There is a rapid demand for mechanical design courses and electric vehicles evolution in today's world. Electrification is a clean and affordable method of establishing clean energy and efficient transportation. Conventional IC engine vehicles are causing harmful effects on the environment and the health of the people.
Evolution of electric vehicles
Electric vehicles originated in the early 1800s. The first electric car was American, and William Morrison developed it in 1891. He developed a six-passenger wagon that reached a top speed of 14 mph. Toward the end of 1899, the top seed recorded by electric vehicles was approximately 66mph. His invention is considered to be the first practical example of electric vehicles. Significant progress in the field of electric vehicles was seen only at the end of the 19th century.
The first charging stations came around the early 20th century and were created by General Electric. They produced the ‘Electron,’ and it offered street charging in New York City. Electric vehicles were also charged at the dealer's charging location. An additional feature included removable batteries with a separate charging facility. Electric vehicles lost their popularity to the development of gasoline cars and vehicles.
However, electric vehicles' interest made a bit of a resurgence in the 1960s. Regulations mainly drove the 1970sThis surge, acts, and legislation, which pushed for more fuel-efficient and emission-free vehicles. Today, the need for electrification is needed more than ever due to the increase in pollution and the decline in fossil fuel reserves. With the foundation laid for electric vehicles and their infrastructure, driving electric is becoming the new and better norm. The past concerns, including speed, driving distance, and fueling time, are diminishing quickly. The prices of electric vehicles shall also continue to decrease and have gasoline vehicles' efficiency in the next few years.
Design process of an electric vehicle
The development of the electric vehicle (EV) process can be implemented in a low-cost and time-saving manner and the design of the components. The major steps involved in the mechanical design process of an electric vehicle include:
- The specification documentation: As the problem statement is already well known for an electric vehicle, the specification document becomes the first step in the design process. All the required features and details are neatly documented, and this serves as a vision board for the whole project.
- Model Design: A variety of engineers and specialists develop a basic design and model it using CAD software. CATIA courses and CATIA classes can help in developing the model design. The design is modeled in two and tree-dimensions. This is an iterative process and is continuously modified and adjusted.
- Building the Prototype: After the simulations and the models have met the required specifications, building the prototype is the next step. The required batteries, motors, generators, etc., are designed or bought, and the prototype is built. The expertise of a variety of design specialists and design engineers is used in this phase as well.
- Testing of the prototype: The prototype is subjected to a large number of loop tests to check several parameters, including crash test, durability, reliability, efficiency, etc. This is also an iterative process that may lead to repetition of the CAD drawings and modifications of the base design leading to modifications of the prototype.
