A project where I needed to design a scooter, and source most parts from suppliers. The only parts that were custom were the steering bar, neck, rear fender, and deck.

The result

The design of the scooter is targeted towards commuting. With wide handlebars and a triangular deck, the user can stand in a neutral upright position while riding the scooter. This is a more comfortable ride compared to riding with one leg behind, and arms close together.

Sourcing

The primary way that I sourced the parts for the scooter was via Alibaba. I used this website, noted the parts, and as much information as was made available. Then noted it down in a table.

Part	Supplier	Notes
Grips	Shenzhen New Image Technology Co., Ltd.	Silicone grips with plugs
Headset	Dongguan Huoli Precision Metal Technology Co., Ltd.	1 1/8″ threadless headset
Fork	Shenzhen Lecheng Network Technology Co., Ltd	Shock absorbing steel fork
Clamp	Dongguan Huoli Precision Metal Technology Co., Ltd.	Aircraft Grade Aluminium, 7075, CNC carved
Wheels	Suzhou Suntek Cycle Co., Ltd.	PU 200mm scooter wheels with bearings
Grip Tape	Suzhou Anti Slip Tape Electronic Technology Co., Ltd.	Customizable prints upon request
Steering Bar	Custom Order	Bent Steel Tubing and Welding
Neck	Custom Order	Bent Steel Tubing and Welding
Rear Fender	Custom Order	Stamped sheet metal
Deck	Custom Order	Sheet metal on Steel Tubing attached via Welded Brackets

Final Reaction

This was a fairly early project in my Industrial Design education. While I found it to be informative, I do think it is a shame that I did not use my learned process of finding off-the-shelf parts in my other projects. The scooter itself was fairly well made, learning how to render the scooter in Solidworks was a learning experience. Some key takeaways from this project were:

• Use off-the-shelf parts more frequently
• Consider how you will present your product. Is Solidworks renderer the ideal program?

An informative project on learning about sourcing parts. It is an important skill to develop further.