Open Structure Mobility Concept (2016) :
The 'Open structure Mobility Concept', a micro electric mobility that can be customized through 3D printing and be expandable by platform sharing, offers possibilities opened to the individual users, businesses and society.
“An open structure” literally means an open structure. It means a flexible architecture which allows applications such as expansion or reduction. In a broader sense, it is “open possibilities” than merely a structure with flexible material.
In a broader perspective, “Mobility” can mean all the means of transportation associated with the system in a social or urban environment, and in a narrower sense, it can also mean those with specific purposes by adding some words to it like “Micro mobility,” “Smart mobility,” “Electric mobility,” or “Autonomous mobility.”
Open Structure Mobility Concept is a combination of the two meanings above. In other words, it means “the mobility concept with possibilities of application."
This concept has upper and lower bodies divided. The upper body can be diversified according to the purpose. For example, it can be diversified according to the number of passengers, such as 1, 2 and 3-seater, and it can also be diversified according to the purpose such as personal, public and commercial uses. The upper body can also further subdivide its usability with custom parts.
The underbody, on the contrary, has a standardized structure which can combine various upperbodies. Also, the powertrain integrated to the underbody is composed of a simple EV system. Its components are minimized for the ease of upgrade of performance and range as required, and are controlled by an integrated inverter/converter control unit.
Automobiles will be more intelligent and luxurious with advanced technologies such as smart cars and autonomous driving. They will also be shared-use (through services such as public transport or vehicle sharing, etc.) for efficient mobility within a vast social system, rather than be privately owned.
Also, by the future users who no longer regard cars as luxurious goods, for expanding choices in more than half of the world with under-developed automobile manufacturing technology, and for autonomous mobility services such as unmanned delivery or information collection, the user needs for L6(e) and L7(e) segments (the legal categories of vehicles lighter than cars and heavier than bikes) will grow and the mobility market will be more segmented.
This means of transportation should be created in a different way from the existing design/engineering/manufacturing/sales methods which have been a way to maximize profits by stimulating the consumption. They must be environmentally friendly as well as socially friendly. This project was carried out through cooperation between domestic SMEs and universities, and its aim was to research and present a vision on how a micro electric mobility with characteristics of a public goods can be a sustainable product in the future market which demands sharing economy and manufacturing innovation.
This project is an initial concept to study the possibilities of manufacturing micro EVs. The actual size model were 3D-printed. 3D printing is also useful for building an irregular-shaped lightweight structure frame via topology optimization.
The actual size model was made of plastic powder material (PMMA). The 3D printing equipment used to make this model has the highest level of printing speed and resolution, material loss rate close to zero, and is mainly used for casting. It can quickly make a shape that cannot be made by conventional CNC method, which is suitable for design reviews, therefore, it is expected to be widely used in the rapid design process.
Due to concerns about damage resulting from the material properties, the body wasn’t colored and test drive wasn’t conducted with the upper body assembled. The initial prototype was completed by assembling the upper body and the underbody which had gone through the test drive. It still need to do a lot of research on the overall process of design, cost, time, teaming, and collaboration. We have already identified many key issues in our early prototype, and there are a number of issues that we couldn’t deeply study due to the circumstances.
In the short term, it will be necessary to check whether the 3D printing method can approach the standard of a more refined product via further prototyping, and in the long term, it will be necessary to continuously improve the design and engineering, and to review the driving stability and productivity to make a more realistic product. We need the best advice from experts in each field to enter the market with innovative products and services which can meet the needs of small quantity production and sharing/customizing needs.
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