DEVELOPMENT OF AN EXERCISE EQUIPMENT BASED UPON COMPLIANT CONSTANT FORCE MECHANISM TECHNOLOGY

ABSTRACT

The present health challenges in our community such as diabetes and high blood pressure could be prevented by regular exercise. Lack of regular exercise and unavailability of exercise equipments lead to ill health problem. There is a need to design exercise equipment that reduces fatigue in our body. The development of exercise equipment with lesser weight and low assembly cost and time will help in reducing the health challenges. The equipment is designed with application of Compliant Constant Force Mechanism (CCFM) technology and fabricated using local available material. CCFM technology helps in reducing assembly time and cost.  The design principle involves elasticity of the flexible element “spring steel” which produces a constant force with set of defined principle such as kinematic, lagrangian and strain-energy analysis. The study requires design of muscle load ranges between 5 to 15kg which are classified as pennate and non-pennate muscle. It was observed that pennate muscle produces high constant force. However, the muscle group for both pennate and non-pennate within the range of 1-5kg are appropriate load for the designed equipment because of better equipment efficiency when applying the load. The velocity ratio between muscle load and CCFM element was 1.3:1.  The maximum compliant constant force was 9045 N. The minimum possible compliant force was 13.24N with minimum stored potential energy of 2.46J. The equipment’s efficiency was determined to be 61%. The equipment is required to be used for muscle below 6kg within 10 to 18 cm of muscle length. The use of the equipment will improve health-condition of a normal body.

CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

The process for designing equipment is by engineering planning approach for meeting a specific purpose in a given society. The initial stage of designing engineering function is through planning and also through identification of a need. Synthesis (mechanism), analysis of forces, material selection, and design of elements, modification, detailed drawing and production of the designed elements is steps for fabricating equipment based on defined function (Khurmi and Gupta, 2003).

There is necessity in different homes in Nigeria to have exercises/strengthening or training equipment for having a good health. Hence, there is important need for developing such strengthening training equipment and this present study support development. According to Brown (1996), daily strength training or exercising of about an hour is necessary to improve overall health and quality of life and also to elongate human life span. Exercising activities may include aerobic activity like biking, walking etc. To train using this type of equipment is far from improving strength but also to gain good health. Therefore, daily training of exercise will minimise ailment such blood pressure and some other diseases. Exercising also causes fat reduction through using strengthening equipment. The reduction of calories is which also called burning of calories will be experienced. This leads to increase in temperature and rate of metabolism in our body. The exercising is also help to strengthen bone and production of glucose. There should be time for exercise in different in Nigeria because most people do not consider training or exercise as very important. Therefore, physical body fitness are required for staying strong and healthy (Wescott, 1996).

In the present study the need for exercising equipment arise to combat the effect of health hazards caused by lack of exercising in our community. However, the design mechanism adopted in the study for fabricating the exercise equipment iscompliant constant force mechanism (CCFM). The compliant constant force mechanism (CCFM)is based on modified elements configuration technologydevelopment and Design for No Assembly(DNA).The advantage of compliant mechanisms(CM) is the reduction in the total number ofparts required to accomplish a certain task. CMhelps in reducing manufacturing and assembly time, cost and it may be used to fabricate the designed product as one piece. This kind of design has been given a new name recently, which is “Design for No Assembly” (DNA). DNA is a design principle in which different machine component are used to perform motion function based on CM (Ugwuoke, 2011, Howell, 2001, Kotar and Sridhar, 2005).

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Quitea number of individuals die every month due to lack of exercise in our society. It is as a result of bad attitude and negligence towards strength training. Government’s effort to achieve an excellent reward in health sector through ministry of health in Nigeria during the past years is weakening. Different localities faces different environmental hazards in Nigeria and it is because variance in economic and social growth within each localities. The environmental health hazards are due lack of low financial strength in each home, poor shelter conditions, bad sanitation services habit and lack of good water. As a result there will be increases of different kind of illness which causes untimely death in our society. Increase in number of industry and agricultural sectors have sharply increased the exposure of industrial workersand large segments of the population to these risks of health hazards in our society. The society faces health hazardsthat are being associated with lack of good environmental sanitation services. This has endangers the society and poses

threat such  as  malaria  and typhoid and  this resulted from poor personal hygiene.  There is malnutrition due to excessive intake of unhealthy foods, leading to physical harm. Poor sanitation services especially in Nigeria homes have affected aged people, infants and lactating/pregnant mothers.   There will be loss of lower muscle strength in the aged due to lack of exercising. Therefore, strength training is an important contributing factor in physical health of elderly people (Benjamin, 2005). Solving health related hazards in society due to lack of exercising requires affordable exercise facilities. However, there are none sophisticated strengthening equipment provided by government of Nigeria for the poor due to economy growth and therefore solving issues of health by individual gives room for personal hygiene development. Designand development of exercise equipmentwhich could be used at homewould relatively solve health relating hazards in the society.

1.3 Significance of the Study

Therefore there is the need for developing exercise equipmentthat reduces equipmentdesign factor such as wearing,backlash and total mass in kilogramme, production time and cost with better maintenance programme. Improving on design factor will help in producing exercise equipment with aesthetic design that meet people desire. Therefore production cost would be reduced because of reduction in total weight of the produced equipment. With the use of this type of exercise equipment for regular strength training, vulnerable disease would be prevented from erupting in our society. The vulnerable disease like diabetes, high blood pressure, strokes etc could be prevented by regular exercise. Diabetes contributes excess weight through production of cells that more resistive to body insulin. The strength training or exercising helps in prevent any kind of symptoms that will lead body breakdown or sickness. Lack of strength training may lead to high blood pressure or hypertension. The hypertension resulted to stroke or various related diseases

because blood pressure increases with age in human or sometimes body weight gained. Risk of lining in uterus or cancer increases infertility in woman, joint problems; back pains are well known in  Nigerian  adults.  Strokes  are common  in  Nigerian  aged  people.  Most  strokes  are caused byreduction of arteries passage and this lead to heart diseases. Day to day exercise reduces the effect of the vulnerable disease to minimal. Regular exercise would motivate and inspire the society as an effective tool  for engaging and empowering individuals and  communities for improving and funding health facilities. Sporting is a powerful means of mobilising more resources in the global fight against disease, but this as a potential just beginning to be realised. To prevent obesity, heart disease, blood pressure, cancer, depression, panics attack etc; exercising equipmentis one of the sporting tools required. Thus, it is important to increase initiative for developinglocal made exercise equipments. The equipment is designed with CCFM technology and it is cheaper to fabricate. The equipment would help to reducehealth hazards in our rural and urban area. The study tends to design and fabricate an exercise equipment to curtail health hazards in our locality.

1.4 Aim and Objectives of the Study

The aim of the study is to develop exerciseequipment that makes use of CCFM technology.  The objective of the study is as follows:

i.      designing of the exercise equipment

ii.      fabrication of the equipment

iii.     testing of the equipment

1.5 Scope of the Study

The scope of the study is to design, fabricate and test exercise equipment which based upon compliant constant force mechanism (CCFM) technology. The synthesis involves analysis of forces. The principle is capable of generating designs from well defined sets of constraints and boundary condition using strain energy analysis. The elasticity of the flexible segment is determined energy theory.

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