Recently, I've been moving forward with the development of the bike kit, experimenting with different materials and how they would affect the overall feel, durability and usability of the product.
Whatever material is used, it will have to fit a certain criteria:
1. Robust
2. Aesthetic
3. Easy to manufacture
4. Easy usability, e.g. cleaning, fixing, installing etc.
In yesterday's blog (which you can read here) I explored the positives and negatives of manufactured out of plastic - more specifically ABS.
Today I've been looking at the pros and cons of manufacturing out of metal, and after some research, I've landed on aluminium alloys.
Pros
There are an incredible amount of positives to using an aluminium alloy. As well as being relatively lightweight, it also comes with the advantage of being easy to work with and lends itself to complicated shapes, whilst holding relatively low-cost manufacture.
Due to being an alloy, it's also 'weatherproof' meaning it won't rust or corrode and makes it incredibly durable.
One big positive, however, is aluminium alloy's ability to be non-sparking. For motorbikes, this is a big plus as I don't want to design anything that could impact the safety of the rider. When a motorbike is in a crash, there's a high chance that some metal could spark and light any leaking fuel. If the product was made out of a non-sparking metal (or plastic), it would prevent adding any extra risk during a crash.
Cons
However, there are a few cons to working with aluminium alloys. Even though they come with a relatively low manufacturing cost, that's only once working with the alloy. Actually manufacturing the alloy can create additional cost, bringing the total up by quite an amount. Plus the creation of alloy materials can be less environmentally friendly than working with other materials, so that is something to consider.
As well as all the different pros and cons, I wanted to run a few renders to get an idea of how the metal would suit the product:
I've done a mix of textures in the renders, from a smooth finish to glossy. I tried a brushed aluminium finish, but I felt it didn't suit the product at all. Moving forward, I would like to figure out how the product will look finished, with electrics inside. That's all for today's blog, Thanks!
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