Designing a bamboo balance bike

Designing a bamboo balance bike

Kiela, P.R.

Sonneveld, M.H. (mentor)

Industrial Design Engineering

Design Engineering

2016-05-27

This thesis is a report on the project of designing a bamboo balance bike, supported by scientific sources, analytical thinking and an academic approach. The project is commissioned by KaboogaBike, an Amsterdam based start-up company founded by Jan B. Mwesigwa. Results from the internal and external analysis are followed by a material research, showing the explored possibilities of bamboo. After explaining why Dutch grown bamboo is not suitable for a balance bike, anthropometric data is used for an ergonomics analysis. Combined with the analysis of the prototype provided by the company, a program of requirements is drafted and the conceptualisation phase starts. The creative process that follows, leads to the material combination that is the basis for the rest of the project: bamboo and aluminum. The steps taken from idea to concept proposal are documented showing how difficulties were overcome. A concept is proposed that uses weld aluminum shapes as mechanical and visual joints to create a unified bamboo balance bike design, portraying a focus on sustainability through the subject of eco- efficient value creation. A prototype is used to test the design and see whether the aesthetic and technical qualities produce the desired value, improving the eco-efficiency.

design
bamboo

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:52e6a871-9305-4bcb-86ff-5be7bc99a9c6

Campus only

Student theses

master thesis

(c) 2016 Kiela, P.R.