Budget, Schedule, & Project Management
Budget Details:
The proposed budget for this project was specified to be less than $300.00. Currently the budget stands at $165.24 due to the presence of salvaged materials in the Hogue technology machine shop and items that were repurposed from other sources. Many items such as fasteners and retaining rings were purchased in bulk and add cents to the budget rather than dollars. Some of the more expensive items with mitigated or decreased costs for this project were; the aluminum stock, primarily the ¼” plate and the associated shipping fees, the electric motor, the charge controller, 3D Printer Filament, A Volt amp watt meter and a pair of locking cam handles with threaded studs.
Most of the necessary parts were already on hand or ordered by the 2nd week of January 2018 as per the schedule. The aluminum tubing that was required for the frame of the generator did not arrive until the 3rd week of January and progress could not be made on those parts until its arrival. The charge controller did not arrive until the final week of January, but its absence was not an inconvenience at that stage of manufacture. The items on the budget with mitigated or lowered cost include the 1” aluminum tubing and the 1” aluminum plate. These aluminum items accounted for $50.03 on the budget and that reduced the total amount expended on aluminum to $42.90, since these items were already stocked in the Hogue Machine shop.
The DC electric motor was salvaged from a previous prototype generator which mitigated $44.99 from the initial budget. There was a Volt amp watt meter previously stocked for just such a project in the Hogue thermodynamics lab, and the purchased charge controller also contains a readout for volts and amps. The two locking cam handles were salvaged from old bicycle spindles that were donated by the Recycle Bicycle shop in Ellensburg Washington. Their length was shortened and their ends rethreaded to accept the accompanying nut. This trimmed the budget by $27.54. A 12” piece of 3/16x1” HR steel flat bar was donated by Western Metal Products in Ellensburg Washington, saving another $2.77. Other items that were salvaged include: 1 12” length of 1040CR ¼” Steel rod, 5” of hss threaded rod and a 5” length of 1.5”x1.5” aluminum angle. Some Plastidip Spray was purchased from the Ace Hardware in Ellensburg WA, for a total of $8.97. The 3D printed large sprocket was printed at Black Hall on the Central Washington University Campus out of a PLA filament for a fee of $23.49. A breakdown of all of the expenses can be found below.
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End of project budget.
Schedule:
Although the exercise bike generator was completed within the allotted time many of the tasks that were scheduled did not occur at their specified times due to manufacturing difficulties and lag in ordering and shipping times. The total estimated time for part manufacture and device assembly was estimated to be 58.75 hours. The total actual time for part manufacture and device assembly was recorded as 31.85 hours, excluding a length 106 hour 3D print for the large sprocket.
The 3D printed sprocket had been scheduled for manufacture early in the quarter but ran into issues with printing. The first printer it was attempted on was not equal to the task and failed in two attempts to print the large sprocket. Different 3D printing options were explored until finally it was discovered that part of all CWU Student technology fees pay for a top notch 3D printing service open to all students in Black Hall. After finding reliable 3D printing the large sprocket was printed during the 6th week of the quarter over a period of 106 hours.
The aluminum tubing required for many of the parts did not become available until the fourth week of the quarter which significantly delayed the production of those parts. The parts that were delayed were the bent tubes for the frame, the retaining arms, and the handle.
Other items that were pushed back were foot plates and the manufacture of the telescoping legs because material was still on order and being sought out for those parts.
Although there were delays in the manufacturing of some parts, that cleared up time to manufacture other parts. The programing and machining of the leg mounting plates were machined a week ahead of schedule
During the construction phase of the project time to practice welding was taken a week before scheduled, and the conclusion was made well ahead of schedule that professional help would be required for the welding of the aluminum components. The assembly of the telescoping legs and the Plastidip coating of the large sprocket were executed 3 and 1 week ahead of schedule respectively.
Professional help was not available for welding until a week after the welding had been scheduled due to the unavailability of competent welding assistance. This delay offset the final device assembly by two weeks. Some of the aesthetic specifications such as the Plastidip Coating for the handle and adjustable feet, as well as the sand blasting of the aluminum parts were postponed until after testing and any necessary modifications are made.
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The full schedule is depicted in the chart below. Items occurring ahead of schedule are depicted in bright green, whereas items behind schedule are marked in red. Items on schedule are marked in light green and orange.
