The Chassis of a Typical Motorcycle - Term Paper Example

TITLE: The chassis of a typical motorcycle; Dated: March 12, 2009 INTRODUCTION A typical motorcycle is a two-wheeled vehicle powered by an engine that helps in the running of the vehicle as per the given command by the operator of the motorcycle. Motorcycles are considered as one of the cheapest and most widespread mode of motorized transport as used in many parts of the world(1). The motorcycles are manufactured on the main frame called as chassis of the vehicle which serve as an integral and vital part of the motorcycle. The construction of the chassis and its utilization needs in depth study of the engineering disciplines like designing, manufacturing, assemblage and after sales services relating to the motorcycles. On a typical motorcycle the operator sits on a seat with hands on a set of handlebars in the frontal side and the feet are supported by foot pegs. The engine operates with the utilization of fossil fuel as source of energy and the lubricants for the operations of the engine effectively(2). The speed of the motorcycle is displayed with the help of a speedometer and is regulated by the rider as per given command. The direction of the vehicle is regulated with the help of the steering .The breaking system is operated for adjusting the speed through the use of hand breaks or foot breaks through foot of the rider. Generally the motorcycle is equipped with a set of two rubber tyros supplemented with the rims which provide a link between the motorcycle and the ground during the rest period as well as during the operations of the vehicle. The shifting of gear ratios is controlled by operating a foot lever along with the clutch being operated by a hand lever for increasing and decreasing the speed of the vehicle as per requirements of the journey(3). The structural components are manufactured and utilized with the utilization of skills and materials as in accordance with the engineering designs and configurations made by the technical human resources for the manufacturing of the motorcycles. The motorcycle construction is the engineering, manufacturing, and assemblage of the components and the systems for a motorcycle. The execution of all these disciplines result in the form of desired machinery that is the motorcycle with outlined objectives for the construction of the product. The adoption of standardised parameters as found in the engineering and designs of the product lead to the formation of the product with the utilization of essential inputs, systems, human capital and the financial resources with specific configurations. The motorcycles are manufactured around a central major part called as the chassis of the vehicle which also provide a definite shape and size with essential accessories. The motorcycles are consisting of the frame, the suspension, front fork with front wheels, the engine, transmission and the rear wheels(4). The manufacturing of the motorcycles involves the combination of skills and the materials with specific designs as to meet the requirements of the costumers. The manufacturing organisations are designing their projects as to use all the inputs through a mechanism that ensure quality output with the utilization of financial resources as on optimum basis for gaining maximum profits with the execution of their projects that is the manufacturing of the motorcycles with the utilization of chassis of the motorcycles as their central part. The successful completion of the project leads to the fulfillment of the objectives of the organisation as to secure implementation and sustainability of the organization as per its mission. The projects like the manufacturing of the motorbikes are executed with the active participation of all the stakeholders as on win-win basis. The success of the product that is the motorcycles chiefly depends on the utilization of quality material, the necessary tools and moulds as per the drawings for the implementation of the task with its necessary standards. All the manufacturing units are recommended to use quality material especially for the chassis of the motorcycles as all other parts are arranged as subparts or auxiliaries for the synthesis of the whole product that is the motorcycle. All the parts of the motorcycle are manufactured with the utilisation of the suitable material, configurations and the drawings for the manufacturing of the units. These parts are assembled with the assistance of the technicians and the technical personnel for the implementation of the over all process. A typical motorcycle with chassis as the central part of the product is illustrated with the help of the following diagram. The chassis of a motorcycle consists of two main parts as (a) the frame and (b) the suspension along with the front forks of the bike. Both of these parts are inevitably required for the vehicles and are functioning as in synergetic pattern for strengthening the over all structure as the chassis of the motorcycles (5). (a) Frame The frame of a motorcycle is typically made from welded aluminum or steel or alloy with the suspension as an integral component in the design of the frame. However, titanium and carbon fiber are used in some expensive frames of the motorcycle (6). The frame includes the structures like the head tube that holds the front fork of the vehicle and allows it to pivot or rotate for handling the movement in a desired direction. The frames are mainly hollow tubes and functions as a skeleton for the whole body on which the components like the engine and the gear boxes are framed for the construction of complete motorcycles (7). The frame also assists the wheels at a particular angle with the maintenance of handling during the mobility of the vehicle. Some of the motorcycles include their engines as load bearing member of the whole body. The concept is being practiced throughout history of the units however; the same has occupied a common position in the motor bikes of the present age. There is another type of the chassis called as the oil-in-frame chassis where the lubricating oil is stored in the main frame of the motorcycle(8) .The chassis was mainly used during 1950s and 1970s but the same are not popular in the present age. These chassis were used to include the oil container for the motorcycle within the mainframe of the vehicle. The production of the frame for the motorcycles is designed with the help of the drawings and moulds for the synthesis of the frames with the use of inputs as required for the manufacture of the product. A Suzuki GS500 with a clearly visible frame (painted silver). (b)Suspension The suspensions work for the connection of the chassis with the two wheels of a motorcycle through an arrangement called as the suspension, however, in some of the motorcycles a rigid frame is also utilized for the whole manufacturing process. The suspensions are of two major types as the front suspension and the rear suspension with specific roles. The front suspension is usually constructed into the front fork of the motorcycle and is consisting of telescoping tubes also called as fork tubes which include suspension inside the frame and in some cases multi bar linkages are present for the incorporation of the suspension as on external basis(9). On the other hand the rear suspension of the chassis supports the swing arm which holds the frame with the axle of the rear wheel through a bolt. The suspension part of the chassis is in the form of several shock arrangements as to absorb the shocks during the running process. These shocks are of various types like dual shocks which are located at the far ends of the swing arm. The process for the construction of the frames is consisting of the following stages, all these stages move in a coordinated and systematic pattern (10). These stages are interconnected and interrelated with each other, the same are as under: (a) Designing of the frames for the chassis of the motorcycles, (b) Manufacturing of the chassis with the use of suitable raw materials, moulds and dyes, drawings, tools, machines, computers and computer software, (c) Marketing of the products in the open market where the chassis are used for the manufacturing of the new motorcycles or the chassis are used as a replacement for the already manufactured units and (d) After sale services through the technicians of the units. The stages and steps as listed above are essential for the manufacturing of the motorcycle chassis. These stages can be summarized with the help of the following drawing. These stages are moved in a systematic and well planned mechanism with the help of essential data regarding the designs for the chassis as required for the manufacturing of the motorcycles, availability of the material along with its prices, economics of the whole process for making the product economically viable and sustainable in the market, the practiced as prevailing in the market for the product. The manufacturing is completed with the assistance of computer aided designs with the help of drawings, moulds and tools as are used in the engineering process for the product. The successful adoption of all these stages indicates that the product is being manufactured and used in the motorcycles for their utility and durability in the market. The stages have been represented in a cyclic pattern so as to illustrate the process. However, all these stages are being implemented simultaneously with a centralized coordinating system for the manufacture and utilization of the chassis of the motorcycles. The success of the process depends on the adoption of all these stages with their necessary details. The design of the chassis of the motorcycles is accomplished through a set of related tasks and their observance is necessary for the manufacturing of a quality product as in the shape of the chassis which are further utilized in the motorcycles for their assemblage in the complete form. The designing of the chassis and its manufacturing is completed through the use of Machinery and tools as per required specifications of the product. The whole process moves through the following steps: a) The planning stage for the manufacturing of the product along with its specifications, b) The list of the Materials needed as an input along with their costs for the utilization in the manufacturing process , c) Purchasing of the materials for their utilization in the manufacturing process at an appropriate time , d) The selection of a suitable Manufacturing process as to fit for the manufacture the chassis for the motorcycles, e) The detailing of staff and to supervise the Production process through the observance of standards and quality for enhancing the acceptability level of the chassis in the open market , f) Marketing of the chassis with effective marketing strategies as to compete for the supply orders and to promote the product as on competitive and sustainable basis, g) The sales of the product in the market in a supply chain mechanism for ensuring the implementation of the whole process in a systematic and coordinated mechanism, h) The provision of the after sales service for the satisfaction of the customers as to provide backup support for the product. The stages as mentioned above are essential for the manufacturing, marketing and after sales services for the chassis of the motorcycles. The non observance of any segment will have adverse effect on the whole process as designed for the manufacturing and utilization of the product in the motorcycles with the use of raw materials and tools for the construction of a quality product (11). The tools, dyes and moulds are essential instruments for the construction of the product as per its specifications and necessary technical details. A set of tools as utilized in the manufacturing process are shown below: The manufacturing organizations are trying to implement their projects with the utilization of all the necessary inputs as on optimum basis with an objective in mind to secure maximum returns with the sale of quality out put as for example the chassis for motorcycles in the instant case(12). The manufacturing process is mainly based on the design of the product, creation of drawings and moulds for the product and the manufacturing process with the aid computer programs and computer aided designs for the end products. A) The design of the chassis as used in the motorcycles The design of the motorcycle chassis is developed by the concurrent engineering wing of the engineering departments of the manufacturing units .The design selection is mainly based on the kind of the technical jobs and functions as to be delivered by the product, the shape required as to fit in the over all body of the motorcycle and its engine, the processes involved and the raw material for the manufacturing of the product. The whole process for the designing of the chassis of the motorcycles can be illustrated with the help of the following drawing: The design of the product depends on a number of critical factors including the complexity size and shape of the chassis of the motorcycles and the nature of the material used for the manufacturing of the desired product with quality and standards (13). The completion of the designing process leads to other stages as required for the completion for the manufacture of the chassis as per their specifications. b) Machinery and equipment used for the manufacturing process as per required specifications The manufacturing process for the manufacture of the chassis proceeds through a set of stages; all these stages are implemented with the assistance of specific machines, tools and equipment for the completion of the stages in perfect manner. The tools required for the manufacture of the product include specific dyes and moulds for achieving the product with its specific design, the instruments for the measurement of width and strength of the material, automated robotic assembly systems and computer aided design systems for the product in the shape of chassis of the motorcycles. c) Materials required for the connecting rods The chassis of the motorcycles are manufactured and installed in the motorcycles at the world over with the utilization of suitable materials and equipment. The chassis of the motorcycles are manufactured with the welded aluminum or steel or alloy for the manufacturing of the product through forging or casting manufacturing processes. The materials used in the process increase the strength and hardness of the chassis; their stiffness and toughness are also considered during the selection of the materials for the product (14). The materials are selected on the basis of the mechanical behavior and manufacturing properties of the metals so as to increase the strength and stiffness of the chassis of the motorcycles. Analysis and formulization of the manufacturing process The chassis of the motorcycles are manufactured through the selection of manufacturing process that lead through the stages like casting, matching, forming and shaping and finally joining the components for the desired product. The chassis are produced through the utilization of suitable manufacturing mechanisms for the production of the casting materials through these procedures. The process include the metal welding process, the metal casting process, composites forming process, ceramics forming process and rapid prototyping process. The selection of the process is based on the economy of the scale and availability of the materials for the purpose. The chassis are manufactured through the process of machining which is also called as material removal process from the raw material as used in the whole production process (15). The process is a shaping operation in which extra materials are removed from the raw material so as to receive desired geometry of the product with necessary dimensions and roughness. The machining process is based on a sharp cutting tool to remove the unnecessary material and to achieve the desired appearance and shape of the product. The cuttings are made on the thickness of the plates used and the angles as to meet the mechanical and technical requirements of the product. The Mechanics of cutting is selected on the basis of the cutting depth of the structures with specific rake angle and rake faces. There are three basic stages of manufacturing process as the designing of the moulds, mould manufacturing and the component manufacture. These stages are used during the manufacturing process for achieving the desired product as in the form of the chassis of the motorcycles. The plugs are designed with the considerations of draft angles and stiffness and on the basis of the finished surface as required during the process. One should also like to avoid the associated issues of the plugs like split lines on the moulds for the products and these plugs should be used on the flat surfaces of the raw materials used for the manufacturing of the chassis of the motor cycles. The moulds are the next essential requirement for the manufacturing of chassis of the motor cycles. These moulds are designed with the help of suitable materials withy specific configurations for enhancing the stiffness of the tools (16). The moulds are designed from the same material as that of chassis of the motorcycles so as to reduce the possible size variations during the thermal expansion of the material. Necessary planning is required for building moulds so as to manufacture the desired product with the utilization of the designed mould. A special consideration needs to be paid to the stiffness of the required in the chassis of the motorcycles. To prevent heat built up, three to four layers moulds are designed so as to achieve the objective that is the final product as a result of the manufacturing process. The stiffness of the mould is essential for the manufacturing of the product as the stiffness in the chassis is an essential requirement for the product as well as for the whole motorcycle. The moulds used in the manufacturing of the chassis of the motor cycles are with return edges, sharp corners, wide flanges, bolt fixing and fillets. There are different kinds of milling machines tools used for the manufacturing of the connecting rods like Vertical Milling machine, Horizontal milling machine and Bridge type milling machine which are utilized during the manufacturing process. These machines are necessary for the achievement of quality output and refine ness with specific requirements as to determine the size of the product. These machines are shown below (a) Milling cutting motions with dog teethes, (b) Bridge type Milling machine, (c) vertical milling machine, and horizontal milling machine, respectively. These machines are essential equipment for manufacturing of the chassis of the motor cycles for the achievement of desired product for their utilization in the motorcycles. The use of these machines helps the technicians to perform their jobs with perfection and technical specifications. The machines are as under: The whole manufacturing process is monitored though a system called as a black box system which determines the authenticity of the system on the basis of inputs and outputs as the basic tools to determine the normal functioning of the system. The system is called as black box system as processing system leads from the raw materials as inputs, passed through the systems with assistance of the necessary tools and mechanisms that finely in the shape of the product as output. The revolving parts are used during the manufacturing of the chassis of the motorcycles. The process can be illustrated with the help of the following hypothetical diagram where the inputs are on the left hand side of the equation and the product on the right hand side of the equation with the black box in the middle of the equation. The system is as under: The component manufacturing in the whole process is the final stage in the manufacturing of the chassis of the motorcycles with the utilization of the plugs and the moulds. These components are made through the utilization of all the tools and moulds as are required for the whole process. The individual components of the complete milling machines are specifically designed so as to extend help in the manufacturing process for the parts and equipment as required in the motorcycles manufacturing including the chassis. For example, the Main spindle of the machine is used for the fixation of the material in the manufacturing process and the Z slide moves for providing platform for whole process to work in a systematic pattern. CAD package and improvement of the product: The process involves the utilization of human and financial inputs for the completion of the tasks that is the use of inputs at the initial stages, processing with the help of moulds and plugs with appropriate conditions and finally the output. The manufacturing tasks are completed with the help of humans, robots and other machines as to achieve the targets. The robots are utilized for the completion of the tasks at the machines where high temperatures and dirty conditions are prevailing at the moulds for the quality output. However, the whole manufacturing process is supervised by the human capital with the assistance of the robots. The quality of the production is ensured through the utilization of specific machines, tools and computer aided designs for the manufacturing of the product. A special consideration is paid to the fact that human should not be jobless as a result of the robots in the system and the introduction of the robots will assist the human capital for the improvement of the connecting rods for the automobiles. A specialized computer called as a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) is used to control the machines and processes for the manufacturing of the connecting rods for the automobiles which uses a programmable memory to store instructions for their utilization as to execute specific instructions with specific assignments like timings, on/off control, counting and other related assignments in the process. A typical PLC computer its functions are illustrated with the help of the following diagrams: Conclusion: The chassis of the motorcycles are the central part of a typical motorcycle which provides a central skeleton to the whole body of the cheapest source motorised transportation as in the shape of motorcycle. The manufacturing and marketing of the component is essential for the running of the vehicle in the changed world with rapid pace of development especially during the twentieth century of the modern world. The manufacturing process needs special attention of all the stakeholders for the designing, manufacturing and utilisation and after sales services for the product. The motorcycle's functioning depends on the basis of the chassis of the motorcycle and the study will be helpful for the formulation of necessary guidelines for the future generations to modify the product as per emerging needs for the motorcycles. References: 1. Serope Kalpakjian, Steven R. Schmid: Chapter 24 of Manufacturing Engineering and Technology, 5th Edition, Prentice Hall, ISBN 0-13-148965-8 2. Serope Kalpakjian, Steven R. Schmid: Chapter 21 of Manufacturing Engineering and Technology, 5thEdition, Prentice Hall, ISBN 0-13-148965-8 3. Foale, Tony (2006). Motorcycle Handling and Chassis Design. Tony Foale Designs. p. 4-1. ISBN 978-84-933286-3-4.      4. Gaetano, Cocco (2004). Motorcycle Design and Technology. Minneapolis: MotorBooks/MBI Publishing Company. pp. 34–35. 5. Joel Fajans (July 2000). "Steering in bicycles and motorcycles" (PDF). American Journal of Physics, v. 68 (7): 654–59. http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~fajans/pub/pdffiles/SteerBikeAJP.PDF. Retrieved on 2006-08-04.  6. Alexei Barrionuevo (2008-11-03). "That Roar in the Jungle Is 15,000 Motorbikes". The New York Times. 7. Makiko Kitamura and Tetsuya Komatsu (2009-03-03). "Honda’s $140-a-Month Motorbikes Ease Pain of ‘Grim’ Car Market". Bloomberg.  8. Hurt, H.H., Ouellet, J.V. and Thom, D.R (January 1981). "The Hurt Report". Technical Report, Volume 1, Traffic Safety Center, University of Southern California. http://www.clarity.net/~adam/hurt-report.htm. Retrieved on 2007-05-16.  9. Susan Carpenter (June 11, 2008). "Motorcycles and emissions: The surprising facts". LA Times. 10. Williams, Tony (2006). 101 Ingenious Kiwis. Reed Publishing (NZ) Ltd. pp. pp.83.  11. Liu, Y (2007). IOE 333. Course pack. Industrial and Operations Engineering 333 (Introduction to Ergonomics), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. Winter 2007 12. Wilson & Corlett, Evaluation of Human Work A practical ergonomics methodology. Warning: very technical and not a suitable 'intro' to ergonomics 13. Alvin R. Tilley & Henry Dreyfuss Associates (1993, 2002), The Measure of Man & Woman: Human Factors in Design A human factors design manual. 14. Valerie J Gawron (2000), Human Performance Measures Handbook Lawrence Erlbaum Associates - A useful summary of human performance measures. 15. Billington, David P. (1996). The Innovators: The Engineering Pioneers Who Made America Modern. Wiley; New Ed edition. ISBN 0-471-14026-0. 16. Lord, Charles R. (2000-08-15). Guide to Information Sources in Engineering. Libraries Unlimited. doi:10.1336/1563086999. ISBN 1-563-08699-9.  Read More