It’s usually stated that one mustn’t reinvent the wheel, however that doesn’t imply that you simply can’t change how the usage of stated wheel must be interpreted. After initially taking the moderately zany idea of a monowheel for a literal journey, [Sam Barker] determined to shift gears, did a ‘what if’ and slapped a second monowheel subsequent to the primary one to create his diwheel car. Utilizing a lot thicker metal for the wheels and total rather more sturdy building than for his monowheel, the welding might start.
It must be stated right here that the idea of a diwheel, or dicycle, isn’t solely new, however the monowheel – distinct from a unicycle – is far older, with recognized builds a minimum of way back to the nineteenth century. Complicated, self-balancing platforms like Segways are additionally known as ‘dicycles’, whereas a diwheel appears to refer particularly to what [Sam] constructed right here. That stated, diwheels are naturally secure even with out gyroscopic motion, which is unquestionably a giant benefit.
The inside body for [Sam]’s diwheel is constructed out of metal too, making it each very sturdy and really heavy. Excessive-tech options embody suspension for that easy journey, and SLS 3D-printed nylon rollers between the inside body and the wheels. After some mucking about with a DIY ‘lathe’ to work round some measurement errors, much more welding and a few questionable meeting practices, the whole lot got here collectively in the long run.
That is simply part one, nevertheless, as [Sam] won’t be putting in pedals prefer it’s an old-school monowheel. As a substitute it’ll have electrical drive, which ought to make it a bit much less terrifying than the Ford Ka-based diwheel we featured in 2018, however moderately near the electrical diwheel referred to as EDWARD which we featured again in 2011. We hope to see half two of this construct quickly, by which [Sam] will hopefully take this beast for its first journey.
