{"id":40447,"date":"2019-04-05T08:00:08","date_gmt":"2019-04-05T12:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/solidworksblog\/?p=40447"},"modified":"2019-05-02T10:38:08","modified_gmt":"2019-05-02T14:38:08","slug":"motorcycle-madness-building-a-big-bike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/solidworksblog\/2019\/04\/motorcycle-madness-building-a-big-bike.html","title":{"rendered":"Motorcycle Madness: Building a Big Bike"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Iso
Isometric view of Ben’s bike<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

After months of intrigue (and a huge conference in Dallas), the Magic Wheelchair Build Team is back, creating the most epic motorcycle costume possible for Ben! The costume\u2019s CAD is ready to go: a mix of Tron<\/em> and Akira<\/em>, with some Indian Motorcycle design elements weaved in. The team is using SOLIDWORKS PDM<\/a> to keep their design data in one place where they can collaborate, making changes as necessary. With the design complete, the build team has split into mini-teams, working on machining foam, prototyping electronics, and so on.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Ben in his motorcycle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

We\u2019re two months away from the reveal\u2014let\u2019s do a quick rundown on what the mini-teams have been up to:<\/p>\n

Machining<\/strong><\/p>\n

Back at it again on the ShopBot! Sal and Albert have been putting in the hours in the 3D<\/strong>EXPERIENCE Lab, CNCing foam like nobody\u2019s business. They started by testing cuts for sanding. During last year\u2019s build, the team spent countless hours sanding down pink foam, to the point where one team member literally sanded his fingerprints away. This year, Sal and Albert are working out how to cut down sanding time, while still machining at a brisk pace. \u201cIt\u2019s time versus quality,\u201d Sal explained. It\u2019s possible to machine foam so fine that there is little need to sand, but that can take a long time to cut. After some experimentation, Sal settled on a 10% step-over, as there is minimal sanding to smooth out the foam. But if those cuts take too long, he\u2019s willing to go to a 20% step-over. We\u2019ll see how it turns out!<\/p>\n

\"CNC
CNC stepover trials. From left to right: 25%, 20%, 10%, 5%<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Sanding
Sanding away…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

With testing out of the way, the true machining has begun. Most of the front wheel is cut, along with the parts to connect the wheel to the body, and the back wheel will soon be completed. The outside layers of the front and back wheels have not been machined yet because of electronics (see below). Work on machining the body will begin this week.<\/p>\n

\"Most
Most of a machined wheel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

3D Printing<\/strong><\/p>\n

This year, the team is doing more experiments with 3D printing details. Rather than spend time machining foam and sanding down small detailed parts, they want to put the bevy of 3D printers in the lab to use. So far, exhaust pipes have been printed, and parts of the engine will be printed on the new, gigantic Gigabot 3D printer.<\/p>\n

\"The
The Gigabot printing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Machined
Machined parts and 3D printed exhaust pipes and rivets<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Electronics<\/strong><\/p>\n

Electronics are a huge part of the build. Ben loves lights and buttons and the team is determined to create a special dashboard he can play with. The team also wants to add audio elements to the bike, giving Ben the ability to \u201crev\u201d the engine while pushing a button. Color actuators, noise actuators, non-functional but interactive switches, a faux RPM gauge, side lighting, LEDs on the wheels; there are a lot of electronics planned for this bike! \u00a0None of the team members are electrical engineers, but SOLIDWORKS R&D Development Senior Manager Nicolas Lefebvre has taken the lead, leveraging his skills as a programmer.<\/p>\n

\"Electronics
Electronics workshop led by Nicolas (middle)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Nicolas led a workshop teaching team members how to program and work with Arduinos. The group spent a few hours on a Monday getting on the same skill level and experimenting with LED strips. One of the challenges the build is facing is how to best light the stripes on the wheels. Remember how the outer layers of the wheels aren\u2019t machined yet? That\u2019s because the team is still not sure how to best cut the channel for the LEDs.<\/p>\n

\"LED
LED testing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

They want the LEDs to be removable in case they need to be replaced at a later date. The current plan is to put a piece of etched acrylic over a channel machined into the outer wheel layers. That piece of acrylic will be removable, so the LED strips can be reached. The issue is how to attach and detach the acrylic. Magnets? Screws? Laser cut nubbins into the acrylic? SOLIDWORKS Alliances Specialist Gabe Enright has taken over the prototyping and he\u2019s experimenting with 3D printing the channel. A final decision hasn\u2019t been made yet, but Ben\u2019s wheels are going to have light up stripes no matter what!<\/p>\n

\"Potential
Potential wheel design<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Soon the team will begin construction on the frame, and there\u2019s been intense discussion over how to add a part to the costume so Ben can be pushed. Ben uses a manual wheelchair, and while he\u2019ll have room to push himself while in the costume, his caretaker and family need a way to push him as well. The current thought is to mount a pipe handle to the back of the frame and have a post come up between the wheel and tailpipe. There\u2019s still some designing and experimentation to do, but the team is up for the challenge.<\/p>\n

The wheels are turning for this motorcycle! Plans for the reveal are in the works, and the costume is scheduled to be completed for Ben\u2019s birthday in early June. Get ready for more updates on Ben\u2019s build and keep those engines revved up!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Help support Magic Wheelchair and amazing kiddos like Ben!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

SOLIDWORKS is working hard to make Ben the most incredible costume ever and help the non-profit Magic Wheelchair achieve its goal of providing kids in wheelchairs with epic costumes. SOLIDWORKS is funding Ben\u2019s costume build in its entirety, but we invite all our readers to support Magic Wheelchair in Ben\u2019s name!\u00a0If you visit his classy.org page<\/a>, you can donate directly to Magic Wheelchair and help support them and all the lives they touch with their great work. Stay tuned for more updates on this exciting build and get your engines revved for more motorcycle madness!<\/p>\n

SOLIDWORKS is partnering with the Magic Wheelchair<\/a>\u00a0to create an over-the-top costume for a child in a wheelchair. According to their mission statement, \u201cMagic Wheelchair builds epic costumes for kiddos in wheelchairs \u2014\u00a0 at no cost to families.\u201d\u00a0Motorcycle Madness is an ongoing series dedicated to updating our readers on the current project\u2019s progress.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read about our previous build,\u00a0Keep on (Monster) Truckin\u2019<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>with Jonah\u00a0here.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Follow along as the SOLIDWORKS R&D team creates an incredible costume for Ben, a 9-year-old who uses a wheelchair, in association with the non-profit Magic Wheelchair.<\/p>\n... Continued<\/a>","protected":false},"author":409,"featured_media":40430,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,14,17],"tags":[196,1890,2773,2069,2881,452,2768,2629,298,19,2793,2794,2843],"class_list":["post-40447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","category-design","category-education","tag-3d-printing","tag-3dexperience","tag-3dexperience-lab","tag-community","tag-costume","tag-education-2","tag-magic-wheelchair","tag-motorcycle","tag-motorcycle-design","tag-solidworks-2","tag-solidworks-for-good","tag-user-advocacy","tag-wheelchair"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/solidworksblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40447","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/solidworksblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/solidworksblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/solidworksblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/409"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/solidworksblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40447"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/solidworksblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40447\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/solidworksblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/solidworksblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/solidworksblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/solidworksblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}