From Pandemic to TEKNOFEST: An Electric Vehicle Adventure Growing on the Dusty Roads of Industry

Every great story starts with a little uncertainty and a lot of courage. Our story sprouted with an idea echoed in Discord servers during the pandemic that locked the whole world at home. None of us had ever produced a car before. We had almost no friends who had swallowed industrial dust and sweated on the production line. However, we had a very clear motto in this project, which we laid the foundations for in the 2020-2021 period: "To establish a team that is not only able to tighten screws, but also produces ideas and is eager to learn."

When we met face to face for the first time after months of online meetings, we were a team that only knew each other from the screen but believed in the same dream. This adventure, which started under the shadow of prohibitions and with limited resources, would take us on a path that was more challenging than we could have imagined, but also instructive.

The Real Face of Industry: Fires, Reprimands and Apprenticeships

At first, we didn't even have an area to produce our vehicle. We made our first contact with industrial culture thanks to the masters we met through the Altıeylül Municipality. The person whose door we had the most trouble with during this process was undoubtedly our engine master. Even though he had a small warehouse, he became the lifeblood of the project by offering to open space for us. Although we later started working in a different shop in the industry with the connections of our Consultant, we could not hold on due to the intensity. Just when I was about to give up, the paint shop master Mesut Özdemir (Master Mesut) He opened his doors wide to us.

Our days in industry were a complete school of life. We were trying to produce our car in front of the shop, in the industrial garden. Sometimes we were kicked out of the shop, sometimes we heard scoldings from the masters. We were running away from the industrial dogs at night and continuing production on those potholed and dusty roads in the early hours of the morning. As much as there were people who believed in us, there were also those who said, "You can't do this." But in that dust and soil, we vowed to produce the vehicle of our dreams.

39 Rejections and the Light of Hope from Tuzla

One of the breaking points of the project was the carbon fiber fabric we acquired with sponsorship. We had a high-tech material, but we didn't know how to process it or how to drill it. Even though we got some ideas with the information support of our friends at Istanbul and Bilgi University, we needed professional support for production.

I started calling companies for production support. The amounts requested were more than our community's entire annual budget. I called the maritime and composite companies in Tuzla one by one. A total of 39 companies returned negative feedback. Some said we couldn't do it, some demanded astronomical figures. However, on my 40th call (INTEKMAR), the officer on the phone must have sensed my excitement. "How will you produce it? Come on, come on" he said.

We headed to Tuzla with a vehicle we arranged from Balıkesir, with only our carbon fiber roll in hand. They believed in us, opened their workshop, and thanks to their visionary support, we produced the first chassis of our vehicle!

Despite Those Who Think Carbon Fiber Is Wood: Engineering Evolution

When we returned to the industry with the chassis we produced, the reaction of the masters was unforgettable. Mistaking carbon fiber for wood, putting two tires on the chassis and jumping "This one stretches, this one breaks, you stay stranded in the race" they said. Explaining to them the nature and durability of this material was a challenge in itself.

The design process of our first vehicle took 4 months and the production took 2 months. This vehicle, 1.5 meters wide and 3 meters long, was produced from 193 grams of plain carbon fiber by vacuum infusion method. Due to inexperience, our chassis weighed 48 kilograms and the total weight of the vehicle was 250 kilograms. The body, which we modeled from styrofoam and took a polyester mold, made us experience the difficulties of raw polyester.

But engineering is the art of learning from mistakes. We used these errors as reference in our ongoing project (in our second year). By producing the chassis of our new vehicle using Airex C70.48 PVC foam, hand lay-up and vacuum bagging methods, we managed to reduce the chassis weight to 20 kilograms. We updated the dimensions to 1.40 meters by 2.80 meters and designed a vehicle that is much lighter and has more domestic electronics.

TEKNOFEST Efficiency Challenge: Finishing the Dream

All those sleepless nights, the scoldings we received in the industry and the dust we swallowed had only one purpose: to get on that track in the TÜBİTAK Efficiency Challenge competition held between 31 August and 5 September. As the IEEE BAUN Student Branch, of which I am the Chairman of the Board of Directors, AutoPES The pride we felt when we stepped onto that field with our team was indescribable.

Reaching the finals in this giant organization that lasted 6 days was proof that we achieved the best we could with our own means. Minister of Industry and Technology, Mr., honored us by visiting our stand and vehicle. Mustafa Varankto, TÜBİTAK President Mr. Hasan Mandaland TEKNOFEST Chairman of the Board of Directors Mr. Selcuk BayraktarWe are grateful for their interest.

Endless Thanks to Those Who Supported This Dream

This success is not just ours; It is the work of a big family who believed in us, supported us financially and morally, opened their workshop in the industry and did not spare their experience. On this occasion, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to the following names:

• Our Field and Production Team: To our project coordinators Onur Çolak and Erkin Öz, who worked day and night; To my teammates Ahmet Üstün, Arda Çamdere, Batuhan Mert Güzel, Berk Salman, Berkay Çakal, Cihan Bostancıoğlu, Durmuş Furkan Kurt, Emre Durak, Ferruh Avcı, Furkan Şahin, Mert Turan, Metin Polat Şahin, Samet Aluç, Sami Kızılboğa and Seyit Bilal Çandır,
• Our IEEE BAUN Family: Our Chairman Mehmet Emin Altay and his team, who mobilized all opportunities for us; Our 2020-2021 Board President Sevcan Çil and her team, who laid the foundations of the project; Şehmus Bereket and our mentor Abdulkadir Bekdemir, who did not spare their experiences,
• Our Academic Supporters: Our advisors, Assoc. Prof., who are with us under all circumstances. Dr. Sabri Bıçakçı and Dr. Lecturer Member Fuat Kılıç; Our Rector Prof. Dr. To İlter Kuş, our Dean Prof. Dr. To Murat Erhan Balcı and the entire administration of our university,
• Local Government and Institutions: Balıkesir BŞB President Mr. To Yücel Yılmaz, Hazal Gür and Enes Karakaş; Mayor of Altıeylül, Mr. To Hasan Avcı and Emre Erol; President of the Chamber of Industry Mr. To Nazmi Race; OIZ Manager Mr. To Mesut Eray; Mr. from the City Council. Mürsel Sabancı and NEO Manager Mr. Courtesy Elif Binici,
• Our Corporate Sponsors: From KORDSA, ŞİŞECAM and TOFAŞ to Oğuz Karayel; From INTEKMAR to Siraç Orhun and Gökhan Çillioğlu; From ARGEMSAN to Erkan Atik, Nurseli Karlı and Aycan Berktaşoğlu; From KZ Mekatronik to Osman Kalender and Yusuf Soylu; From Teknosav to Selçuk Savaş and Mehmet Yılmaz Tabanlı; From BEST A.Ş. to Ahmet Kerem Köseoğlu, Ramazan Altay and Mehmet Baki Doğru,
• Dear Masters and Enterprises of our Industry: Tenliler Oto-Boya (Mesut Özdemir Usta), Samur Otomotiv (Günday Kula), Ata Motor (Levent Aygündüz), Güvenal Tarım (Edip Ataç), Nika Composite (Alper Barış), Gauss Trafo (Hakan Gedik), ST Elektromarket (Samet Toklu), Cem Otomotiv (İsmail Durak), Sefa Oto Kaporta (İbrahim Çankaya), Sadık Ticaret (Hamdi) opened their doors to us as a workshop. Sancaklı), İkiel Otomotiv (Necdet Tunç), Bekkiler Metal (Kemal Duman) and Konyalı Oto Kaporta (Ahmet Aksu)...

We didn't just produce an electric vehicle from that industry; We have built an indestructible experience, great friendships and a lifelong engineering vision. Endless thanks to everyone who supported and trusted!