BY KEITH LIPPOLDT
klippoldt@gbtribune.com
A typical high school welding class curriculum consists of not only proficiency in various welding processes, but also an understanding of safety, machine operations, blueprint comprehension, and adherence to industry standards, readying the students for successful careers in welding and fabrication.
This is mostly true for the Production Welding course being taught by Adam Moritz at St. John High School. Except in Moritz’s shop, in addition to the required curriculum, the students are being taught to build, maintain and race an electric vehicle.
Moritz, in his eighth year at SJHS, did not bring this curriculum to St. John – this program has been taught for over 20 years at the school and they are on their second car. The first is 20 years old and still operational.
“Technically, we’re not teaching it as a class. This is a project,” Moritz said. “It’s called production welding. I have eight kids in that metals class, but then I have five other kids in some woodworking classes who like to join and help out. So I’ve got about 13 total kids who are interested in and willing to help. We’re part of what’s called Kansas ElectroRally.”
St. John High School is one of 11 Kansas schools that are participating in an electric car program. Interest in electric vehicles was not at a high level in central Kansas 20 years ago like it was on the east and west coasts of the U.S. At that time few could honestly predict the electric car becoming as popular as they have across the country.
“A lot of people had thought they were like RC cars that we were designing and then racing remote control. But no, these are real size. People sit in them,” he said.
The biggest drawback was, and still is, the mileage range was too short for practical use in this area.
Car #105
There are mandatory specifications a car must have to be allowed to participate in sanctioned events. Among them are safety and weight requirements as well as steering and braking components. Shape and design are up to the individual teams to design.
“A car design could be any shape,” Moritz explained. “We have an old one that was designed by some kids years ago, and they came up with that (flat nose) design. The new car we made, I kind of came up with the design, and I told the kids, this is how I wanted it, and then we based it off that. Specifically, according to NASA, the most aerodynamic shape is a teardrop. And so I said, ‘Let’s base it off that,’ so we have somewhat of a teardrop shape for our car.”
The St. John car is made from 3/4 inch tubing because it’s strong, yet fairly light and less expensive compared to other potential materials. Once the design is finalized, the tubes are cut and welded together. From there, the steering mechanism and axles are put in place and other necessities are welded or bolted on.
“Once we have our frame done, we start working on the axles for the wheels,” Moritz said. “I show the kids how to weld the axle in place, how to put the wheel on the spindle, and then the steering mechanisms. And then we also did bicycle spring suspension on the back wheel, and I showed them how to install it, and then, how to make the swing arm. Then that can move freely with the spring.’
Moritz estimates they have spent roughly $2,000 on this project car. One of the ways to keep costs down is to not have to purchase pre-made parts. When you have the knowledge and equipment to do it yourself, it can keep the project more affordable.
“Our axles are custom made,” he said. “We have a metal lathe where we manufacture and machine our own pieces. The older car, they already had some of the axles, but the new car has some new manufactured parts to it. The only thing we bought from Amazon, or a different company, was the motor, wheels, and the brakes and brake lines. Almost everything else we’ve custom made. The steering knuckles, the spindles and the brake pedal was custom made by us. Most everything has been custom made.”
The electric motor that runs the car is 3,000 watts powered by a 72-volt battery system.
This project was started in October and was recently completed. There were a few delays as they were working on fabricating parts but Moritz believes if they were to work on it in class each day it could be completed in less than two months.
Scott City Race
Moritz and the class traveled with the car to Scott City on April 3 to compete against the other Kansas schools at the Scott City ElectroRally. On a wet and blustery day at the Scott City Airport, Car 105 finished in third place in the hour-long oval track competition, earning the team a third place plaque for its efforts. The car that makes the most laps in an hour is declared the winner. Scott City completed 57 laps for first place. St. John completed 47 laps.
With some cleanup from the previous race and a little bit of maintenance, the car is ready for its next event.
There are two races left in the season. Next up is April 26 in Clearwater and the finale will be held at the World War I Memorial Park in Kansas City on May 5.
Moritz didn’t take advantage of his opportunity to participate in high school but is making the most of it now.
“I was in high school 16 years ago, and they had it when I was there,” he said. “I never actually took it in high school, which I regret. I wish I would have done it, because it looked like fun. But it’s perfect, because now I get to be a teacher, and I get to teach kids how to do it.”
