 
WIDGETIZE