Transcript Bicycle
By: Sujan Sivaloganathan Room 704 Design When building bikes, the parts and materials needed and the form/shape of the bike need to be considered The form of a bicycle is easy to sketch out, however you need to think about what shape you want it to look like There are all kinds of bikes in the world including Harley Davidsons and the new ‘bikes of the future’ When making a sketch, there needs to be a clear shape of the frame and all the measurements of the different parts The manufacturers need to know the angles and dimensions of the different sides on a frame Listing the colour and the text would also be a good idea Planning out the procedure is also necessary because you want to try to get the best materials without harming the environment Most materials taken from nature are usually grown which make them ‘green’ Design The parts of a bike are based on three things: the frame, the wheels and the pedal/chain area When choosing a frame you need to know a few things: the size, the colour, the material and the design of the frame The main parts of a frame are the fork, head tube, top tube, down tube, seat tube, chain stays and the seat stays The wheel has to be the perfect size to fit the frame of a bike Tires can be thin or fat, with different types of materials and different diameters (there’s even winter and all-season tires) The pedal and chain are very important components because they make bikes move Pedal widths are chosen by the sizes of bicycles and estimated age group Chains have to be the correct length which is why the angles and lengths of frames are important Materials Extraction • • • • • • • • All sorts of materials are used to build bikes because there are so many different parts that make up the whole Wheels are usually made with a metal hub, wire tension spokes and metal or carbon fiber rim which holds a pneumatic rubber tire Metal is basically a rock which is found on the earth’s crust and is mined for, when mining with big machines they’re also known as metal ores Carbon fiber is an extremely thin but strong fiber made of almost pure carbon Rubber is a material that has to processed from a liquid called latex, which is found in the bark of heveas or rubber trees in Brazil The frame is the largest component of the bike which is mostly made of a few simple materials on different bikes These materials are titanium, aluminum, carbon fiber and steel which are all types of metals that are found in the earth’s crust when mining All these materials are great sources for frames because they make the bike light weight Materials Processing Making a bike tire isn’t very hard at all but it does release a lot of smoke when heating the rubber, which causes air pollution All you need to do is mold the shape and size of your tire, fill it with the foamy liquid and heat it in a burning hot oven Metal frames are made by melting pieces of metal together and forming cylinder shapes that need to be joined together This process causes a lot of smoke to leave large metal making factories After the making of parts, they are died in different colours Afterwards, the parts are all somehow stuck together to make a basic frame All other parts including the brakes and handlebars are made of plastic which is shaped by cutting it with a frame The chain drive is also like a wheel, which is put in a template that holds the shape of all the cuts and ridges Manufacturing By putting the liquid from rubber trees through the process of making tires takes a lot of work The template you’re using has to have the right tread that is appropriate for the type of bike that is being produced Afterwards, the inner tubes have to be installed correctly to pierce air valves into them The spokes also have to be stuck in in the correct shape When making the frame, it’s all about how long you want the metal and how you want it to be shaped like After all the parts are heated and smooth, they are stuck together with a sticky glue and stuck in the oven to melt together into one whole frame Environmentally there’s only one problem: the amount of smoke that is released when putting metal in the oven Manufacturing The biggest ever environmental and health problem is spray painting the bike’s frame Most of the paint that is sprayed at the metal is actually not sticking onto the frame, but floating into the air A bunch of government workers were sent to small companies to change the way of spray painting by changing the shape of the nozzle and using electrostatic application instead The company was also advised to use a regular gas oven for drying From this “pollution prevention” the company had 4 tons less of the volatile organic gases that were released into the air The amount of paint use was decreased by 32% and the amount of solvent was lowered by 80%\ The process of making a bike has become so much more environmentfriendly from the help of the government Manufacturing Other parts in the manufacturing of a bike include: The chain drive and gearing which are mostly located by the handlebars, help change the strength needed to ride the bike and the speed of the bicycle The actual metal chain is located between the rear wheel and the pedals The saddle (a.k.a. the seat) is located directly above the chain drive and is usually made out of rubber on kids’ bikes and leather for bigger bikes There is sometimes a height under the saddle which makes it rise and drop The handlebars are needed if you want to be safe because the help you keep your balance and contain the brakes and gears Handlebars are also known to be a part of the frame and have rubber or leather covers on top Finally brakes are found being made by plastic in most cases and are squeezed to send a message through a cable to press against the wheel rim and stop letting the wheel turn Most brakes have tighter connections to the rear brakes and looser bonds to the front ones to keep a rider from flipping at a sudden halt Packaging and Distribution • • • • • • • • • • Bikes are known to be a larger utility vehicle which makes it sort of hard for it to be packaged Most bikes are usually shipped right out of factories and sent out to stores However, there is a new creation called a bike bag or bike case which is pretty much like a briefcase that consists of all the different parts The different parts only include the frame and two wheels and take only 5 minutes to put together There is one thing to consider: how much does it cost? It ranges from $50-$150!!!!! Even when transporting bikes they sometimes use bike bags to protect the bicycles from being damaged, but mostly boxes are used to ship smaller training wheel bikes Bicycles are mostly transported by 18-wheeled trucks to retailers in the same province or state Planes also carry bikes that are shipped from other countries as special orders for certain people The bike carrying case is just a waste of materials, such as plastic, which are extracted from the Earth’s crust and have to be manufactured themselves That’s like doing twice the work for something that is insane and worthless Use The bicycle has been used for so many things that it has become a daily need in many people’s lives Here are a few uses of the very handy bike: Utility: Bikes have become the best way of transportation in India, China etc. Work: In some countries, bicycles are used for mail delivery, police and paramedics Entertainment/Recreation: Biking is a way of exercising, is in BMX and bike tours Power: From the speed of pedaling bikes, electricity can be generated to appliances Military: Bikes have even been used in wars in the past to move medication Even though all those different types of uses sound cool, there are always rules One extremely important rule that 65% Canadian kids ignore is wearing their helmets that keep their heads from cracking open in an accident Other than the help of helmets there are other “cool” gear that keep you safe like: a lock, bell, reflector, dynamo light, water bottle and correct bike clothes Finally, the rules on the road: When riding bicycles you must ride as far to the right on the road as possible and keep a metre away from cars Learning hand signals is a good idea so car drivers are alert what you’re going to do End Of Life As bikes get old and rusty the usually get repaired, but what if they get too small? Most people in the world usually give their bikes away to relatives so they don’t waste money and throw it in the dump There isn’t a way that you really dispose bikes other than taking the metal rods apart and re-using them Unless your bicycle has been crushed and is in bad shape, you don’t throw your bike away If you don’t want your bike anymore, you can donate it to a local store where they can repair it and sell it for a more affordable price Bicycles have also become an object that is used frequently in shopping websites such as eBay and Craig's list Bikes are made so that they don’t turn out to be a part of hurting the environment such as being thrown in a dump without being re-used, reduced or recycled Bibliography ► ► ► ► ► Pinchuk, Amy (2003). The Best Book Of Bikes. Toronto: Maple Tree Press. Wikipedia Contributors. Bicycle. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle Wang, Ping Tien. Free Patents Online. http://www.freepatentsonline.com/6966570.html Rowlinson, John. Green Uses For Waste http://www.greenusesforwaste.co.uk/about-bike-recycling.html Chan Shen, Lo. Free Patents Online. http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7178240.html