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The first step was to analyze the intended use for this machine, the amount of clothing to be washed, access to maintenance, etc. In this case, being in a rather isolated location, we aimed to build it with as few parts as possible so it would require minimal maintenance.
The first thing was to find a washing machine drum that works with reliable technology (not all washing machine drums are suitable, as many are made with planned obsolescence). Once we had the drum, we made a stand to place it at the desired height:
The next step was to take the unused bicycle and set it up with the drum to start imagining how the mechanism could work to transfer the pedal force to the drum’s pulley, and then, we began cutting...
After roughly calculating the pulley ratio we wanted, we started shaping the project.
Some advantages of using a bike-powered machine are: free and unlimited energy, physical fitness, better control over water consumption, no need to be a specialist technician to build or repair them, they are made from recycled materials, etc.
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