Hey all, need some quick feedback on this one with regards to form. Battery 2 wheel EV, hub motor in the rear. Commuter bike, think of it as a rival to honda cub or vespa in terms of size. trying to succeed where the segway went wrong perhaps.
this is far from a complete CAD model - don’t worry, i know!
I need help with the form - this is about the millionth revision i have done, and page upon pages of sketches.
*forgive the MS paint - no PS access right now.
note that this is going to rapid prototyped very soon, so fine detail won’t happen on this particular CAD file. I will be doing that once it is fabricated on the scale model.
FEEDBACK PLEASE! FORM and appearance ADVICE IS APPRECIATED!
also, I want to send this to be rapid prototyped asap, so if you take a look at this, PLEASE leave feedback. i want to sort out this model so i can focus on other things.
It would be helpful to see some of your concept sketches to see your design intent. Just looking at your 3D model just shows what you could make in Solidworks and maybe its not what you really wanted.
As it stands now it seems to be a very forced organic shape, and there is no natural flow in the lines or form. All of the sections seem to join each other with odd bumps and fillets, and in my honest opinion its not very pleasing to the eye. Also the dramatic difference in the visual volume between the body and the swing arm needs to be better balanced, although it might be different seeing it with wheels and fenders.
If you will be spending money on a prototype I would wait.
thanks for your feedback dubya. I have modified the design a little and have sent it off for SLS - i’ll pick it up in the morning. I have a lot of sketches, and i’ll put them up when i can (most have been submitted to instructor).
You are right about not necessarily being my desired look, but it is all part of learning to be a designer - being able to take 3D ideas from my head, translate them to paper, then fully flesh them out in 3D.
You are also right about the weighting of the form, and I have adjusted some parts as well as trying to balance out the swingarm parts. the wheels and other components really do add quite a bit to the feel of it, but i haven’t CADded them yet.
I know what your saying and I feel your pain. I have used Solidworks for a few years and have pulled out a lot of hair trying to get things to look right. Many times I have gotten an object or form almost perfect, and when I try to tweak it that last little bit, the program just says nope you cant do that, arrrgh! Thats why I have Rhino as well, but I haven’t used it much yet.
Good luck with the project though, I look forward to seeing how it turns out.
I am not in transport design, and generally like fluidity in silhouette , regarding what dubya says about the flow. At first i noticed the same, but then i thought…mmmh interesting cause it made think Chris Bangle, and what he did at BMW, he is not my favorite transportation designer, and a lot of people have criticized his work, as not pleasant to the eyes, but but he worked with something different and it was commercially successful… I thought that maybe that was what you were going for, then you said rival to honda cub… i am guessing you meant same size, not really competition.
Maybe if there we some sketches i’d get a better idea
