Electric Tricycle Project

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Electric Tricycle Project


Summary

The goal of the Electric Tricycle Project is to bring increased mobility to disabled persons living in the village of Mahadaga, Burkina Faso, West Africa. Presently, hand-powered tricycles are used for transportation by many of the disabled in this community. However, some current users of the hand-powered tricycles do not have the physical strength or coordination needed to propel the tricycle with their arms and hands. Self-propelled wheelchairs and mobility devices are commercially available to meet the needs of these individuals but are too expensive and technologically sophisticated to be viable in the village environment.

Purpose statement

The Electric Tricycle Project will develop a battery based, electric power train and control system that can be added to existing hand-powered tricycles used in Burkina Faso. Work will be conducted in partnership with missionaries, staff and clients of the Handicapés en Avant Rehabilitation Center in the village of Mahadaga. The tricycles will be designed to be cost appropriate to the local economy, suitable for local terrain, fabricated by craftsmen in the local workshop and able to be maintained by end users and local technicians.

Goals

  • Partner with Handicapés en Avant to design a sustainable, self propelled electric tricycle that can be fabricated and maintained by local craftspersons in the village of Mahadaga, Burkina Faso
  • Create appropriate documentation, training materials and fabrication aides that will enable transfer of the design and and manufacturing processes to craftsmen in the Handicapés en Avant workshop.
  • Work directly with Handicapés en Avant craftsmen in order to train them in the manufacture and maintenance of the electric tricycle.
  • Provide long term support to our clients so that they are able to take full ownership of the fabrication and maintenance process.

History

The Electric Tricycle Project is an outgrowth of the original Hand-Powered Tricycle Project. In the summer of 2002 and again in 2003, a direct appeal was made by Handicapés en Avant director Françoise Pedeau to develop a self-propelled version of the hand powered tricycle. As a result of this request, an Engineering Senior Project Team was formed in the fall of 2003 to develop the initial design plans for an electric powered tricycle (2003-2004 Sr. Project Report). A project time line from 2004 to present follows

Summer 2004:

  • Implementation trip to Mahadaga, first tricycle fabricated and put into service.

Fall 2004:

  • Reports of problems with the original speed control were first received.
  • Drive train welding fixtures redesigned to improve ease of use.

Winter 2005:

  • Second follow-up implementation trip for further training and fabrication of a second tricycle.

Spring/Summer 2005:

  • Speed control components redesigned, fabricated and shipped to Mahadaga.

Fall 2005:

  • Drive train problems reported with the tricycle fabricated in the Winter of 2005.
  • Complete redesign of speed control undertaken due to recurring problems and complexity of the original design.

Winter 2006:

  • Implementation team determines that drive train problems were caused by component misalignment.
  • Implementation team reports excessive wear in the motor shaft coupling.

Spring 2006:

  • Motor shaft coupling redesigned to better support drive pin.
  • Prototypes and parts for the new speed control were fabricated.
  • Drive train improvements undertaken to correct misalignment problems:
    • Assembly fixtures were designed to facilitate drive train component alignment during tricycle fabrication
    • A small planetary speed reducer was purchased to replace several existing drive train components. This reduction in components simplified the drive train and minimized the number of components that needed to be aligned.

Summer 2006:

Third implementation trip:

  • Local fabricator redesigned intermediate shaft mounting bracket and wheel mount bracket.
  • Original tricycle retrofitted with the new motor coupling and speed control.
  • Second tricycle was rebuilt with new speed control and simplified drive train.
  • A third tricycle was fabricated using the newly designed assembly fixtures.This tricycle was constructed using the original intermediate (jack) shaft design.

Sub-Projects

Current Sub-Projects

Past Sub Projects

Team

Current Team Members

  • Andrew Betteridge
  • David Bedillion
  • Alex Brubaker
  • Philip Hess
  • Jonathan Hollinger
  • Alexander Waardenburg

Past Team Members

Resources

Documentation


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