Our Projects
Here is a sampling of some of our past projects. Contact us for more information on these or any possible projects you may have for us.
The Good Earth Energy Conservation Firefly
The Firefly EV was developed as a ground-up, clean sheet design to meet the needs of the parking enforcement industry. The industry had long since been served by Cushman and then Westward Industries, which only provided gas vehicles. With a great demand for EVs in this industry growing, and existing EVs not able to meet the functional, durability, or reliability, of the industry, the Firefly was the ideal opportunity to design a vehicle specifically for this niche.
The unique, three-wheel design met Federal FMVSS (DOT) requirements for a motorcycle, while still achieving the 45 mph + speed requirements of most customers. The custom chassis allowed for a variety of proprietary design elements that improved stability and improved handling, and provide the handling and driving “feel” of a 4-wheel vehicle. Developing custom electronics allowed for other industry-leading features such as stability control and on-board, real-time datalogging.
Additionally, a compressed development cycle was requested, providing only 6 months between each of the major redesigns of the initial Alpha concept vehicle, Beta test vehicles, and final production vehicle. Many changes were implemented as rolling changes during the production of the vehicle. Feedback from customers was incorporated at each step, and the vehicle was improved incrementally with each cycle. The production vehicle overcame numerous obstacles to become the first ever all-electric, dedicated parking enforcement vehicle, and set the standard by which competitors then hurried to meet.
Electric Truck Conversion
This truck project, for a confidential client, was developed using the existing chassis of a gasoline powered vehicle from an overseas supplier. It’s mission was simple: the vehicle was intended to be a leader in the industry for value, performance, and reliability. The client was an existing manufacturer of electric vehicles that simply did not have the internal resources to complete the project, and engaged us to scope the project and prototype the vehicle for them to solicit to potential dealers and customers.
Various suppliers, both based in the U.S. and overseas, were identified and used to help complete the project. Specifications and design requirements had to be developed for multiple components and subassemblies for this vehicle. These were created, approved by the customer, and provided to suppliers to source these components and subassemblies.
This project was also held to a compressed schedule, providing less than 12 months to take this initial concept to being production-ready. This goal was achieved while also coordinating activities of global suppliers, and managing moving targets by the customer for vehicle performance.
This project required close coordination with the overseas supplier, both to understand all their constraints in production and supply chain, as well as to interpret design & technical documents in a foreign language. The overseas vehicle supplier was selected based on their design, reliability, cost, and ability to work with a U.S. based manufacturer. Vehicles were acquired, and carefully disassembled and documented to identify the exact bill of materials needed for a production EV.
The necessary hardware was designed in CAD, using the client’s preferred design and PDM software packages. 2D drawings were created for each component, and all components were prototyped and test-fitted on an alpha vehicle for confirmation/proof-of-concept, and ultimately test and demo purposes. Once validated, parts were ordered for assembly to this final prototype vehicle that would be delivered to the client.
The project was successfully completed on time, and on budget, and providing the cost target the client needed. In the end, a more than 90 mile range was achieved out of this vehicle, weighing in at more than 3000 lb curb weight, and having a more than 1000 lb payload capacity, with a 35 mph top speed. This vehicle marks another industry first, providing the highest performance of any such low-speed EV truck, at a lower BOM cost than any other such truck on the market.
Aviation Fuel System Tester
Whether the product is intended for military, retail consumers, or commercial applications, we can assist. An excellent example of this is a test system we developed for a confidential aviation and defense supplier.
This test set was a piece of avionic test equipment designed ultimately for the defense industry (also with commercial aviation applications). Built to Mil-Spec requirements, this test set is intended to test the fuel level sensors and gauges in military aircraft. This test set is essentially a femto-Farad capacitance meter and capacitance generator.
Achieving these levels of capacitance measurement and generation is challenging enough in itself. To do this in a ruggedized enclosure intended for harsh environments, with limited calibration and maintenance access, was quite a challenge. We were able to create this device, meeting all of the customer requirements, while meeting delivery dates to the customer, and staying within cost targets.