Saggin' Waggin'

## The super-capacitor powered go-kart *** ### Motivation As I learned more about electronics and electrical systems through robotics and my other activities, I began to explore the idea of an electric go-kart. The project really began when I found an old washing machine motor in a barn and wanted to make something that I could ride on. Basically, I strapped the motor on to a very thin sheet of plywood that bent under the weight of the motor. That was the beginning of the Saggin' Waggin'! Saggin' Waggin' v1.0 had many issues: - It was quite flimsy. to the point where sitting on it made me nervous it would break. - There was no steering... I mean at all, and I was not intending to make a drag strig go-kart. - The washing machine motor required an extension cord to run as I did not have a battery or inverter on the go-kart. ### V2.0 The Gas Edition The findings from this first iteration led to Saggin' Waggin' v2.0. The second iteration of the project became a very quick, but also slow success. I rebuilt the frame to be triangular and actually have sterring components, albeit just a board that I would grab on to and push around to steer. As you can see from the image, the gas go-kart motor that I added gave me some more power and wasn't tethered to the wall. This led to something that I could ride around on and wouldn't be too precarious. As expected, Saggin' Waggin' v2.0 had some issues as well: - I didn't love the gas engine. - The top speed wasn't very high. - the clutch would slip constantly and it was difficult to start because it was designed for a smaller go-kart.
saggin_waggin Saggin' Waggin' V2.0
### V3.0 The return of the charge! After V2.0, I set the project aside as I became displeased with the gas propulsion system and was short on funds for a larger engine. However, As I got older, my knowlege of electrical propulsion systems expanded and I discovered the super-capacitor. This rabbit-hole adventure turned into a facination with making a quick-charging, rideable go-kart. Armed with my first co-ops earnings, I revisited the waggin'... I decided to take a risk on some claimed super-capacitors from Alibaba.com and was pleasantly surprised! I assembled 24 of these capacitors into a small array that was much more powerful in retrospect than I ever realised. I also have a facination with BLDC motors as well and so I took the largest BLDC I could find, paired with a VESC controller, and put that onto yet a third frame! I paired this with a radio control throttle and was able to ride it! The extra torque from the electric drive train, paired with a large sprocket allowed me to ride around with a comfortable max speed. For being powered by a super-capacitors, I expected a runtime less than five minutes, but was able to ride it for close to 30 minutes! And then was able to charge the capacitor bank from a power supply in 15 minutes. To me that was a huge win! Saggin' Waggin' V3.0 was a win in a lot of areas: - New frame that had rigid metal beams. - Electric drive trane with torque to keep me moving and could climb hills. - Long run time. - Quick charge time. But also a loss in some areas as well: - More precarious steering. - 3D printed mounts that would break under high stress.
saggin_waggin Saggin' Waggin' V3.0
### Conclusion The Saggin' Waggin' was a fun project for me to work on in high school and early in my college career. I do eventually want to revisit the project from the mechanical side as, very well shown, that is the most lacking area of the prototype. I would love to see a welded metal frame that has the capacitor bank built in to it. Additionally, would love to see an autonomous robot that would actually have a task with automatic recharging as well!