Devlog #4: Finishing CAD and finalizing materials/parts

I might not have mentioned this earlier but my goal for this project has been redirected: I want this kart to be a lightweight, weldless, easy to build (no machine shop tools required) and cheaper version of the Razor CrazyCart XL.

What I did

I finally finished the CAD, adjusted spacing for everything so I would actually fit, finalized the exact parts I need to order for the kart, and did finite element analysis to make sure the frame wouldn’t fail under my weight.
One problem I ran into was that speedymetals.com, the place where I’m getting my metal, only has square tubing in 6063-T52 aluminum, which is much weaker than 6061-T6 which would have been much more preferrable. I was concerned enough that I ran a finite element analysis to ensure that the frame wouldn’t buckle, and after testing 1.5x the load the frame would bear, I ended up with a factor of safety of 2.89, which should be more than enough to bear my weight. I also designed a couple of jigs to help with hand drilling and sawing the aluminum.

What’s next

I am going to finalize the BOM and GitHub and submit this project for funding.