A Study on Computer Aided Optimization Design for the Frame Form Generation of Electric Bicycle

Although the design of an electric bicycle has its demands and advantages among other types of bicycles, it is not popular in the consumer market. The reason could be that the forms of the bicycle designs are not compatible with their revealed values. When designing a bicycle frame, the concepts development process of designers are often limited by the production process, such as the analysis of Ergonomic and the traditional frame form. It is difficult to break through the limitation of the existing bicycle frame forms. The purpose of this study explores the possible variations of frame design of city bicycles. First, the edge boundaries were decided by using the results generated from Ergonomic measurements including weight, pressure, riding posture, and the arrangement of components, such as batteries and motor. After that, the technique of Topology Optimization Design (TOD) including Optimization algorithm, Structural analysis tool, and Topology optimization method was used to help reconstruct the frame forms. Eight different types of representative frame forms were generated based on cluster analysis. After that, these 8 frame forms were mixed together with existing 22 frame forms for another cluster analysis. The result revealed that these 8 frame forms were related to existing frame category and made their own group. Based on the results, the authors demonstrated that it is possible for designers to use computers to facilitate their design work. Furthermore, under the production restriction, the computer still can help stimulate a design’s design concepts.