A University of Wisconsin-Platteville engineering senior design team rolled out a new solution to help a startup company stabilize their bicycles. Company sponsor Boogie Bikes, based out of Sheboygan County, asked group members Mackenzie Darkow, Max Kisting, Ryan Leskela and Sierra Schellpfeffer to develop an electric bike more stable than a standard two-wheel bicycle. According to Schellpfeffer, Boogie Bikes has been receiving requests from senior citizens for a more balanced unit.
“The company wanted a trike design and bought a couple of trikes online. They are unstable, especially for the consumers who are having trouble keeping mobility,” explained Schellpfeffer, a mechanical engineering major, who graduated in December, from Mayville, Wisconsin. “We wanted to create a bike that attached to the current frame so when consumers buy Boogie Bikes, they now have an attachment. It’s a quad [bike] right now, it’s training wheels with suspensions. It’s the best way for consumers to feel confident. We made it compact so people can ride it anywhere. It’s small enough to put into a stall.”
The students presented their project, “Electric Bike Stability” to Boogie Bikes, faculty, staff and community members at the Senior Design Open House on Dec. 19 at the Markee Pioneer Student Center. Throughout the fall semester, Schellpfeffer said they were able to meet with Boogie Bikes once in-person and presented their CAD drawings. The remainder of their project conversations were virtual.
“The company gave us free range for everything. It was all up to us as designers. We wanted to make a prototype and we did. It wasn’t expected. We wanted to go above and beyond,” said Schellpfeffer. “Not only were we able to make a design that is not on the market, we were able to think outside the box – our small project will help hundreds of thousands of people because it won’t only affect Boogie Bikes, it will affect the entire E-bike market.”
As the students developed their design, Schellpfeffer said she’s most proud of how well her team worked together. Throughout the process, she acknowledged how they realized it takes several small steps and altercations to produce the final product.
“There wasn’t any conflict within our team even though we had different ideas on how to fix the problem,” said Schellpfeffer. “We all came together. It was easy once we explained the idea of what Boogie Bikes was looking for and having the constraint of shipping ability and cost. We were all making the prototype, we were all a part of the design process. We were working as a team.”
This hands-on opportunity is one of the reasons Schelpfeffer said she was hired as an undercarriage validation engineer with Caterpillar Inc. in Peoria, Illinois.
“UW-Platteville has a unique situation where not only does senior design model something up, but we also go ahead and manufacture it. The Boogie Bike prototype was completely inhouse. We were able to do everything here. The fact that students can make their product 100% is a huge bonus. It’s not only an education of learning how to design but the application,” said Schelpfeffer. “I can take my education and see it going even further with Caterpillar. I know all my concepts I have learned at UW-Platteville will be applied directly to my job.”