Chapter 118 What Comfort Do You Want?
If a car does not have a front end, the engine basically has to be installed under the seat. This is how some van engines in later generations were installed.
But what Luocheng produces is not a van, but an electric vehicle similar to Laotou Le. Electric vehicles involve fewer things, no engine is needed, and the electric motor is small. No fuel tank or water tank required.
So there is no need for a front end, and the space inside the car is sufficient.
When Luo Cheng shouted in the workshop just now, an apprentice worker who was not working at the moment came over. A little further away, I saw someone coming, so I didn't come forward.
The engine is the smallest type of gasoline engine, and it has a fuel tank and a water tank. Luo Cheng asked the apprentice to bring one piece of each item over. How to place it in the open space according to your imagination.
At this time, Luo Cheng was a little overwhelmed. The body had to be taller according to the original design. Because there is no heightening, there is not much distance between the engine and the seat. The current engine vibration is still severe, so springs are added under the seats to absorb shock.
Lowering the chassis will affect the performance. You may not be able to drive over a stone that is 20 to 30 meters high on the road.
"Okay, let's put it down for now. If any of you come over to Factory Manager Zhang, tell him that I have something to ask him about."
"Team Leader Luo, let me go."
An apprentice worker responded, carefully putting down the erected engine on his hand, and then trotted out of the workshop to call the factory director.
Seeing the apprentice worker running out, Luo Cheng suddenly felt that he was a little strange. According to past situations, if something happened, he would call the factory director himself. Although I am asking others to go, I want more time to think about the problem.
Ringgit must have gotten used to being with Factory Director Zhang and learned his way of giving orders to others when something happened. This behavior seems to be a bit satisfying, but I don’t deliberately call others to feel happy, but I instinctively feel that my own time and work are more important, and I need to call others to cooperate with me.
It didn't take long for the factory manager to follow the apprentice workers.
"I'm sorry to trouble you, little master. Director, I have a few questions to ask you."
Luo Cheng first thanked the apprentice worker who ran the errands, and then said to Factory Director Zhang.
Seeing Luo Cheng holding the drawings and things placed on the ground, Director Zhang nodded. If it was a design issue, he felt that Luo Cheng would ask in vain. If it was about other aspects, he should be able to give a reference. Opinion. Now it was time to discuss work issues. Director Zhang also became serious and listened to what Luo Cheng wanted to ask.
"The problem is this. When I first designed this cube car, I wanted to put the engine and other equipment under the seat. But I didn't take into account the issues of heat dissipation and vibration. But if they were added, the height of the car that was originally designed would be too high. For taller people, their heads may reach the roof of the car when they get in. But as the body height increases, the wind resistance will increase, especially when turning in strong winds."
Luo Cheng asked his question. It was not a design problem. Director Zhang understood it as soon as he heard it. The engine needs to run for a while. If you touch the hood, you will know how hot it is.
But the picture I drew doesn't mean sitting directly on the engine.
"How high are the compartments and cushions mentioned here?"
"The seat cushion is more than ten centimeters, and the partition is also ten centimeters. Shock-absorbing springs are installed in the cushion. The distance between the partitions is high, so the temperature will not be too hot."
"Reducing some size will help."
"It can be useful, but the effect will be much worse."
"That's fine. It can also heat people to death. How does the vibration compare to that of a tractor?"
Compared with tractors, we are cars, so how can we compare with them? There is no difference between driving a tractor and running the engine directly, but I am right to think so. I am too obsessed with comfort. Cars of this era do not have much comfort.
Today's cars do not have air conditioning. When the weather is hot, everyone is sweating while driving. At most, a small fan is installed in the car, and it is easy to plug out a line.
However, fans are also in short supply in the market, and ordinary urban residents do not have many homes with fans. When the weather is hot, I always keep my cattail leaf fan with me and just hide in the shade to enjoy the coolness.
For the comfort of your ringgit, a car worth tens of thousands of yuan does not have air conditioning. It only cost me a few thousand dollars, and at most it’s a little warmer, and it can be used as an air conditioner in cold weather.
I'm totally over the top, I've 'solved' the heat insulation and vibration problems, I just need to get the steel and send a group of people over to weld the handmade chassis. The car body is light in weight, and as long as the welding technology is good, some structures do not require a press at all to produce it. Even many chassis parts of the car are not integral to begin with, some are welded, and some are even connected with screws.
To transfer people, go directly to the machinery factory or other factories that have welders to transfer welders.
In Ngee Ann, if you need welders, you can only think of a machinery factory. Other cities also have steel rolling mills, shipyards, or construction units for bridge projects. But Ngee Ann is a place where you can get whatever you want.
Fortunately, it is not mass production now, so we only need to transfer a few people. Once the real car is built, mass production will be impossible without a group of welders.
Luo Cheng began to draw and calculate the size and structure of the chassis. As soon as the steel materials arrived, construction could begin.
One afternoon, Luo Cheng found that it was gone after just messing around with it, but he was still satisfied with the progress. At least the problems caused were not major.
But if you want to pass the road test, you must get the hydraulic shock absorber out. The principle of this thing is very simple. It can be said that it is an upgrade of the structure of the bicycle pump. Anyone who has used a pump knows that when the pump is full, it is very laborious to press down the pump.
This is the principle of the hydraulic shock absorber. It is a closed pump. The pressure of air alone will be very high. But if the air is replaced by liquid, the pressure will be even greater. However, because it is a sealed device, it cannot be pressed hard when pressing down. , etc. Make a few holes in the piston rod, called flow valves for short.
If you want more pressure, make the hole smaller; if you want less pressure, make the hole bigger. A layer of spring is placed outside the shock absorber to form double shock absorption. Moreover, the outer spring cooperates with the hydraulic pressure to form an automatic pull-back effect.
For small cars, one can be installed on each tire wheel hub. For large cars, if the cargo is heavy, or the body itself is heavy, two or more can be installed. Therefore, such a thing does not need to consider the size of the car at all, and can be directly produced in one specification without thinking about it. Unless it is a special large vehicle, engineering vehicle or the like, it is better to have it individually customized and produced.
This is a post-installation device. With this, as long as there are no quality problems with other parts, road inspection will not be difficult. If you drive your current car directly down a step that is tens of centimeters high, the shock effect depends on a spring, which cannot remove much force at all. Not only will it be uncomfortable for the driver, the shock force may also be dispersed to the bearings. above.
In the car at the bus station, why did the bearing deform and cause the direction gear to get stuck? The hardness of the bearing material is one aspect that cannot be solved by current technology. But this is also related to the fact that the road is difficult to walk and shakes frequently. If a shock absorber is installed, it can also effectively protect the bearing from direct impact.
It can be said that a good shock absorber is an artifact for a car. When people are in the cab, they won't feel any slight bumps.
As long as the chassis of a box car is strong enough, supported by shock absorbers, and the body is lighter than a car, Luo Cheng doesn't believe that the car he designed will be like other cars and fail the road test several times.