HPWC / UMC2 to Roadster adapter

[jeremyz]

hcsharp, have you considered 3d printing the piece out of ABS instead using injection molding? Injection molding seems like the route to take if you want to make thousands of your adapters. If you just want to make a couple of hundred, it might be worth looking into manufacturing techniques without the high up-front cost of mold making.

As an aside, check out this crazy laser metal deposition / milling machine. It's pretty much magic. Hybrid ( Additive and Subtractive manufacturing) machine by DMG Mori - YouTube

 

[hcsharp]

hcsharp, have you considered 3d printing the piece out of ABS instead using injection molding? Injection molding seems like the route to take if you want to make thousands of your adapters. If you just want to make a couple of hundred, it might be worth looking into manufacturing techniques without the high up-front cost of mold making.

As an aside, check out this crazy laser metal deposition / milling machine. It's pretty much magic. Hybrid ( Additive and Subtractive manufacturing) machine by DMG Mori - YouTube

Wow I'm ordering one of those tomorrow! How can I say no to that toy?

I'd like to use 3d printing but I'm not aware of any that can do glass fiber reinforced plastic. The vast majority of 3d printers use ABS, which has a working temperature a little lower than I'd like. It would work for a prototype but I couldn't use it for production. Thanks for the idea though. I won't be going for UL testing obviously but I'd like to comply with NEC and other standards.

 

[jeremyz]

Yeah, you definitely don't want your adapter to melt. There's a company who has announced a 3d printer that can print carbon fiber, but it's not out; here's their website, The worlds first Carbon Fiber 3D Printer. I would be worried that it might delaminate.

 

[DannyS]

I have a question related to this: is it possible to take a model s mobile charger (retail 650) and replace the model s connector with a roadster connector? It seems like this should work, but I have not heard of anyone doing it. Does anyone know of a reason this would not work?

 

[hcsharp]

I have a question related to this: is it possible to take a model s mobile charger (retail 650) and replace the model s connector with a roadster connector? It seems like this should work, but I have not heard of anyone doing it. Does anyone know of a reason this would not work?

It works. I've done it although the wiring was not as straightforward as I thought it would be. It raises the question of where do you get a Roadster connector? I've made some and have a few that I would sell but it's debatable whether that's an economical option. By the time you pay me for the parts and labor to crimp it on, you'll be about the same as a new Roadster UMC. OTOH, there are a lot of discarded Tesla-brand Roadster connectors floating around from abandoned J1772 adapters and failed UMCs. Opening the connector is very labor intensive and requires special tools, and you can't re-crimp sleeves that have already been crimped. That leaves the option of splicing the cable outside of the Roadster connector, which is also not a great option. But in the end it's possible to get a Roadster UMC this way.

 

[JohnnyLounge21]

Broken record alert: the CAN adapter is the most elegant solution possible for J1772 charging on a Roadster. Something like that (and we know that's where hcsharp is going) for the Model S chargers would be awesome.
Stupid question alert: I know this has already been asked somewhere - but where to the Super Chargers fit in all this if we were to use the imminent Model S to Roadster adapter on those?

Thanks hcsharp for all your hard work so far!

 

[hcsharp]

Broken record alert: the CAN adapter is the most elegant solution possible for J1772 charging on a Roadster. Something like that (and we know that's where hcsharp is going) for the Model S chargers would be awesome.
Stupid question alert: I know this has already been asked somewhere - but where to the Super Chargers fit in all this if we were to use the imminent Model S to Roadster adapter on those?

Thanks hcsharp for all your hard work so far!

Thank you! You're too kind. UPDATE: I'm waiting on some parts from my machinist who just got back from vacation and is overwhelmed with work as a result. I also had one setback - one of the prototypes being tested failed unexpectedly (not safety related) but I think I know what caused it and have already re-designed the offending part. There's no safety issues.

SuperChargers? If you use the adapter at a supercharger, absolutely nothing will happen. Your Roadster won't charge. The SuperCharger will act like nothing is connected.

Thanks for everybody's patience.

 

[dhrivnak]

SuperChargers? If you use the adapter at a supercharger, absolutely nothing will happen. Your Roadster won't charge. The SuperCharger will act like nothing is connected.

Note the lack of SuperCharging has NOTHING to do with HCSharp's proposed connector. The PEM needs to be able to handle DC charging and it cannot. Therefor it is not possible to use a SuperCharger unless Tesla, or some very smart individual, comes up with a way to modify the PEM and from what I understand that is not a trivial redesign.

 

[JohnnyLounge21]

Thanks for the commentary on the SuperChargers. What a bummer that we're left in the cold. Maybe that'll be Elon's one "wait and see" possible upgrade for us early-adopters and then this all somehow comes together.

 

[augkuo]

Do you think your unit volume for an adapter would be better if you made it a Model S to 1772? For us then we would use the CAN as well but for all the Volts/Leafs,etc. they would be able to use the Tesla HPCs.

Thank you! You're too kind. UPDATE: I'm waiting on some parts from my machinist who just got back from vacation and is overwhelmed with work as a result. I also had one setback - one of the prototypes being tested failed unexpectedly (not safety related) but I think I know what caused it and have already re-designed the offending part. There's no safety issues.

SuperChargers? If you use the adapter at a supercharger, absolutely nothing will happen. Your Roadster won't charge. The SuperCharger will act like nothing is connected.

Thanks for everybody's patience.

 

[qwk]

Do you think your unit volume for an adapter would be better if you made it a Model S to 1772? For us then we would use the CAN as well but for all the Volts/Leafs,etc. they would be able to use the Tesla HPCs.

I have wondered this myself. The only wildcard with this scenario is Tesla raising the price on the UMC, making it less desirable to other EV owners.

 

[ibcs]

I'm thinking if someone made an HPWC to J1772 adapter Tesla would shut them down. Making an adapter for the Roadster would seem to be somewhat safer in regards to Tesla boycotting.

 

[NEWDL]

We are interested in 1 possibly 2 of these.

How is progress?

Thanks for all your hard work!

 

[hcsharp]

We are interested in 1 possibly 2 of these.

How is progress?

Thanks for all your hard work!

I've sent drawings to the machine shop and just waiting for them to start making parts! They are way behind on other orders. Sorry it's taking so long!:cursing:

 

[ibcs]

Thank you for the update Henry. Looking forward to the finished product.

---Kent

 

[mg012]

I've sent drawings to the machine shop and just waiting for them to start making parts! They are way behind on other orders. Sorry it's taking so long!:cursing:

Henry,
Do you have a guestimate of the cost for this precious product yet?

michael

 

[hcsharp]

Henry,
Do you have a guestimate of the cost for this precious product yet?

michael

One of the things I'm waiting for from the machine shop is an estimate on producing some of the parts. I'm hoping for something similar to the CAN price after giving a discount to anyone who already has one of my adapters. There are more parts and some passive electronics that will push the price up a little. I've worked hard at modifying the design to make it cheaper to build.

 

[supersnoop]

Any chance this could be stack-able with Tesla's J1772-to-Model S adapter? That flexibility would provide a great combination of charging options.

 

[NEWDL]

I've sent drawings to the machine shop and just waiting for them to start making parts! They are way behind on other orders. Sorry it's taking so long!:cursing:

No worries! Thank you for the update! We have a CAN and would be thrilled to have 1-2 of S to Roadsters! Please let me know when I can send you money and where!

Thanks again for all of your hard work... God knows I am not even close to capable of such things!

- - - Updated - - -

Any chance this could be stack-able with Tesla's J1772-to-Model S adapter? That flexibility would provide a great combination of charging options.

I would assume that there would be no issue using the J1772 adapter before this Model S to Roadster adapter. Why/how could there be?

 

[Cottonwood]

I've sent drawings to the machine shop and just waiting for them to start making parts! They are way behind on other orders. Sorry it's taking so long!:cursing:

Thanks for working on this! I want one when it is available!!!