I electrified my push scooter with a power drill

(eddieabbondanz.io)

100 points | by speckx 4 days ago

18 comments

  • robgough 4 hours ago
    My first thought after reading this title: Oh cool, they've taken part in a drill and used the motor. I don't really know what that looks like inside a power drill. This will be an interesting post.

    Immediately opened it and laughed out loud. Perfect execution, no notes.

    • shermantanktop 1 hour ago
      Not enough gaffer/duct tape! But the inability to bank to the right side is perfect. Just do a 270 to the left.
      • dotancohen 1 hour ago

          > inability to bank to the right side is perfect.
        
        That disadvantage is balanced by the advantage of not having to open the kickstand at every frequent stop.
        • oniony 1 hour ago
          It's the Zoolander feature.
          • blitzar 1 hour ago
            Its got the blue steel paint job
        • Aurornis 2 hours ago
          Same thought here. Did not expect this level of jank but I loved every photo and word.

          The contrast between the 3D scanning and bolting a power drill to the side was fun.

          • bombcar 3 hours ago
            This is exactly what I wanted even though it was not at all what I expected.
            • madaxe_again 3 hours ago
              You’d love how I’m starting my generator. Same drill. Hodgepodge of springs and string to manage the choke. ESP32 committing obscenities in the middle of all of it.
              • dotancohen 1 hour ago
                What is that one-way bearing TFA mentions. I understand its purpose, but where does one acquire such a bearing?
                • ano-ther 37 minutes ago
                  Had the same question. The article has an Amazon link to the bearings.
                • Gee101 1 hour ago
                  This absolutely deserves to be documented
              • kleiba2 32 minutes ago
                That's all nice and well -- but Matthias Wandel built a wooden scaffolding on wheels 12 years ago that was drill powered. That's _really_ crazy...

                https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBmnQN78aZU

                • Doohickey-d 2 hours ago
                  I do wonder how long the electronics, motor and little (plastic) gears in the drill would last with this. Especially since I'd suspect that it's designed for intermittent use, where it has time to cool down between each screw / hole drilling that you'd do normally. If you drive 2 miles in one go, that'll be a lot of heat that doesn't have time go anywhere.

                  Somehow I'd suspect that it won't last all that long...

                  • userbinator 2 minutes ago
                    I suspect there's very little power needed once you're up to speed and cruising, but constant stop-and-go and long uphill runs will certainly cause it to overheat.
                    • lisp2240 1 hour ago
                      Drills are used sporadically. If a drill was used intermittently it would be on most of the time and occasionally off.
                      • Daneel_ 18 minutes ago
                        I’m fairly sure ‘sporadic’ indicates random/unpredictable timing while ‘intermittent’ has a predictable pattern.
                        • toast0 1 hour ago
                          > If a drill was used intermittently it would be on most of the time and occasionally off.

                          But when the wipers in my car are set to intermittent, they are off most of time and ocassionally off.

                      • sandeepkd 4 hours ago
                        Feels good to see some one is enjoying and having fun with the tech
                        • kphorn 4 hours ago
                          We are in the days of building the things we dreamed about as kids. Looks great for right turns!
                          • MezzoDelCammin 22 minutes ago
                            and as a bonus, now you know how it feels to ride a BMW boxer motorbike in a turn ;-)
                            • jeffreygoesto 2 hours ago
                              Where have I seen something like this before. Right HAWK Hildesheim organized (locally) famous "Akkuschrauberrennen" https://m.youtube.com/results?sp=mAEA&search_query=akkuschra...
                              • willy_k 3 hours ago
                                Wonder how this would work with an impact? Also, since it already uses one-way bearings, could another drill/impact be fitted to the other side so that there are two “gears” available?
                                • userbinator 6 minutes ago
                                  Wonder how this would work with an impact?

                                  Not very well. It will work as long as the power demand is below the point it starts hitting, and then just stall with the tires absorbing all the impact hits once it reaches that point.

                                  • dotancohen 1 hour ago
                                    Squel the tires every few meters? Like an AC Cobra.
                                  • ielillo 3 hours ago
                                    Reminds me of the red green show sans duct tape
                                  • delichon 4 hours ago
                                    What is that 3D printed wheel made of that it can support over half of your weight while bumping along a road?
                                  • echelon_musk 3 hours ago
                                    A good friend of mine told me he would frequently come across a guy who had modified his bicycle with an electric drill.

                                    He would see him leaning over and pulling the trigger get an electric assist on the uphill section of the commute.

                                    • _joel 4 hours ago
                                      Direct drive, yes, also direct drill.

                                      Watch out for the gear change, may end up in hammer action.

                                      • bzmrgonz 19 hours ago
                                        You know you could have used a 90 degree chuck buddy. Or better yet, an angle grinder to make it a friction drive from above.
                                        • jacquesm 2 hours ago
                                          It's got 2 miles of range, adding those complications would likely eat up a lot of the range.
                                        • gniv 4 hours ago
                                          Turning right seems hard.
                                          • dotancohen 1 hour ago
                                            Is that why all politicians are suddenly turning to the left?
                                            • BLKNSLVR 27 minutes ago
                                              If that's what you're seeing then my guess is that, like this scooter, they'll be turning left three times so they end up going right.

                                              I'm not sure where you are if you're seeing politicians turning left though.

                                          • nchmy 2 hours ago
                                            video or it didnt happen!
                                            • tamimio 3 hours ago
                                              Missed the opportunity to add vacuums and blowers and go upside down plus lateral and rotational movement, with fancy dark themed site and buzz words all over :)
                                              • erelong 2 hours ago
                                                add another wheel on the other side of the drill for a kind of sidecar-like stability? (tricycle style?)
                                                • blackspacx 4 days ago
                                                  [flagged]