Evaluation

In this project brief I was asked to think of a manifesto and wanted to create a 3D outcome. I began by researching what a manifesto way. The definition of this term is “a public declaration of policy and aims, especially one issued before an election by a political party or candidate.” After understanding this, I came up with the manifesto that all transportation should be electric powered as it’d better for the environment.  

Through mind mapping I broke transport into four main section. These were Motorcycles, Cars, Aeroplanes and Boats. I then collected various images of these types of transport. From this, I was able to make small sketches of each section which allowed me to see which type of transport I will be designing further. I decided that I will be designing an electric powered motorcycle because I am more comfortable with drawing them.  

A lot of my design ideas where inspired from motorcycles that I had seen in movies. These motorcycles had a long wheelbase and had a lot of mechanical feature on display. I think that my ideas were effective in showing electric powered motorcycle designs as I didn’t feature an exhaust and I included curved bodylines, which I feel makes the bikes look modern.  

Once I had created several design Ideas, I decided to use some for experimental models. I began by experimenting with Styrofoam and quickly saw it’d be difficult to add details into model. To fix this problem I added clay to the Styrofoam model. This allowed me to add curved bodylines and build up different parts of the body up with clay like where the wheels would be.  

Another experiment I made was with creating detailed part of the bike. I did this by making a replica of a shock absorber out of cardboard. I found the material was useful as it created a strong and flexible model. This would be needed when creating detailed models as some part would need to be curved. 

To experiment with replicating parts I used vinyl molds. I would need to use this method if I wanted to make multiple of the same part as a handlebar. The vinyl molds were successful as they produced a mold of a spark plug with details like thread used to screw it into the engine.  

By using metal, I was able to improve my welding skills. I did this by having to weld separate piece of metal together in order to create a single part. After working with this material, I was able to conclude that it would allow me to create the model mechanical and complex parts. However, I also found that its time consuming and requires more skill than I currently have. 

As I spent a lot of my time experimenting, I didn’t have enough time for me to create a final design and outcome. Instead I had learnt various skills in different model making methods. I found that my metal and clay skills had improved as is was able to create secure welds and create a complete model of a motorcycle.  

I had encountered many issues during my experimental phase. One issue I had with clay was that When carving and shaving away clay I would sometime take away too much clay. This meant that some Styrofoam was being exposed. To fix this issue I simple used water to attach clay back to the model. This was easy to do as the clay wasn’t completely dry. 

A problem I had with metal was I kept having while making the frame and swing arm was that the welded joints kept breaking. I had to reweld the joins and file the weld down to around a millimeter as I think the problem was cause as I filed all the weld off the steel. 

If I was to do this project again, I would be more aware of my time and spent a lot more of my time on designing as I wasn’t able to have a final design of a motorcycle. I would also research into innovation of the electric motor. However, I was happy with the experimental phase as I learnt many new skills.