Drill-Powered Bike
Made as a course deliverable for Component Design at CU Boulder
The Component Design course at CU requires that every team design and build a drill-powered vehicle to be ridden in a competition at the end of the semester. Our team, named "Team Fire Drill", ended up winning 3rd place in the endurance competition!
Final Design
Fabrication
Our team was responsible for fabricating many of our vehicle components, shown below.
Drill plate (aluminum) - cut on water jet
Chainring adaptor (steel) - cut on water jet
Back wheel dropout plate (steel) - cut on water jet
Bike frame (mild steel) - MIG welded
Pillow blocks for drive shaft (aluminum) - machined on 3-axis mill
Drive shaft (carbon steel) - end modified using 3-axis mill
Drive sprocket (steel) - exisiting machineable bore sprocket was modified using a 3-axis mill
Drill mount and trigger lever (PLA) - 3D printed
My Role
Role: Project Manager
Responsibilities:
Managing all project deliverables and deadlines
Creating and adhering to a deliverables schedule
Making agendas and running team meetings
Assigning individual tasks to teammates and imposing deadlines
Organizing and editing reports and presentations
Assisting with all other aspects of the project: CAD, manufacturing, testing, etc.
Learning outcomes:
Project scheduling tools such as Gantt charts
Assertive yet respectful interaction with peers
Running efficient meetings
Technical knowledge and skills:
Welding
Machining
Fastener classification
Failure analysis