The Bicycle Perch: Seeking The Value Of Craft
Alvin Tan| Chen Qi Sen| Lee Geok Ling| Teo Ee
Contents Page 1. Preliminary Ideas and Designs 2. Design Intention 3. Model - Application of learning outcomes from Process Model - Challenges of design and construction - Diagram of Final Model - Loading test - Observations 4. Conclusion - Retrospective analysis - Reflection of learning experience
Initial Idea #1 -Extracting basic geometry from bicycle to form perch design - To use the perch as a subtle reflection of a bicycle’s structure for aesthetic appeal in a Paul CÊzanne fashion: where objects are extracted into circles, triangles, and rectangles Pros -conceptual and simple Cons -Design synthesis method is too abstract and difficult to reproduce in other designs
Initial Idea #2 - Using a mechanism to reduce the force needed to utilise perch Pros - less effort required to operate perch; user-friendly - Opening and closing of the perch is interactive Cons - potentially bulky - engages too much friction with the ground in sliding motion
Initial Idea #3 - Two troughs are created for the wheels of the bicycle to balance upon - Repetitive pattern suggests continuous movement even as the bicycle is perched stationarily Pros - form suggests it could be compacted - pure and minimalist Cons - Takes up a large area of space when in use. - Difficult to park the bicycle on it due to the steep angle between the ground and the ramp.
Initial Idea #4 A folding mechanism is introduced to the perch, which the bike is hung on.
Design Intention After reviewing all the ideas as well as in-depth discussion, we have decided to create a bicycle perch that: - defines a unique space specially to park a bicycle in a home. At the same time serving as a platform to showcase the bicycle, to bring out the beauty of the bicycle; - is compact, light and easily portable so as to be convenient for its user. It was also to be aesthetically appealing and serve as a stand for display of the bicycle in the home, therefore not hiding any parts of the bicycle from view; We also wanted to limit our palette of materials to wood only. This is to contrast heavily against the metal of the bicycle so that the bicycle would be emphasized when it sits on the perch.
Mock-Up Model and Evaluation
After buidling the mock-up model, we realised that it: - takes up too much space when fully open - unable to be fully compatible as intended - failed to retain the triangular element
Modification and Improvement
The front wheel of the bycicle would be placed onto the perch when it is fully open - fully collapsible - takes up less space, both when it is fully open and folded
Modifications were made as the design was too difficult to be achieved due to the lack of stability. We had to therefore simplify our design, by changing the slanted components to straight ones.
In line with our design intention of keeping to one material, we researched on constructing wooden joints as it - expresses the quality of wood while fulfilling the - functional aspect of constructing the perch
Challenges Of Design And Construction - Difficult to compress the perch into a completely flat plane - Difficult to predict if the joints would work as expected -
Insufficient lateral stability in the initial design
- High level of craftsmanship required for joints to fit seamlessly - Fitting of dowels into drilled holes needed a lot of precision - Difficult to ensure perfectly aligned drilled holes and straight cuts - There was a need to achieve a completely flat base so that the perch can rest flat on the ground
Solution to placing the wheel onto the perch without it falling through.
Possible joinery that we considered.
The process model highlighted that a horizontal bar here is necessary to support the front wheel of the bicycle.
On the other hand, the horizontal bar here was removed as it was not integral to the function of the perch.
We had to carefully adjust the distance between the two longest members to ensure that the front wheel is firmly secured such that it will not topple side ways.
Setback #1 - perch was unstable due to timber end having too little contact with the ground; perch was balanced on 4 points only - solution was to sand the timber ends so they lay flat on the ground, creating more contact and hence friction to reduce movement and instability - width of perch at the bottom was also increased to lower center of gravity; hence reducing perch tendency to topple
The initial design had member pair A between member pair B. This order was switched to enable the tensile pieces, pair B, to engage the bicycle wheel since its span across both ends of the perch allowed for a better fit, not only in terms of holding the wheel, but also in allowing the entire structure to be folded more compactly than in the initial proposal.
Elevation and axonometric sketch of joint in the centre.
Axonometric sketch of pieces and joints that will keep the wood at a fixed distance apart.
Retrospective Analysis of Design With more time and resources, here are some areas that we would like to improve on or further develop: - Dedicate more time experimenting with process models instead of discussing the design on paper. We could analyse and make further improvements quicker this way. - To stretch the idea of compactability and portability. For example, we could have made it collapsible into a single plane or attachable to the bicycle. - To engage more of the bicycle. - To experiment with different tools such as a chisel to carve out the joints and to consider a greater variety of joints. - To expand our design for industrial usage; Lining the perches up in a row to park a series of bicycles on display. - To look into different mechanisms or use of metallic joinery, such that the setting up of our perch requires less effort while being able to expand and collapse smoothly into place.
Reflection Producing a construct is not a linear process; it requires one to constantly toggle between research, planning, and experimentation to produce increasingly refined designs, and the design should fully explore the chosen concept. In our case, that would be about pushing the idea of being compact and portable. Furthermore, we have learnt the importance of the need to engage the entire object of interest to our design, to fully maximise the design potential of a perch.
Gallery
Alvin Tan | A0094738N Chen Qi Sen | A0100710H Lee Geok Ling | A0110846M Teo Ee | A0101462X