Therefore, the problem of alignment between the smaller wheel and the shaft bearing the cutting saw can be achieved by use achieved by use of a flexible coupling so as to avoid failure of the machine in the future. 5. Component search and selection The following components shall be needed for the fabrication of the designed device; power circular saw blade, pedal, small wheel, large wheel, frame, bicycle seat, shaft, bearings, belt. Components such as the frame and the shaft can be fabricated in the workshop (Callens and Bignonnet, 2012).
However, the other mentioned components can be bought off the shelves. Some of the components to be used in this design are as shown below; Figure 3. Bearings Figure4. Pedal Figure 5. Bicycle seat Figure 6. The stand Figure7. The chain Figure 8. Circular saw Figure 9. Shaft 6. Geometrical Stability The device will be subjected to tremendous cutting forces and moments; it will be very crucial then, to ensure that the stability of the machine is guaranteed. For this particular project, the saw was made stable by the construction of a frame of four stands.
Two stands were used to support the seat and the bigger wheel while the other two stands were used to support the smaller wheel and the cutting saw as shown in the diagram below; The stand was made stable in that they were designed such that their base surface area was sufficient enough to prevent the machine from tumbling during the cutting operation. The stands were held together by welding. Bolts and nuts could also be used. 7. Environmental Robustness The machine will be made from mild steel which is susceptible to wear and tear as a result of corrosion.
Therefore to prevent the menace of rusting the device has to be painted. The machine does not need enclosure since the wood particles and dirt will not affect its operations. However, the moving components need to be covered so as to avoid accidents. 8. Operational Reliability As mentioned earlier, this machine is subjected to tremendous cutting forces and moments. Therefore mild steel will be used for the fabrication purposes so as to ensure that the system meets the expected strength, operational lifetime and reliability.
Mild steel will be preferable because apart from being strong, it is also cheaper compared to other fabrication material such as stainless steel. 9. Serviceability One of the design consideration of this system was to ensure that the machine was easy to service. Therefore, if any of the components fails such as the bearings, cutting blade, wheels or the belt, they are located in a position that makes them easy to remove. Also, different subsystems are independent such that if one of them fails, then it can be removed and be replaced or be repaired without disassembling the entire system.
For example, the pedal system and the belt system are independent but are connected by use of couplings. Also, in an effort to reduce periodic maintenance of the system, the number of moving parts has been reduced to greater extend. 10. Sustainability During the design of the device, it was taken into consideration that, the device will need to be disposed of after its lifetime in such a way that it will cause minimal or zero environmental pollution. Due to that reason, the materials used can be recycled and be moulded into something else which can be useful.
Recycling helps in reduction of pollution by eliminating deposition of solid waste. Therefore, the entire project can be termed as a sustainable design and all engineering projects should take into consideration how to dispose of the project once it has reached its life span. Conclusion This project sought to design a bicycle powered band saw. The design parameters considered include the expected loading conditions as well as the ergonometric aspect of the user. As such, a detailed loading conditions were set and the expected forces and moments calculated.
The next stage entailed a 3D modelling of the individual parts of the bicycle, which was done in Solidworks.
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