Mechanical Design---Folding Bicycle

by forestwow on 2008-04-05 11:26:50

These days I've been busy working on the assignment for the "Comprehensive Mechanical Design" course. I searched online extensively and finally got some inspiration from the design of a folding bike shown in the figure below. I think this bike looks very aesthetic, and it still looks great when folded. So I decided to start from this designer's concept and modify it so that all the folding processes can be completed with one action, making it more convenient.

However, there are indeed many difficult problems, which made me realize why mechanical design is harder than other types of design: while ensuring aesthetics and creativity, one must also deeply investigate its feasibility. For example, whether it is easy to operate, whether it meets the strength requirements, and whether current technology can produce it. This requires complex kinematic and dynamic analysis...

So I thought, perhaps these issues are better understood by ordinary workshop masters or common machine workers in small processing workshops who seem to have little education than by me, a mechanical engineering student who has attended university. It is precisely they who make these products available to the public.

But, as people's lives become increasingly filled with exquisite and convenient products, perhaps most people only think about those styling designers who earn a handsome salary and live modern or even bourgeoisie lifestyles. How many people can think about the mechanical workers who have also contributed significantly to this product? Their monthly salaries are mostly less than 2000 yuan.