DIY scooter for adults. Should you make your own electric scooter from Drel or buy a “Hummingbird” scooter? To make a scooter you will need

Electric scooter– this is a convenient, modern and economically feasible equipment for everyday use, achieved by charging the battery with a regular 220 volt outlet. The only pressing problem is the high cost of this gadget; undoubtedly, all high-quality items have a high cost, which is manifested in the long-term operation of the charging batteries and the safe use of the transport unit.

An alternative solution to the cost of expensive equipment is to make a “do-it-yourself electric scooter,” but it is “extremely important” to have good experience and knowledge in the development of technical devices of such categories of complexity. It is necessary to have sufficient knowledge and understanding of the operating principle of an electric scooter, and most importantly, have a clear understanding and confidence in your capabilities.

Electric scooters can be assembled based on the designs of various units. In most cases, two-wheeled equipment is used:

• mobile vehicles based on hoverboards, which is far from a cheap option, but quite easy to modify in terms of connecting electric batteries);
• equipment operating on the basis of a cooled radiator engine, these can be purchased from car dismantlers. The difficulty lies in the mechanical design, but the result is a powerful unit.

For convenience, you can develop an electric scooter with a seat, which will be very convenient for long-term use. For these purposes, you will need the frame itself, but it is necessary to build a rack with a connection. After assembling the frame structure, the speed transmission is assembled, the wheel is secured, the battery is installed and the engine is mounted. The optimal and budget option would be to build an electric scooter based on a disassembled electric screwdriver; control will be provided by a moped handle, which is attached to the trigger and cable from the screwdriver. To produce the torque of the wheel itself, a two-gear rigid chain transmission with a friction attachment is used.

To make the frame, a channel made of aluminum or steel is taken, the seat can be taken from a bicycle, the wheel will fit from any stroller or scooter. Variations with the battery may be different: depending on the cost, lithium or lead. The battery power should be 12 volts each. Alternatively, you can remove the battery from an electric helicopter or an old drill.

In fact, in addition to the above spare parts, bolts of sizes M8 and M10 and a toggle switch with an electricity supply of 10 amperes will also be useful.

The algorithm for assembling a homemade electric scooter will be as follows:

• Measuring the supporting frame with the selection of aluminum profiles.
• Attaching the support beam to the scooter frame using bolts and nuts of sizes M8 and M10.
• Holes are made on the back side of the scooter to install the engine.
• The wheel coupling is mounted inside the hub.
• A clamp is attached and bolted along the axis of the wheel, and a plastic box is installed under the frame into which the wire is pulled.
• Based on the stretched wire, an electrical circuit is formed that allows you to switch the engine and battery.

The main notable feature of such a homemade scooter is the portable battery, which is located in the backpack of the scooter operator. The connection is made through a pulled cable.

The practice of homemade scooters shows that to successfully complete a job, you need to put in a lot of effort and you may not be able to save as much money as expected at the beginning of the work.

A homemade electric scooter made with your own hands from an electric drill engine and a gearbox from an angle grinder: photo of the assembly, as well as a video of testing the scooter.

Electric scooters are gradually becoming part of our daily lives; on the streets you can find such devices not only for children, but also for adults. And some owners of these devices go to work without traffic jams, because the power reserve of such a vehicle is enough for 15 - 20 km and there is no need to fill it with gasoline.

Industrial versions of scooter devices that are on sale are not cheap, but for our folk craftsmen, building an electric scooter from scrap materials is not a problem, and in this article we will look at such a homemade product.

• An ordinary scooter made in China.
• Electric drill powered by 12V battery.
• The axle and gearbox are from a grinder.
• Overrunning Bendix clutch from a car starter.
• Roller wheel bearings – 3 pcs.
• Lithium polymer battery - 12V and 2.2 A.
• Wires.
• Aluminum corners.
• Bolts, nuts, rivets.

An overrunning clutch is needed here so that when the engine is turned off, the scooter wheel does not stop or brake, but continues to rotate.

Note! Bendix can be left-handed or right-handed, it must be selected depending on the direction of rotation.

I connected the axle from the grinder to the wheel of the scooter, for this I welded the wheel bearing to the axle, and also welded the bearing itself inside so that it would not rotate. The wheel is tightly fixed to the axle so that torque is transmitted to the wheel.

The wheel axle is mounted on two bearings secured with aluminum corners on the scooter frame.

Now you need to connect the engine gearbox axis to the bendix.

I drilled a 3.3 mm hole in the axis of the engine gearbox (perpendicular to the axis) and hammered a piece of drill into it.

In the Bendix itself, I made a longitudinal cut so that the axle with a piece of drill would fit in, it turned out something like a cardan joint.

A lithium-polymer battery was mounted on the frame.

On the steering wheel I installed a speed control button from an electric drill, the regulator is connected simply, two wires go to the electric motor and two more to the battery itself.

Every boy's dream is to ride a scooter. However, modern girls are not averse to taking a ride either. But now a more desirable replacement has appeared for the regular scooter - a scooter with a motor. And not only a child, but also an adult can ride it like a breeze.

For the youngest children (4-7 years old) you can purchase inexpensive scooter "Hummingbird", which comes in blue and red colors.

Its maximum speed is small - 10 km/h, but for a child riding such a scooter is a real rally. You can drive on one charge 4 km. The foldable design will withstand a child weighing up to 40 kg. The scooter itself weighs only 8.2 kg, i.e. The child can easily lift it up to the floor on his own. Wide footrest - 580x130 mm, wheel size with tires in diameter - 137 mm, which indicates the reliability and safety of the vehicle. The wheels are on bearings and are made of durable plastic. Throttle stick for speed control, solid tires, rear drum brake, lead-acid maintenance-free battery that requires up to 8 hours to fully charge, motor 120 W– these are the main characteristics of the model. A dream, not a scooter!

Where to buy a Kolibri scooter and its cost?

The cost of this miracle toy and at the same time a personal vehicle only 69 dollars . You can buy a scooter at e-bike.com.ua .

A little expense and imagination will help you make a scooter from a regular cordless drill.

In the retail chain today there is a huge selection of electric scooters, but you can easily make an electric scooter from a battery drill, and you’ll also have to disassemble the grinder. Craftsmen who already ride scooters with a motor, who made them with their own hands, say that a motor that develops up to 550 rpm, quite enough for driving on city streets.

The battery is also suitable for a drill - 14.4 V

The frame can be made from ordinary profile steel pipe(wall thickness 2.5mm) - it will withstand weight 100 kg. Or use a frame from a regular scooter. At a bicycle store you need to purchase rubber grips, a handlebar mount, and a thrust bearing designed for a load of 300 kg. There are several options for transmitting rotation to the wheel: using a chain, two gears, a friction attachment, using a rigid transmission and a motor - wheels. But the last option is practically impossible to implement, because this important part must be ordered in China.

You immediately need to decide which wheel will rotate? To connect the generator, you will also need an overrunning clutch (also easy to buy), bearings, and wheels. The battery will fit lithium polymer(11.1V 2.2Ah). With a little magic on all this, you can get a good means of transportation.

How much does it cost to make an electric scooter from a drill?

The cost of making an electric scooter with your own hands is approximately five thousand rubles, against the cost of the structure in the retail chain costing 14-140 thousand rubles.

Useful link, do-it-yourself electric scooter: http://www.samartsev.ru/nikboris/gallery/2011/samokat/samokat.htm

How far can a person cover by pushing off the ground once? If this is one step, then on average it is less than meters. If you run up and push off harder, you can jump four or five meters. Therefore, imagine our surprise when a modest, no longer young man appeared in the editorial office and declared that he could move 50 m with one push of his leg, and even with a load of 30 kg. The visitor had some kind of strange cart in his hands. We, understandably, doubted it.

And when they doubted it, they demanded proof.

“Well, please,” the owner of the strange cart told us. - Let's go outside. Here, on the asphalt, we were convinced that we were not being deceived.

Upon closer inspection, the “cart” turned out to be a converted children's scooter. Our guest, engineer Sergei Stanislavovich Lundovsky, managed to turn it into an unusual vehicle for adults.

How did you manage to “grow up” the scooter? What is the essence of his alteration? First of all, the maximum permissible lowering of the platform on which the “driver” stands. The ground clearance of the converted scooter when loaded is only 30 mm. But this, as practice has shown, is quite enough for driving not only on smooth asphalt, but also on country paths. When the bottom hits uneven roads, the scooter simply slides forward. And if a larger obstacle is encountered, the driver can help his car by pulling the steering wheel up and thus lifting the front wheel.

Lowering the platform lowered the center of gravity of the machine, which had a beneficial effect on its stability and made it easy to reach the ground with a “push” leg, without bending the supporting leg at all. And thanks to this, the driver gets tired much less than when using a scooter with a standard (high) platform.

The car is made on the basis of the children's sports scooter "Orlik" (costs 14 rubles). As shown in the picture, the fork legs leading to the rear wheel and the front part of the roller blade have been cut off. A new platform is made from a steel angle 20X20X5 mm to the size of the boot; in the drawing its length is 320 mm, which is the most advantageous. The front part of the factory sports scooter is connected to the platform with a clamp welded to the pipe and four M8 bolts. A plate about 20 mm thick is placed under the clamp legs, with the help of which the platform inclination that is most convenient for the driver can be found.

The length of the steering tube should be increased so that the driver can comfortably control the car without bending.

The rear wheel fork is made from the same angle as the platform itself.

A stamped luggage frame from a bicycle is used as a trunk, which is best placed above the front wheel. It is attached to the steering column head and to the front axle. You cannot place the trunk at the back, as the load makes it difficult for the pushing leg to move.

You should start learning to ride a roller skate on a flat, non-sloping asphalt area. The main attention is paid to practicing a long and strong, but not sharp kick with the leg, as well as mastering the movement of inertia. In this case, the steering wheel must be completely motionless, otherwise (due to increased resistance) the speed quickly drops.

During training, it is quickly determined which leg is the most efficient as a supporting leg and which as a pushing leg.

S. LUNDOWSKY, engineer

“In fact, life is simple, but we persistently complicate it.”
(Confucius)

Many people probably still remember how in the 70s our fathers made us scooters with wheels made of ball bearings. How this thundering miracle aroused extraordinary pride in us, and white envy among the neighboring boys. But time passes, everything changes... The fashion for scooters has returned again, only our children are already riding them. And about four years ago, having assessed my capabilities, I decided to make a scooter from a children’s bicycle that had become small.

I’ll warn you right away that you will need here: a welding inverter with electrodes (preferably 2), an angle grinder and a meter of profiled rectangular pipe. And since the scooter has been made for a long time, I will only explain some of the nuances.

I got it like this:

Quite responsive for acceleration and quite fast. And now, in order. First, we saw off the back and front parts of the bike. And in front we saw off the frame tube parallel to the steering tube.

We measure the profiled pipe and make V-shaped cuts with a grinder at the bends. Bend and cook. We also thoroughly weld the attachment points to the rear and front units. We extend the steering column with an additional pipe, which we also weld to the original bicycle one.

A bolt with a wedge assembly passes inside this pipe. Naturally, the original bolt turned out to be short and I had to cut it in half and weld a piece of wire (6mm) into the middle. Cooked it in a vice to get it smooth. Pay special attention to the distance from the site to the ground surface. It should be minimal, taking into account the unevenness of the road. I had to redo it; I raised the platform too high.

The board is screwed on top and the scooter is generally ready. The only thing missing is the brakes. They can be used from an old bicycle (regular rims). In general, you can leave the pedals, and lengthen the seat tube and you will get a hybrid, a kind of bicycle scooter.

If desired, you can install an electric motor with a gearbox on the site, and a battery on the trunk. But that's a completely different story.

Homemade scooter on skis

I probably won’t discover America by saying that children know how to baffle their parents... My daughter has a scooter with small wheels, which she no longer likes because of the same small wheels, photo from the Internet.

And a small bicycle, again with small wheels, which is not satisfactory for the reason that my knees touch the handlebars, photo of a real bicycle.

So, the task was set to make a scooter out of a bicycle with large wheels. Having scratched the top of my head, I went to the garage... More on that later... Since a scooter with small wheels is no longer available, and at the “technical advice” my daughter and I decided to make a scooter on skis. What you need: free time (there’s plenty of it during the holidays!), scooter, pieces sheet metal and mini skis.

We disassemble the skis and drill through holes with a diameter of 4 mm.

Then we select the required sheet metal, 2mm thick, and mark it.

Before welding the cut parts, I decided to do this.

Trying it on for skis...Normal!

This is the main mechanic and initiator of all this disgrace.

We paint, dry, and put this “sandwich” together

It took two evenings, 3 hours each, to build this scooter—with an assistant. And in one I think faster. There are not many photos without a description (as I said above, more on this later) of our parallel project “Scooter on Big Wheels” with my daughter. The construction of the scooter occurs from the rear.

Post by user MishGun086 from the DIY community on DRIVE2

Make your own scooter from scratch

I go to a pretty fun engineering college (Harvey Mudd) where most people use some form of wheeled transportation, from longboards and unicycles to scooters and free lines.

Step 1: Design

Before I do any actual modeling, I sketch first for most of my projects, including this one. I use them to figure out the basic sizes I need. Once I had an idea of ​​what I was going to do, I went around my campus with my laptop and tape measure and took pictures of all the styles of scooters that I liked. I ended up choosing the Razor A5-Lux for my scooter. I also decided early on that I wanted to make it out of aluminum, with a laser cut acrylic deck and maybe some LEDs for night cruising.
After 20 minutes of taking measurements on someone's A5-Lux, I had all the measurements I needed for the next round of sketches. I then went to Google SketchUp and made a full 3D model. Even though the design details with small parts were not 100% accurate in the SketchUp model, I used the model to figure out what other aluminum stock I needed and the specific cutting length for some parts.

Later in the build (about 5 months later) I learned SolidWorks in an engineering class. By this time I had most of the parts done in the build, so making an accurate model was much easier this time. I used this model to figure out the exact length and location of the "folding bar support" but I'll get into that later.
I used mostly 8-32 cap screws and 8-32 button caps, with a few 5-40 cap screws for the little things.
After much online research, I discovered that large wheelchair casters are cheap, durable, and fairly affordable.
I initially decided that I wanted the deck to be coated with clear acrylic paint, so I also ordered a piece of 1/4 clear green from E-Street Plastics. I use a laser cutter to cut the deck.

Step 2: Deck Support

I started with supporting the deck and worked through it with subsequent pieces. The deck stand is the part that supports the base of the scooter.
I used two lengths of 1" x 1/2" x 20 5/8" 6061 aluminum as "rails" and joined them with two 2" pieces of the same material to create a support for the deck. I used a bandsaw to cut them roughly to length and then cut the ends to length on a router bit with a ~1" end mill (I did this for both the guide and connecting sections). Each connection has two black oxide 1” 8-32 socket head cap screws, with a counter hole to keep the heads flush.
For now I just drilled one 17/64" hole (just over 1/4") in the front of the rails to attach the steering column posts. I'll deal with the rear wheel mount later.

Step 3: Strut and Steering Column Sleeves

I then made the uprights, parts of which extend from the deck support axis to the steering column. I made this piece from a slightly different stock, I used 1 1/4" x 1/2" instead of 1".
Anyway, I cut the two pieces to about 16 inches and faced one side of each. The other side had to be routed at an odd angle, so I left one side rough for now.
I also cut two 1" sections of the connector and looked at both sides for length.
Now comes the tricky part: processing this strange angle. This would have been easy if the shop manager had allowed me to swap out the mill vise for a turntable, but he didn't, so I had to get creative. I ended up using regular T-slot fasteners to attach the parts to the mill bed and then put together a very sketchy system to make sure the parts were aligned at 32.3 degrees to the z-axis of the mill. I had an angle gauge, but due to some physical limitations I had to use it in tandem with two squares to make sure everything lined up. And I had to do it twice, once for each piece.
Luckily both parts came out well!
I then attached the two pieces along with the connector pieces. For these connections I used 1" stainless 8-32 button head screws and drilled the heads using a .33" end mill. To finish the piece, I drilled a matching 17/64" hole at the end to connect it to the deck support.
The next part was even more difficult. I had to mill matching 1/8″ deep cutouts into the steering column bushing (the thing that the steering column rotates through). Again, I had to press the piece directly onto the mill frame, which was heavier than before because it was a pipe. It also made it difficult to line up the corner correctly because I didn't have a clear edge to look down on since it was rounded. After much thought, I made the cuts and the joint turned out to be normal. You can see how the pieces fit together in the pictures above.

Step 4: Steering Column

This was definitely the coolest part of the scooter. The steering column needs to turn smoothly even under high pressure, and aluminum-on-aluminum friction isn't good, so I had to figure out how to isolate all the aluminum in the rotating joint.
I used lubricated brass bearings that sit around the steering column and slide inside the steering column bushing to keep the column separated from the bushing, and a brass washer between the top of the bushing and the shaft bushing ensures that the top of the joint is insulated. The bottom joint needs to support a lot of weight, so I splurged and bought a support bearing to lubricate the steering gear.
I made the steering column itself from two telescopic tubes. The lower, larger diameter is about 1 1/4" outside diameter, and the inside diameter is 1". I installed a threaded plate on the inside of the inner pipe and drilled a matching hole in the outer pipe. These holes are positioned at the correct height and a threaded handle holds them together. In the future I may mill a slot into the outer tube so you can easily adjust the height, but for now I'm leaving it at the set height.
I used a 1" end mill to make a rounded cut in the top of the inner tube so another 1" tube could fit through the top to make the handle bars. I made a plug from 3/4" solid rod and inserted it into the top of the inner tube so that the handlebar would cut into the plug.

Step 5: Front Wheel Bracket

I made the front wheel bracket from 2" x 1/4" aluminum, with two connecting pieces from 2" x 1/2". I spaced the connectors 1" apart and connected them to the sides with the same 8-32 screws. After I drilled and tapped all the holes, I used a CNC router to cut a 1.25" hole in the top of the connector and a 1.25" recess in the bottom. This way the steering column can slide through the top and recess into the bottom. This allows for easy weld alignment and provides additional rigidity. Unfortunately my college doesn't have good welding facilities and we can't weld aluminum at all. So, I had to take some pieces home over spring break so I could boil them. I'll talk more about welding in step 9.
I drilled a .316 hole to fit the 5/16" axle and then I recessed the axle to fit the snap rings that hold the axle in place.

Step 6: Rear Wheel Bracket

This could be the simplest piece of work. I used a 1/4" x 1 1/4" rod connected by a small piece of 1/2" x 1 1/4" and attached them with four 8-32 pan head screws. I left the other ends uneven because I wasn't sure where exactly to install the bracket at this stage of the build.

Step 7: Folding Mechanism

For the folding mechanism, I wanted a strip attached between the posts and the deck support, creating a triangle around the main hinge and preventing it from folding. I also wanted to be able to pull the bottom pin, fold the scooter, and then attach the same bar back to the rear wheel so it was folded. Doing one of them would be easy, but doing both is difficult because I had to satisfy the angle and length of both triangles. This problem was tricky enough that I knew I'd be screwed if I tried to just solve it, so I decided to rebuild the entire scooter in Solid Works so I could get the dimensions right for the part.
Since I had most of the scooter already built, it only took a few hours to build in Solid Works because I already had all the dimensions and parts determined.
Once I assembled the scooter model, it took about an hour to adjust the drop bar length and hole placement before the scooter locked in the unfolded position at a right angle and locked in the folded position so that the steering column was parallel to the deck. I took the measurements from the model and used them to make the real part.

Step 8: Welding

When designing, I tried to limit welding as much as possible, but there were still a few connections that simply couldn't be made with screws. This is the connection between the steering struts and bushing, the steering column and front wheel bracket, and the ends at the drop bar.
I also don't have a TIG welder at home, but I read online that you can actually weld aluminum with a MIG setup if you use special aluminum filler wire instead of regular steel reinforcement and use 100% argon as the shielding gas. We also had to replace the sleeve, gun and tip because I guess you can't use any parts that touched the steel welding wire. Something happens on a chemical level that ruins your aluminum weld if your material or filler wire is contaminated with the steel. Because of this, you should also brush the material with a ton of stainless steel brush to clean it before welding (stainless steel is fine for some reason).
Most of the joints I needed to weld were pretty thick so I didn't have to worry about burning through or making anything bad (I actually had to add heat with a butane torch just to get it hot enough to welding) but the steering column tube is very thin and I needed to weld it to the 1/2" plate, so I decided to just use a set screw instead of welding. If this connection doesn't work out later, I'll go through the welding problem.

Step 9: Progress Photos

Here are just some photos of the progress.

Step 10: Acrylic Deck

I made the deck out of 1/4" clear green acrylic.
I used the Solid Works model to set up the dimensions of the deck, and I ended up exporting the model to a .dxf file so I could cut it directly with a laser cutter.
The not the most fun part of this was drilling and tapping 20 holes for all 8-32 pan head screws that hold the deck to the rails.
I usually use a tap in the router chuck and tap each hole immediately after drilling it so that the mill zeros right above the hole. This provides the best tap possible, but it takes forever because you have to take the drill chuck out and change collets and everything, and then change the Z axis height, which is very tedious if you have to do it 20 times in quick succession, so, in this case, I decided against it and just tapped by hand. My wrist was very sore after the last tap, although I'm glad I only used 8-32 screws instead of something larger, otherwise my hand might have fallen off.
I cleaned out all the coolant and reattached the deck! This looks amazing!

Step 11: Finishing Touches and Future Plans

Surface Finish:
I used 240 and 320 grit sandpaper on the aluminum in some areas where the scratches were noticeable. I then used Scotch-Bright overlay and finished the rest of the aluminum with this, providing a nice smooth matte finish.
Final assembly:
I went around each connection and cleaned any remaining cutting fluid from the screw threads and tapped holes. I then put Thread Lock on all the screws before reassembling.

Results.
As always, there is some work to be done, although I am very happy with the current state of the scooter. Here are some things I'd like to work on so far, and I'll add updates as I complete these parts.
Add a battery pack and super-bright white LEDs under the acrylic deck.
Implement a rear PIN-lock mechanism so that I can lock the scooter in the folded position.
Make some kind of braking mechanism.
Make a slot connecting the two holes on the outer steering column so that the handles can be adjusted.
Buy the best wheel bearings to make your ride easier.
Remove more material from the inside of the steering column bushing to reduce steering friction.