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Why The Prototypes Have To Wait On The Engine
- Thread starter Ekh
- Start date
I dunno Ekh, your info might well be spot on, I'm not an engineer, but I've never heard of that before. Lots of vehicles get engine swaps, including prototypes in the testing phase, and that's a new one. I get the concept of harmonic resonance, but that sounds kinda like voodoo-engineering. Maybe.....
I can see there being a considerable difference with a vehicle that has a welded box tube frame/body structure .... from building trailers, pig cookers and such I have learned that the stress they experience bouncing down the road, welds can crack .... add vibrations from a drive train and I can see the need to make sure the engine mounts are designed and located to minimize vibrations
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Ekh
Elio Addict
Years ago I worked for GE Aircraft Engines -- and enharmonic vibration was, believe me, not "voodoo engineering." Elio is being prudent in making sure that frequencies are appropriately damped.
Johnapool
Elio Addict
From Wikipedia:
"A harmonic balancer (also called crank pulley damper, crankshaft damper, torsional damper, or vibration damper) is a device connected to the crankshaft of an engine to reduce torsional vibration and serves as a pulley for drive belts.[1][2]
Every time the cylinders fire, torque is imparted to the crankshaft. The crankshaft deflects under this torque, which sets up vibrations when the torque is released. At certain engine speeds the torques imparted by the cylinders are in sync with the vibrations in the crankshaft, which results in a phenomenon called resonance. This resonance causes stress beyond what the crankshaft can withstand, resulting in crankshaft failure.
To prevent this vibration, a harmonic balancer is attached to the front part of the crankshaft. The damper is composed of two elements: a mass and an energy dissipating element. The mass resists the acceleration of the vibration and the energy dissipating (rubber/clutch/fluid) element absorbs the vibrations.
Additionally the energy transferred from the piston to the crankshaft can induce as much as 2 degrees of twist in thecrankshaft, which has many follow-on effects on all engine elements that require adequate timing such as valve opening, cam timing, ignition timing etc."
"A harmonic balancer (also called crank pulley damper, crankshaft damper, torsional damper, or vibration damper) is a device connected to the crankshaft of an engine to reduce torsional vibration and serves as a pulley for drive belts.[1][2]
Every time the cylinders fire, torque is imparted to the crankshaft. The crankshaft deflects under this torque, which sets up vibrations when the torque is released. At certain engine speeds the torques imparted by the cylinders are in sync with the vibrations in the crankshaft, which results in a phenomenon called resonance. This resonance causes stress beyond what the crankshaft can withstand, resulting in crankshaft failure.
To prevent this vibration, a harmonic balancer is attached to the front part of the crankshaft. The damper is composed of two elements: a mass and an energy dissipating element. The mass resists the acceleration of the vibration and the energy dissipating (rubber/clutch/fluid) element absorbs the vibrations.
Additionally the energy transferred from the piston to the crankshaft can induce as much as 2 degrees of twist in thecrankshaft, which has many follow-on effects on all engine elements that require adequate timing such as valve opening, cam timing, ignition timing etc."
Cache Man
Elio Addict
Here is a video that BlioKart posted previously. It talks about the dampener for the Elio towards the end at 2:18. This is for the engine loading as per Johnapool's posting. This may also address those asking why the suppliers are not advertising Elio while Elio is for them... This is proof that ATI is advertising Elio. If you are looking at the Elio engine you can clearly see the ATI pulley.
I always assumed the engine would need to be designed, built, tested, and running prior to the prototype builds for a precision engineering fit when building the Elio from the ground up. I expected another production delay because the engine was still being tested. So if funding is available to start building prototytpes after the newly scheduled engine start event I am back to 100%. No funding news I'm back to doubting.
Ekh
Elio Addict
It's a matter of timing. Elio is perfectly well aware of how important it is to get the crash vehicles built... "no safety, no sales to mom" is how Jerry put it to me the other day. Once the engine testing is complete, they will start producing the prototypes -- as cash flow permits. The timing, therefore, depends on which happens first: enough plant equipment sold, additional investors on board, or ATVM loan guarantee. Part of the problem is that Paul doesn't want to give away the store, so he won't offer enormous slabs of stock to potential investors. That makes it much harder, but Paul does not want a flood of Chinese parts, for instance, at the behest of other major stockholders.
Personally, I think he's going to have to carve the turkey a little bit, but as of now he hasn't done so. His determination not to give away control also means he has to offer higher returns to investors, either interest or profit share. Meanwhile, the company certainly has assets, and may well navigate these rapids safely -- but it all takes time, time, time.
I wonder about the assets you mention. I'm guessing they are minimal, and liquid assests are probably being used to meet daily expenses while waiting on funding options. I think while navigating the rapids they got hung up on a rock and are waiting for an emergency venture capitalist to rescue them.