United States
£ GBP
The procurement or manufacture of wheel and axle assemblies is a major problem for rural workshops involved in production of non-motorized vehicles. The scarcity of these components restricts the supply of low-cost vehicles to rural communities. This practical manual gives details of a low-cost techology which will enable workshops to set up their own facilities and manufacture a range of wheels from standard steel sections. The technology is based on a hand-operated bending device, which can form steel sections into good quality wheel rims to suit various types of tyres. Wheels can be made to take bicycle, motorcycle, car, and solid rubber or steel tyres for vehicles such as handcarts, cycle trailers and animal-drawn carts. The other essential component is an assembly jig which ensures that wheels are constructed of a consistent quality. Working drawings and detailed stop by step instructions for construction of the bending device and assembly jig are provided. Construction requires basic tools for cutting, drilling and welding steel, and good metal-working skills in measuring and setting up the parts accurately. Detailed instructions are given for the manufacture of a number of standard wheels, (again basic metal working tools and skills are required). The wheel designs include details of a number of hub and bearing assemblies including hardwood bearings. Details are given of a hand-operated boring machine which can produce accurate, good quality bores for hardwood bearings. The manual has been prepared for workshop and technical staff who are familiar with metal-working techniques. The information is presented in technical drawings and sketches with explanatory notes and all stages of construction are fully illustrated by pictorial views and photographs. The designs can be easily adapted to suit materials which are locally available. The technology described here has been introduced and tested in over twenty-five workshops spread over nine countries. It can be readily adopted and used by small workshops to produce good quality, low-cost wheels on a small scale of production.
