Modification of Gym Equipment to Generate Electricity

Abstract

As energy across the world continues to rise, there is a strong need to develop new methods for energy conservation and power generation, particularly approaches that have less environmental impacts. Although human power is not ideal in terms of life cycle costs, but Smart Energy Harvesting using physical exercising machines which are feasible enough to harvest power seems to promise a new source of renewable energy. Biomechanical energy constitutes a clean, portable energy alternative to the fossil fuels currently being used. There is also the untapped potential for harnessing human power at most fitness facilities. Nowadays spin bike was commonly used in the gym as well as at home for fitness purpose.  Human has needed and used energy at an increasing rate for his sustenance and wellbeing. Due to this lot of energy resources have been exhausted and wasted. Proposal for the utilisation of waste energy of power generation by gym equipment is very much relevant and important for highly populated countries, where the people are also crazy about gym.In this project, we are generating electrical power as a non-conventional method by simply pull up and pull down. The non-conventional energy system is very essential at this time for every country.  In this project we will harness the mechanical energy of the machine and convert it to electrical energy using a generator-based system and use it to power light bulb, cell phones and other small electrical appliances. This Lat pulldown machine consists of machine frame, modified slider crank mechanism, flywheel, gears and generator. The kinetic energy from the machine frame is supplied to the flywheel and then to the generator by means of gears. The part drawing of the various parts required for design of Lat pulldown machine are drawn by using Solidworks. This proposed system will help consuming our physical energy in some useful way. Further we conclude that the torque generated by the modified mechanism is sufficient to produce revolutions which generate approximately 5V of electricity, enough to charge a cell phone.