Open Source Car/Research Development

hese are the GVCS development steps that take place for Distributive Economics development of the GVCS tools. These 32 steps apply to each prototype of the GVCS machines, and each machine iterates through 3 prototypes prior to Full Product Release.

Conceptual design

The OS Car will be a lightweight and aerodynamic two passenger car that will be fueled with ethanol biodiesel. The current plan is for the car to have a reverse trike configuration: two front wheels and one rear wheel which is the only driven wheel. The two main benefits of the reverse trike design are lower cost and weight due to one less wheel, and lower wind drag due to the highly tapered rear portion of the vehicle. The construction of the car will be a steel space frame covered with non-structural polymer or composite panels. The proposed powertrain is a hybrid hydraulic system which includes a single cylinder engine that runs a hydraulic pump which directly powers a hydraulic wheel motor used to drive the car and which compresses a gas in an accumulator to store energy. Gas in the accumulator will also be compressed via regenerative braking when the hydraulic motor is run in reverse to slow the car down. Cost control and quick development will be maintained by using donor vehicle parts and off-the-shelf parts. Components that cannot be easily manufactured such as brake calipers, steering knuckles, and rims will be sourced from a donor vehicle and components such as instruments, wiring, seats will be off-the-shelf components.

As the car design matures, some components from donor vehicles and off-the-shelf components can be replaced by scratch-built open source components. Also, forks can be made from the original car design for variants such a four or five passenger car, or perhaps a car with a hybrid electric powertrain.

Project Leader

A project leader needs to be recruited.

Project Manager

A project manager needs to be recruited.

Subject Matter Experts

Subject matter experts in the fields of suspension design and vehicle dynamics, and aerodynamics need to be recruited.

CAD Designers

Two or three CAD designers need to be recruited.

Fabricator

A fabricator needs to be recruited.

Marketing Manager

A marketing manager needs to be recruited.

Documenter/Videographer

A documenter/videographer needs to be recruited.

Report on industry standards and best practices

Needs to be done.

Conceptual design, diagrams, performance calculations, and performance specifications

Needs to be done.

Project Budget

Needs to be done.

Proposal Brief

Needs to be done.

The proposal brief will have a problem statement, solution (design rationale), budget, and team and will be used to obtain low-risk funding from sources such as crowd, non-profit channels, and gifts. The problem statement will define the basic need and solution defines how the need is met.

Funding Secured

Funding secured. Funding allows rapid development by contract. Funding is a general fund, and money is allocated to projects on a prioritized basis.

  1. Conceptual design is articulated 
  2. Project Leader recruited- hands-on role; leading stakeholder in the project who has a direct interest in developing or using the technology; main overseer of physical project development and fabrication, and works with GVCS Director on quality control for adherence to OSE Specifications
  3. Project Manager recruited – management role; recruited for project work-flow management through the 27 development steps; also in charge of marketing support - stakeholder identification and evangelizing for support. Marketing consists of identifying potential users of a given product so that these potential users can be tapped for supporting product development. Draws up contracts and
  4. Subject Matter Experts recruited- recruited for consultation on matters of technical development and review
  5. CAD Draftsperson/Designer recruited for any CAD design relevant to a given project; Design follows: lifetime-design, design-for-modularity, design-for-disassembly (for repairability and packaging purposes), design-for-manufacturability (using stock components and easiest techniques), design for manual assembly
  6. Fabricator/Prototyper recruited to do the actual build-out of a given technology, if this role is not filled by the Project Leader
  7. Marketing Support recruited – solicits product to potential stakeholders – users, reviewers, funding entities, crowd funding supporters
  8. Documentor/Videographer recruited for producing all related documentation
  9. Report on industry standards and best practices.
 10. Conceptual design, diagrams, performance calculations, and performance specifications drawn up.
 11. Project Budget proposed
 12. Proposal Brief with problem statement, solution (design rationale), budget, and team completed and ready for low-risk funding - including crowd, non-profit channels, and gifts. Developer contract signed. Problem statement defines the basic need and solution defines how the need is met.
 13. Funding secured. Funding allows rapid development by contract. Funding is a general fund, and money is allocated to projects on a prioritized basis.
 14. CAD drawings completed. This is the core of design – the CAD drawing and model for the technology being developed.
 15. Design rationale documented. Design rationale explains what choices were made why they were made for a particular instantiation of a given technology.
 16. Fabrication Drawings completed. Fabrication drawings are drawn automatically from the CAD design.
 17. Bill of Materials. This is a complete list of parts and their costs.
 18. Sourcing Information. Sourcing refers to where the parts or components for building devices were obtained from.
 19. Peer review. Peer review evaluates steps 8-16 and makes improvement suggestions. This is useful both in improving design and in documenting how negative feedback may be addressed with creative solutions.
 20. Failure Mode Effects Analysis. This is an analysis that examines possible failure modes of a design, and how they affect the outcome of the development project. Such analysis may abort a development path and suggest an alternative for overall design or component design.
 21. Prototype fabrication. This is the actual build of a technology.
 22. Prototype testing. This refers to field testing under real conditions, to examine not only machine functionality but also adaptability of different machines to particular working conditions.
 23. Fabrication Instructional Video Completed. Such documentation is directed at those people who are interested in building a certain technology themselves. CAD and CAM files, technology specifications, and the instructional video should be of quality sufficient for successful replication by skilled individuals.
 24. Compile and publish Instructional Template: Design Rationale, Conceptual Diagram, Bill of Materials (with weblinks to sources), Demo Video, Demo Photos, Instructional Video (A to Z on the fabrication), 3d CAD file (metal fabrication), 2d fabrication drawings (metal), 2d electronics design file to build circuit boards, wiring diagram, Machine-readable CAM files, 2d Exploded Part Diagram, Computer Software Control Code for Automated Devices, Hydraulic Circuit Diagram, Calculations (for scaling purposes), Fabrication Ergonomics (time, workflow, body positions, workshop orientation, best practices of fabrication methods)
 25. Compile and publish User Manual Template: How it Works, Operation Procedures, Safety, Maintenance, Troubleshooting, Repair
 26. Fabrication Ergonomics documentation. To promote economically-significant replication and production of a given technology, the ergonomics (time and energy requirements) of fabrication should be documented as a function of available production infrastructure.
 27. Fabrication Optimization - Update Fabrication Ergonomics Instructions on wiki based on new tool availability and technical insights. The fabrication procedure should be evolved to the most efficient possible for a given infrastructure. The fabrication infrastructure itself should evolve. Fabrication ergonomics may improve through computer assist (CNC) and automation, with an intended goal that production quality and cost in an on-demand, flexible fabrication facility rivals that of centralized production.
 28. Open Enterprise Model published for production of technology. We are interested in distributive economics, so publishing documentation for enterprise replication is an inherent part of our post-scarcity creation strategy.
 29. Open Enterprise Model published for related enterprise. Related enterprises are those which are not the production of a given technology, but the production of the products of a given technology. For example, for the CEB press, related enterprise may be construction services or the selling of bricks as building materials.
 30. User Network development. An internet user group and local user groups should be created for support in using and developing a given technology.
 31. Additional Videos published to User Network- Tips and Tricks, User-Generated Videos
 32. Augmented Reality training materials prepared for fabricator training.