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J1772:2010 Vehicle Inlet Coupler Design Two

After spending 2 weekends making Coupler One it was apparent it was a wasteful less than optimum design. Starting with the square chunk of aluminum and machining away over 70% of it wastes material and takes a lot of time to remove all that metal.

The basis of design two is starting with a thick wall tube and ending up with a circular mounting ring with 6 screws. The basic cost of material for the shell is reduced by 50% and the end result is just as effective as the more common design. If most of these Inlet Couplers end up in the adapter boxes who cares how it mounts.

A few changes in the SolidWorks 3D model changed the square mounting flange to a round one. The next thing to do was look at the parts and compare the drawings to the standard to make sure what I was planning was still 99% compliant with the SAE J1772 (TM ) specifications. I still have the one minor change needed for easy machining as a deviation form the standard.

Again I optimized other details for the tools I have and changes as much as possible from metric to inches to be more shop friendly. I noted the solutions for problems that were experienced while making Design one. Yes, a few new issues appeared, but they were significantly less important than those the first time/

	The SolidWorks model of the new design
	A chunk of aluminum tube to make the connector, already round and already having the main center hole.
	It gets bored out and turned to rough shape. It is attached to a square scrap block for easy mounting in a chuck or vise.
	Then more machine work to give it the final shape. It took about 1/2 of the time than was taken for the first one. Some was the learning curve but having so much less material to remove helped.
	More careful cutting yields a perfect insulator.
	The insulator is held in the body with a snap ring

	Pins are finally inserted and secured with wires attached.
	Now parts are built in larger groups using fixtures. Each inlet adapter still has a lot of hand work and assembly.

I like this designs efficient use of material and reduced machine time. The aluminum body has that aircraft quality look and feel. A few more fine adjustments and it will be ready to build a few.

e-mail: david@modularevpower.com