Advancements in the technology have a critical role to play in influencing the functioning of any society when it comes to the transport industry with specific reference to short distance transport. The introduction of electric powered skateboards, bikes and hover board have seen a great change sweep across this technological developments. There has been significant development in technology in about the last two centuries in terms of design, materials and motors with tremendous improvements being witnessed in short distance transport choices as a result of the experienced developments in technology (Kiefer, C. and Behrendt, F., 2016). The technological advancements in the field of short distance transports has also led to an increase in the polarity of the short distance transport choices and improved appeal and d acceptability among the members of a community.
The prohibitive costs besides the limited practicality of electric bikes have made them lose popularity among users in the recent year, a challenge that has gradually been eliminated or is undergoing gradual elimination trend following the improvements that are being witnessed in the domain of materials as well as new manufacturing processes (Hu, F., Lv, D., Zhu, J. and Fang, J., 2014). Such improvements have seen electric bias whose design are above par, having their costs lying within the acceptable and affordable ranges and the performance within the satisfactory brackets. This makes such bikes gain the once lost popularity as for the case of the bike system of Western Sydney in which they are used as convenient, safety, free and sustainable transports for both the students and the staff between the various points on the Penrith Campus.
e-bikes are available all over the world even through their potential have not full been experienced with regards to their aesthetical values, lightweight and high affordability. Among the pioneer who built the first tricycle in the 1880s included John Perry and William Ayrton who devised a tricycle that was powered using 10 heavy acid batteries and a horsepower motor 0f 0.5. The main drawback of this invention at the time was the acid batteries that were very heavy and were of low efficiency thereby interfering with the smooth operation of the device (Kiefer, C. and Behrendt, F., 2016). This problems which began in the early days of the invention of the device continued for quite some time becoming a significant issue that called for attention as a bike with high performance must incorporate light weight and optimal power. Excessive installation of battery in as much as would make it attain the necessary power to operate it, would add on the weight and this to significant levels lower the velocity and acceleration. This calls for a consideration of the optimal performance without compromising the performance of the bike allowing the bike to still be in possession of the capability of travelling a specific maximum distance in line with its inherent capabilities.
There have been tremendous advancements in technology over the year around the world in almost if not all dimension of life with regard to the development of the e-bikes. Such developments have been in line with batteries of lightweight and improved efficiency, high performance motors that were configured to have high efficiency and the capability of maximizing the available power (Hu, F. et. al, 2014). Developments have also been witness in the materials that are being used for the frames of the bike. Other forms of development are inclusive of using components that aim at ensuring that the biker is lighter and stronger and has enhanced performance.
The main objective of this design was to come up with a bike that is effective o be used at Western Sydney University. Achieving such an objective calls for considerations into the main features, riding ability, range, handling features as well as the economic needs of the product that would ensure a competitive product is availed in the Australian market (Pellitteri, F.et. al, 2013). The design of the bile is primary for the students of Penrith University and hence the design must be aligned to the needs of these students. Of greatest importance among the characteristic of the students is that most of them have age ranging between 18 and 26, and yet another feature that would be considered is the aesthetic bearing in mind that the deign targets naturally materialistic group of people. Consideration must as well be given to the distance between Warrington campus and the Kingswood campus in order to meet the functional requirements of the device to be constructed.
For the case of tis construction, a maximum distance of about 3.2 km travel is considered as the ideal construction guide who is arrived at by taking into account the roads and the shared pathways. There are shuttle buses that have been deployed to ply the route between Penrith Campus and Kingswood campus, a strategy that has only managed to partly achieve the intended mission (Pellitteri, F.et al, 2013). Through the implementation of the Smart Campus proposal and the e-bike transport system, students will be able to get to their classes on time in with a lot of convenience. The implementation will also see the journey of the students full of fun and enjoyment.
Figure 1: Longest Distance between Kingswood Campus Kingswood Campus of Western Sydney University and its Warrington Campus
The roles of each of the members of the team are as described:
Person A:
Person B:
Person 3:
There has been considerable increase in the usage of e-bike over the recent past with advancements being needed in the pasts of convenience in transit, competence, sustainability as well as effectiveness which is heavily influence by the price offer that is given to the consumers. The design must be done in such a way that it is very competitive in order to enable procurement of numerous units that can be used at the Smart Campus. A price range of between USSD 1500 and USSD 2500 has been proposes as the piece of the product with the most expensive product have higher performance and low market popularity (Kiefer, C. and Behrendt, F., 2016).
Still, the implementation of the most expensive bike would not be incorporate into the WSU market following the current predictions. Important to note as well is that the performance of the e-bike must be in accordance with th acceptability standards which is the capability to travel about 26km, the approximated distance between Warrington Campus and Kingswood campus when the assumption made is that the journey is to be completed 8 times. Another acceptability criterion is the comfit of the bike and its stability to allow the user to ride it at choice and to any destinations ((Hu, F. et. al, 2014)).
The last aspect that has to be included in the design of the bike is sustainability. The bike must be able to help or facilitate the achievement of sustainable environment development goals through minimizing pollution to the air, water and soil. Among the other key feature of the design are reliability and long service life. The commonest of the bike must also be designed in such a way that they are able to resist the impacts of stress, corrosion and cracks. Another component of the bike is a high quality motor which would improve the reliability of the bike ((Pellitteri, F.et al, 2013)). The battery must be able to remain in a charged condition for long enough and should be able to undergo quick recharging to allow maximum riding time. To eliminate or reduce frequent buying of the batteries, a long service lie for the battery must also be achieved as batteries are fond of performance degradation due to their flaw of quickly losing charge.
The basic design of the e-bike is composed of a standard type of frame as shown in the sections below and will be flexible enough to changes as will be dictated by circumstances. The bike will have the smooth road type tyres with the wheel being 26 inches in size. At the rear wheel of the bike is a practical rack that would be used for storage of book and bags to ascertain safety through the journey (Kiefer, C. and Behrendt, F., 2016).
The figure below illustrates the design sketches of the basic bike as well as an illustration of the initial design stages. There was finality reached on whether it is a bike or a tricycle to be used and still it was left unclear whether to have a seat to two. Clarity was also needed with regard to the point of location of the storage compartment as it could be placed either under the down tube or in the region that lies between the crank and the rear axle or otherwise directly above the rear wheel. The early stages of the design saw the engineers locate the storage compartment closest to the ground so as to lower the center of gravity of the bike. This would enhance the handling features of the bike considerably. The design selection ignored the opinion of having the storage compartment under the frame as it would result in design complications of the frame thereby leading to a significant upsurge in cost of manufacturing (Pellitteri, F.et. al, 2013). The bicycle model was finally preferred over the tricycle model citing its cost effectiveness which from basic estimations realized that it would cost a third more than the cost of manufacturing a bicycle to manufacture a tricycle.
Due to its durability, strength as well as long service, the standard design was chosen for implementation following the numerous years it has been in operation and thus receiving global acceptability. Varied materials can be used in the construction of the bicycle frames among them Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers, Titanium Alloys, Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymers, AISI 1020 Steel and Kevlar Fiber Reinforced Polymers ((Hu, F. et. al, 2014)). The most common materials that are used today include 6061 Aluminium Alloy and AISI Chromium Molybdenum Steel due to their good applicability in the construction of bicycle frames owing to their features.
Aluminum for example has high tensile strength, low modulus of density and low density and thus capable of resisting corrosion. It is also easy to manufacture. Due to the low density of aluminum, the e-bike weight is kept within the required standards and hence ensuring excellent performance alongside ranges for the bike (Pellitteri, F.et al, 2013). With reference to the material that has been used, it known that 4340 Moly Steel has higher strength qualities that 6061 even though the material is quite heavy owing to its high density. Some of the data that are of importance when it comes to manufacturing of the e-bike are as shown in the table below.
|
Analysis of Frame Materials |
6061 Aluminium Alloy |
AISI 4340 Chromium Molybdenum Steel |
|
Tensile Yield Strength (MPa) |
276 |
710 |
|
Modulus of Elasticity (MPa) |
68900 |
205000 |
|
Density () |
2700 |
7850 |
The choice on an e-bike depends on various aspects and considerations among them top speed, range, service life as well as acceleration. Going by the provided standards, the maximum legal power output allowable for a motor is 250 W and thus it is of utmost importance to come up with a kit that is not only appropriate but also legal and safe. The cost of the motor was not a priority in choosing it as the cost of a motor does not determine the lifespan and hence an expensive motor may need to be replaced more regularly than a less expensive motor. The team that is presented above involved in the design and implementation of a high quality electric bike that is to be used by the WSU society (Kiefer, C. and Behrendt, F., 2016). The quality of a motor is imperative for an excellent design which if not achieved then the overall design would turn out to be invalid and unsuccessful.
The main idea behind the expenditure of a lot of funds on the electrical aspects of the bike is to ensure that the bike is unique and of high performance in comparison to the counterparts that are available in the market. This creates the need to investigate the hub style motors bases in the efficiency and location on the centerline of the axis of the bike (Pellitteri, F.et al, 2013). The location of the electric motor is at the hub drive which is close to the rear wheel while the battery is located at the main triangle that is closest to the ground in order to check on the handling performance from the additional weight on the e-bike system. In some other bike systems, the motor is located at the rank, which was also considered in the design but was disqualified at the final design stage owing to the lack of potential to change frequently as well as the motor style being a bit expensive. Numerous approaches are available in market in which some are pedal assisted while other have an override function in collaboration with the pedal assist function. In the latter case having a dual functionality the motor system has the capability to propel the machine upon the push of a simple lever ((Hu, F. et. al, 2014)).
Either of the systems is accompanied by pros and cons in as much as the main perspective with regard to the sales function is personal preference. This means the intended users of the bike would have to be studied to find out if they would like to pedal to work or have the bike equipped with a push button style motor form that would enhance their convenience. There are e-bike kits in the market including motor mounted on the hub, a screen that is sued for display, a brake sensor, a pedal sensor, a battery pack, throttle among other kits should the decision of purchases be in line with the push button and go model of the e-bike (Rose, G., 2012). Through such a strategy, conversion of the bike to an e-bike becomes very simple as well as ensuring reduced costs incurred.
For the purposes of the task, a 26-incl wheel was chosen with a tread of the type of featuring an abroad. The 26-incl wheel is found to be large and has the capability to roll conveniently over bumps making the week more comfortable and efficient for use by a rider. The use of a smaller wheel would reduce he comfort levels of the rider leading o displeasure. Contrary to the conventional spoke style design, a solid steel wheel design is settled on for this design even though the spoke wheel is not aesthetically appealing. Our design needs to be accompanied by an aesthetically appealing design that would foster and motivate people to have a ride of the bike (Rose, G., 2012).
Another benefit of using thus style is that in as much as the wheel used in spoke style could loosen within time and thus may call for tightening maintenance, the solid rims do not require as such maintenance and are properly suited to the conditions that are persevered by the bikes. Road style tyres also good in the reduction of the levels of noise during the ride as the bike would mostly be used concrete surface, paved ground or asphalt surface ((Hu, F. et. al, 2014)). The road style tyres type permits more contact with the ground surface thereby ensuring that the rider is safe and the traction is improved.
There is a track that is located above the rear wheel so as to help keep the center of the gravity lowest and closest to the ground surface. This point is located at the center of the bike and thus improving on its stability during usage. The size of the rack is large enough to ensure the books and a back pack is accommodated thereby keeping such materials from any forms of damage. The design is also incorporative of a system that is able to hold together the objects that are on the rack to prevent them from falling off in case of an accident. The system that is sued in securing them in place also ensures that they do not fly off in case of unwanted accident and hence improving the safety of the riders.
The e-bike is riven using the chain and sprocket design which is also known as the cassette design. There have been proposals in the past among them the belt systems even through there is still not so much to show in the satisfaction of the constraints by the systems with reference to their reliability in the long run in the bicycle industry. The chain drive system has been in use for decades and despite the fact that there are possible chances of failure of the chain, it is a rare occurrence in comparison to the failures of the belt systems (Kiefer, C. and Behrendt, F., 2016). Cracking and brittleness so the belt that is in use is caused by periodic use and exposure which may finally lead to complete failure and leave the rider with the worst option of covering the remaining part of the journey on foot.
The headlights will be located at the brake handlers which is an important feature as it is a bit late by the time a good number of students finish working and yet they need to access the e-bike all the time be it daytime or night time The headlight will be used for the purposes of illumination of the path during the night but can also be switched on during the day time to serve as a safety precaution for riders who enjoy the service so the e-bikes.
The terminology of the bicycle that has been adopted in this report gives three different parts of a frame of the bicycle ((Hu, F. et. al, 2014)). These parts include the top tube, down tube, head tube, seat stays as well as the chain stays. Such information is useful in understanding the process of design analysis of the e-bike. The standard parts of the frame that are having labels are predicted as in the figure below. The illustration of the design process with the aid of diagrams tends to make clearer the communication about the various aspects of the design.
An analysis of the design for the components of a new product should be assumed when it is designed so as to ensure that the physical design is suitable as well as the materials ((Hu, F. et. al, 2014)). Numerous forces were applied in the determination of the strains and stresses for the frame of a standard bike in which the frame was loaded with a weight of 1000 N at the point of location of the seat post which is about the location of the seat of the rider. Two separate 250 N forces were further applied where the handbars were located. The two weights were used in the fixation of the frame in order to simulation such as the case when it is on the road and the process was aided using a component material of aluminum 6061 (Kiefer, C. and Behrendt, F., 2016). The two forces are quite extreme in the natural aspect and thus an analysis of the forces was carried out in order to estimate the stress levels that can be used for a standard frame and at what exact point the stress would be developed as the bicycle frame is under some range of load. The analyses were needed with the use of a gravitation acceleration of 9.81m/s2 which was in the y direction and the results as indicated below were realized.
Shown below is a diagram of the bicycle frame in the non-deformed shape under exposure to approximate forces applied by the rider during riding. The results from the simulation were plotted in which aluminium frame was used in the analysis. The green or yellow color indicates an increase in the level of stress while the minimum stress is illustrates using a material of blue color that in the end turn red to illustrate the maximum possible stress that has been obtained within the frame (Pellitteri, F.et al, 2013). The next figure is an illustration of the bicycle frame when in the deformed shape associated with analyses of von-misses stress analysis that used the same forces as described above. The stress analysis done on the bicycle frame is important in understanding the level of concentration of stress making it possible to use the very data in the manipulation of the design and offer changes that are ideal for the improvement of the design through the inclusion of the required aspects to eliminate the points of weaknesses and instead obtain improvements in th strength and durability.
There are five main stress concentrations in the design of the frame and result from a reduction in size of a member or through the establishment of a connection with another member. Most of the stress points are capable of leading to the failure of the bike those results from such circumstances as shearing, bending, buckling and cracking of the various members of the frame (Kiefer, C. and Behrendt, F., 2016). Numerous methods are available for use in the reduction of the impacts of stress on the frame among them an increase in the diameter or area of the members, reducing the quantity of internal defects, changing the material choice as well as diminishing the sharp fixtures and corners using the process of filleting. Adopting and implementing such design principles that have stress reducing impacts is
The design of Th wheel of the bike also calls for force analysis so as to determine if the material and the design that has been settled are appropriate for the operation of the bike. The wheels of the bike are very important in the bike as they serve the role of connectors in the bike by linking the frame of the bike to the ground (Pompermaier, C., Sjöberg, L. and Nord, G., 2012). This allows all energy transfer be it through electrical or human means thereby allow the bike to move. It is required that the wheel have and keep the required strength since they are always under the influence of forces that come from the drive turn and are naturally period. The wheel also experience forces from such impacts as from a collision, rolling off of a gutter or even hitting a pothole and a failure in the wheels may lead to a lot of harm to the sue and hence the need to ascertain the safety and strength of the wheels. The SolidWorks CAE software is in the performance of an analysis of the forces and stress conditions of the rim in which a force of 1000 N is applied to the chrome steel shaft that is 26mm (Kiefer, C. and Behrendt, F., 2016). As shown in the figure below, the forces and stress conditions analysis of the rim returned favorable results showing that the rim does not indicate any stress concentration form. The stress concentration of the shaft formed the main concern in this force analysis which was going through the rim and was illustrated with the use of yellow color besides red patches.
Another analysis that was done to the bike is the motion in which the motor was placed at the front wheel so as to rotate it and the results from the motion analysis can be observe from the obtained SolidWorks files (Rose, G., 2012). Failure Model and Effect Analysis is an integral aspect of engineering and design products which is usable in the analysis of the modes of failure of the e-bike and the accompanying impacts of such failure as applicable in real life situation. There are three major requirements that the bike must meet: have a long service life, strong, safe for use by users and the environment as well as to the bike itself. The main modes of failure are as shown in the FMEA table below which are among them bends, cracks and any other manage type that may be experienced during the operation of the e-bike (Pompermaier, C., Sjöberg, L. and Nord, G., 2012). The modes of failure can be translates to the risks of the safety that the rider may be subjected to when operating the bike. Failure to satisfy such conditions may see the product fall short of the expectations of the user. Th failure modes are caused by such aspects as excessive forces or loading where excessive loading is defined as having too many individuals on the bike simultaneously. Other possible causes of the failure modes could be mishandling and misuse, inappropriate assemblage, error by the user, incorrect Fixturing type for example the use of the wrong bolt types.
There were minor challenges that were faced during the assemblage of the bicycles and the assessment of its life cycle. Life Cycle Assessment refers to the evaluation of the environmental impacts of the device across the stages of its design including the design itself, development and manufacturing of the core material. The figure below illustrates the findings of the basements.
The product implication in relation to the community forms one of the fundamental aspects during the design such that the product must be designed in such a way that is it unique and better in quality and feature that the other products that are available in the market in order to remain competitive (Pompermaier, C., Sjöberg, L. and Nord, G., 2012). Numerous things are included in the DFX such as Deign for Safety, Design or Assembly, Design for Environment, Design for Manufacturing , Design for Quality, Design for Reliability as well as Design for Safety. DFX serves to offer a range of ideas that if adopted in the design process may lead to a product that has an impact on the market. Design for X basically means Design for Excellent which can only be declared upon ensuring that the product has met the set out global and local standards though such achievements as design fir low cost manufacturing and least negative impact on the environment, convenient assembly and disassembly which would facilitate easy maintenance (Kiefer, C. and Behrendt, F., 2016). The theoretical analysis of DFX is conducted and the product undergoes numerous manipulations in the design in order to improve its performance, level of customer satisfaction as well as the processes and theory of manufacturing.
Design for Assembly aims at reduction of the cost and time of assembly in the process of assemblage. Simplification of the design of the e-bike can be achieved through the three aspects that would see a design that is easy to assemble and demands for minimal labor. Numerous ways can be implemented in the minimization of the quantity of part of the e-bike with simplification of the existing connection between the forks and the head tube being one of the ways. This is accomplished through the use of thrush bearing which was sued in the past and are no longer usable by the manufacturers instead they adopt the use of a smooth forks surface that is connected to the smooth surface of the head (Pompermaier, C., Sjöberg, L. and Nord, G., 2012). This offers a proper connection especially in cases where a lubricant has been applied which adds on top of the lifetime of the connection. This is one of the most cost effective methods that are simple and practical in nature.
Design for the Environment is a single important aspect of engineering design in the world of today owing to the ever increasing carbon dioxide levels and global warming activities. These call on the design of the products to be done in such a way that they pose the least possible impact to the environment and human health (Rose, G., 2012). The environment is always at risk from the various harmful effects that result from the manufacturing processes, transportation, manufacturing transportation as well as extraction of the main materials of a product. The environment impact should as well be inclusive of the impacts of the product on the environment during its operation. Various measures can be adopted in an attempt to lower the environmental impacts of the e-bike such the performing recycling of the stickers in relation to the components and the materials that can undergo recycling as well as the adoption of signage placed on the hydraulic brake fluid which is safely disposable at the expiry of its life.
Design for Sustainability and Design for the Environment share some similarities. Design for Sustainability is aimed at achieving a long service life for the e-bike and ascertaining that the bike remains in an operational and safe condition for a long time. There are qualities of the components that the e-biked must be accompanied with and have to be chosen at various phases of the design and such is vital if there is need to have the bike operate with regard to the expectations and satisfaction levels of the intended user (Ji, S., Cherry, C.R., Han, L.D. and Jordan, D.A., 2014). Still, the design of the e-bike must be done in such that it looks out of date in the subsequent month owing to inadequate thinking in the process of design. Design Maintenance analysis aids in ensuring that only components of high quality are used is as to last long enough without experiencing the various modes failures. While the failure modes in the e-bike is inclusive of aspects which have an impact on the lifespan of the system or even lower it, they include as things as corrosion of the various components or even breakdown of the materials used in its construction. When the bike fails, it will call upon the user to buy another one instead on taking time to solve an existing problem and this is known as DFS.
The choice on the battery and the motor is one of such ways in which DFS can be incorporated into the design. A choice has been made on whose package is a Samsung battery and the clips that are used in locking into another mount placed on the frame’s down tube. The choice on the battery should be made in such a way that it is easily replaceable within a few years in order to minimize any forms of wastages and achieve the maximum achievable utilization of the components of the product throughout its lifetime (Kiefer, C. and Behrendt, F., 2016). Some e-bikes have built-in battery systems inside their frame which was found to be unsuitable since the battery may wear out in a matter of a few years thereby quickly losing its charge which would turn out to be very challenging to implement changes to the battery. The overall result is that the entire bike will have to be disposed. The motor has a similar package in which the kit that has been selected in composed of a motor that is at the hub front making it convenient for utilization of the e-bike version. This is achievable through the replacement of the front wheel with the front wheel of the standard bicycle making it a possibility to ride the e-bike juts like the normal ride without necessary having an additional weight added. Should the motor stop working after some time, it is possible to change the front wheel which means the customer will not have to buy a new front wheel that has a hub motor hence a sustainable solution that facilitates waste minimization (Ji, S. et. al, 2014).
Design for Safety is yet another integral aspect of design engineering in which the bike might be of limited help if any should the focus only be on the aesthetic functions and design of the frame in a minimalistic manner without has the safety of the user given the deserved attention. stress analysis of the most important component of the e-bike as well as simulation of the conditions of operation alongside determination of the design strength ensure implementation of Design for Safety and its suitability of the intended task (Ji, S. et. al, 2014). The wheels and the frame tend to be the components of the e-bike that are most exploded to periodic forces and this had a force and stress analysis performed on them. The concentrations of stress was determined through the use of the section of simulation add-in of the SolidWorks software in relation to the design and hence igniting redesign of the components in such a way that they can effectively handle the forces. Manipulation of the design in such a way that it could contain the applied forces was achieved through the application of fillets as well as through changing the material thickness in some portions. The SolidWorks software is used in simulation of the design in such a way that is provides a guarantee of usability to the intended purposes hence proving the safety of the e-bike both to the society and the consumer (Ji, S. et. al, 2014).
Design for Reliability has been implemented with regard to the selection on the most appropriate electrical and motor systems. There are multiples of cycles in the market with only a few selections of e-bikes in existence. A mechanically strong and reliable combination of the battery and the battery that has high performance must thus be accompanied by a design of a mechanically string frame and this offers an explanation on the choice of Dillinger AU Street Legal Bike Kit that has Samsung Battery. The various components of the kit were among them a legal electric front hub motor that has a configuration of 250W and able to attain a speed that is as high as 25 km/h are among the unique features of this package. There is also available a Samsung battery that has a configuration of 13Ah with a range that is approximately 65km. such a battery has a charge time of 6.5 hours and is composed of 1000 cycles of battery with a 7.7kg included weight. The reliability of the street legal kit is established which is also supported by exceptional reviews (Ji, S. et. al, 2014).
Design for Manufacturing remains relevant as long as the manufacturing process is simplified even as the quality of the produced components is not compromised. The overall impact of this is a fall in the overall costs which in turn affects the costa n final price that the consumer is charged (Chlebosz, W., Ombach, G. and Junak, J., 2010). Design of manufacturing has been achievable though the use of standard dimensions for the case of common components such as shafts bearings and materials for tubing in ration to the diameter and other applicable dimensions in the design. This allows for minimization of customizations of the components with regard to furthering the design and the fewer the customized components, the lower the cost of manufacturing and time and hence a reduced financial load of purchase to the final consumer (Jones, T., Harms, L. and Heinen, E., 2016).
Another fundamental bit of the product design is the design for disassembly. This is a philosophical approach that gives guidelines on how easy it should be to dismember a produce should there need be as in the cases of repair or recycling. Design for Disassembly influences Design for Sustainability and Design for Environment owing to the fact that products that cannot be safely, quickly and efficiently disassembled risk disposal by the user who would instead decide to buy a new product.
After analysis, discussion and evaluation of the performance as well as the customer needs as the design team, a final design is arrived at. The excel sheet below shows the approximated cost of production of the e-bike and the data contained therein depends on the material selection alongside the complexity of the process of manufacturing for the purposes of approximating the cost of product and the cost of assemblage of the components (Jones, T., Harms, L. and Heinen, E., 2016). The recommended price of the e-bike is arrived at with the knowledge of design and cost construction in which our team proposed a retail process of about $2199 for a unit of the e-bike, value that is within the range of price hat was outlined in the performance criteria hence can be accepted with regard to the project ((Hu, F. et. al, 2014)).
There were identifed some concetrarions of stress that required attention followig tehe stress analysis that was carried out. such concntrations of stree were mainly located at the lower side of the stayss of the seat which is the linkage between the top tube and seat tube, the conenction between the down tube and the head tube and the linkage between the top tube and the head tube. Strengthening of the frame is recommended in such a case and the use of large filleting to the major klinkages would be ideal in the recution of the risk of failures. Still, the tubukar materila of aluminium is as well made to have a bit thciker wall in relation to the areas that are perceived to be under high conccentration of stress (Pellitteri, F., Boscaino, V., Di Tommaso, A.O., Genduso, F. and Miceli, R., 2013). A reduction in the concrentration of the stress on the frame serves to increase the service life of the bike as well as limiting the possibilities of failure which takes place under standad operation condtions. A black powder coat is celected for the fram owing to its stylisj and powerful appearance. It gives the frame a conspicoyus exterioer look. Still, this color has the capcibity to resist corrison and thus improving the service life pof the e-bike regardless of weather and season of the year.
An aluminium type design has been adopted as the final design for the wheel of the e-bike and the choice has been made based on its lightweight characteristics, strength and sustainability as compared to the conventional multi-spoke design. Spoke rims required constant checking and tightening which is not the case with this design. The alloy of aluminium, Aluminium Alloy 6061 that has been adopted in this design is resistant to corrosion besides having a long life time.
Different combinations of motors and batteries were used such as hub and cranks design in which the Dellinger AU Street legal electric bike kit that has Samsung battery was chosen as the one viable for the design (Chlebosz, W., Ombach, G. and Junak, J., 2010). The kit costs approximately $899 AU and comes with free shipping. Among the benefits of the kit is that it comes in mazing views and is suitable for the constraints with the design. Compared to other kits, this kit has lightweight characteristics and aesthetic appeal. The list comes with all the inclusive components including the battery and the hub motor that is incorporated into a bicycle wheel that is 26 inches wide. The kit tends to be properly situated for use in this project with a maximum rating speed of 25km/h and 250W nominal power (Jones, T., Harms, L. and Heinen, E., 2016). It has a maximum range of 100km with the average range being 65 km and 50 km throttle range. The Samsung battery has a nominal energy of 470 Wh and a rating that goes to as high as 1000 charge cycles on the maximum. The weight of the battery is 7.7 kg with 6.5 hours charge time in all.
The crank that was used in the current design is composes of two gears giving the user the option to have a momentary relaxation and even riding slowly so as to bring down the excess power when climbing up the hills that are at the Penrith Campus. In order to come up with the appropriate impression, a yellow-gold and black color is chosen for the crank. The chain rings used have 52 and 43 teeth size enabling the user to quickly pedal and even use the pedal assist part of the motor with maximum effectiveness and in conjunction with the modes of pedal assist. The chain rings are made using mild steel due to its durability and ability to resist tear and wear. The pedals and the crank arms are however made from an alloy of aluminium owing to its characteristic strength and lightweight. Following its numerous positive reviews and long service life, the genuine Shinamo chain is chosen to be used in the project (Jones, T., Harms, L. and Heinen, E., 2016).
The figure below is an illustration of the render of the full assembly of the final design. Numerous design aspects were taken into account when making a choice on the final design and such aspects as practicality, assembly, disassembly, safety, constraints of manufacturing and efficiency topped the list. The finally achieved design is able to meet the design criteria of the customer. The e-bike equally meets aesthetic criteria.
The time, efforts and energy that the deign team put in seeing the appropriate requirements of the design met through numerous evaluations and testing cannot be ignored. Despite the tremendous achievement, communication error was identified as the main challenge when it comes to team working which was common in the initial design stages that can have as much impact that is detrimental to the project. Another minor problem that was encountered was the design of the components of the e-bike using Solid Works as most of the components came in varied shapes, angels and profile which were a bit challenging to create as software parts (Pellitteri, F.et. al, 2013).
Despite the challenge, the team spent quality time in trial and error and well ss finding tutorials online which gave ideas on how to effectively handle the challenge. Malfunctions of the software was also yet another challenge in which some of the software in cluing Solid Works were found to be incompatible with the computers that are at home and hence the wee had to use the computer labs within the university premises in the design of all the CAD SolidWorks. This meant spending a lot of time in the labs in order to generate any quality designs prompting the design project to be left later than anticipated making the team to have insufficient time left in the early stages of the report (Jones, T., Harms, L. and Heinen, E., 2016).
The table below illustrates the ideal timeline which was set aside for the completion of the project. The team met four times during which there was delegation of parts of the project, research and designed explored and the project progress explored. There were two aspects of the project: design of the e-bike report as well as the design of the individual components of the report, which turned out to consume most of the time (Pellitteri, F.et. al, 2013). These designs were done using the SolidWorks CAD software. The final stage of the project was the presentation of the completed project which had minimal drawbacks and issues.
Conclusion
The e-bike that has been designed by our team meets and even to a larger extent supersedes all the outline performance criteria that are outline previously n this report. Among the excellent features of the bike include safety, functionality, and practicality as well as possessing outstanding performs through the use of two top components that have been integrated into its design which intertwines strength and durability. One of our roles in the project was to coming up with a bike that meets aesthetic criteria and by the edn of the design, we were able to create a collaboration between creative design ideas such as rear rack and headlights into the design which gave the user an opportunity to use the bike throughout his productive time. The evaluation and redesign of the e-bike has been presented through motion analysis, CAE analysis as well as s designing. By the end of the project, we were able to integrate the e-bike into the Western Sydney University Smart Campus enabling je achievement of the goal with $2199 competitive price in compensation of the offered quality and the time that the bike is expected to last. Inclusion of high quality arts in the design of the bike ensured that the bike has a two year warranty back up for every user. The warranty covers all the components inclusive of the brakes, motor and frame.
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