Our Next Morph - "Morph Out" 'Cause We're Going to Build 5 And Get 'Em Out for Real Testing

This sequence shows the Morph Out geometry taken a step further into 3D. This is a just a proof of concept frame, but it uses the earlier "twin flanking members" to allow the rear morphing elements to overlap the main tube when the bike morphs down. This gives us extra room to put the seat sub-frame and still maintain a low riding position

The Solidworks e-Drawings file lets you see this vehicle in 3D, and also choose the configuration you wish to view (lower left of display). Get the free e-Drawings viewer here, and try it out!

Just Like Your Teacher Told You, Geometry is Important -- A Detailed Look at the Geometry of the Next Morph

This Powerpoint presentation reviews today's online design session with Alan Ball, Rory McCarthy, and Bill Warner. The goal is to nail down the geometry of the morphing mechanism in stick figure, and then proceed with some basic frame design.
 
Now that we've got two morphing vehicles on the road, the benefits of the Morph II design are easy to see. It has excellent steering geometry in low rider and high rider modes. Mainly, we need to fix the issue that we can't adjust the seat angle, and the struts provided on Morph II turned out to be an unworkable solution due to the high forces that travel through those struts while you are sitting, and even higher forces while you are riding.
 
This presentation compares Morph II, the Bobby Hall, and a proposed new design, which essentially keeps the Morph II morphing frame, but allows it to morph through its full travel. Next will the the challenge of designing a seat that allows the proper adjustments.

bobby hall handcycle compared to morph 2 and proposed morph out

I would like to establish the desired dimensions for the next version of the Morph hand-cycle, called "Morph Out". It seems like the dimensions embodied in Morph 2 work better than the dimensions of Morph 3, particularly in regard to ease of turning and "float". Morph 3 is superior in that the low position is lower than m2, and the frame is significantly lighter.
 
As a goal for Morph Out in the low position, it should match the geometry of the Bobby hall hand-cycle. In the high position it should be as high as Morph 2 high position.
 
What follows is a pdf comparison of these different layouts, and proposed layouts for Morph Out. Please comment.
 
Al