SEMO students demonstrate their electric vehicle

Instead of a lawn mower-esque sound a dune buggy would usually make, the one demonstrated in a parking lot outside the Otto and Della Seabaugh Polytechnic Building at Southeast Missouri State University on Tuesday was virtually silent. That's because it's electric.

The vehicle, unveiled by the Southeast Missouri State University Electric Vehicle Club, also was worked on by students in the manufacturing design class taught by Brad Deken, chairman of the Industrial and Engineering Technology Department.

Club president John Dillard said the buggy can be plugged in to a regular electric outlet and will run for about 45 minutes at 45 mph. Dillard and Deken said about 80 percent of the parts had to be custom made.

Dillard said it took about two years to get the project on the road. Most of the work took place this semester.

Dillard said he formed the club because he saw a need to tie several disciplines together and offer real-world, hands-on experience.

"Hence the reason that the buggy's open and the reason that it is a buggy instead of a true electric vehicle. All the parts are exposed; people can see how they work, how they're connected. They're easily accessible, they're easily interchangeable. And that way, after I'm gone, hopefully this club will evolve, they'll make changes ... improvements, try different things," said Dillard, a senior studying electrical controls, electrical technology and automated manufacturing.

Everything is theoretical because the buggy has been run a limited number of times.

"We can do calculations based on the battery sizes, based on the motor size, what we expect the load to be, but the real world's a little different," Deken said.

Jim Dow, a senior studying sustainable energy management and automated manufacturing, said taking the battery pack from a "dead state" to fully charged takes about 16 to 18 hours. The distance the vehicle can go is being tested, but it should travel about 45 mph for 45 minutes.

"As you can tell by the buggy, it's not a speed racer. It wasn't meant for the Indy 500," Dillard said. "When we take it off road, it performs fantastic, but on the other hand, DPS [the Department of Public Safety], when I asked for a place to test it off road, they preferred a lot."

Dow said the buggy is quiet, though, so you have to be careful because no one hears you coming.

Andrea Barnes, a senior studying engineering technology, said the cart definitely has some pickup, but rides smoothly. "You don't have that loud rumbling since it's an electric motor, but it's great," she said.

The buggy once ran on a combustion engine. Seeing it come together as an electric vehicle makes her proud.

"Everybody I worked with in this group is so talented, and it's really just been a great learning experience working with them," Barnes said.

rcampbell@semissourian.com

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