Battery Racks, Part 1

It is time to cut some metal. We can fit 48 of the Thundersky cells under the Doka’s rear bench seat.

The rack will be made with a structural steel called angle iron. The name was popularized when wrought iron was the material of choice. The name stuck.

The process is straightforward: Cut the material to the correct length.

Tack weld. This is a short burst of the welder, located in a single point along the joint line.  At this point, the material can still be positioned a small amount, and if an error is discovered, it is easy to break the tack and make a correction.

Check that everything is square. See the square on the table?

If everything looks good, fully weld up the joints.   We are committed now.  Any change requires a lot of grinding.

A welded joint results in a raised bead over what used to be two pieces of steel.  The bead of a skilled welder is  like a work of art.  However, sometimes the bead is in the way, so we grind the welds in areas that need to be flat (like the bottom of the rack).

Check out the sparks in SloMo.