Interview about CR1 Wheelchair, winner of the A' Product Engineering and Technical Design Award 2024
The CR1 is a carbon fiber wheelchair that is fully customizable to the user's individual specifications and preferences. The unique, dual-angle front end was designed to follow the lines of the user's body, allowing them to get closer to objects for improved accessibility and maneuverability in tight spaces. The aerodynamic tube profile and its orientation were designed to improve strength, user comfort in areas contacting the body and aesthetically to promote a sense of speed. The dual-purpose sideguards provide protection to the user while acting as a structural member for support.
View detailed images, specifications, and award details on A' Design Award & Competition website.
View Design DetailsThis was an observational design improvement I noticed through using my wheelchairs every day for over 30 years. There are many times during the day when you want to get close to something and the frame on your chair is the limiting factor. The dual-angle front end on the CR1 can help the user get a little closer in many of those situations.
Everyone wants to look cool and the CR1 tries to take away that negative stigma and image of being in a wheelchair. F1 race cars and fighter jets are cool looking, purposeful machines driven by function. This inspired the CR1's aerodynamic form and tube shape, which could realistically only be achieved through using carbon fiber along with its strength to weight benefits. The aero inspired elliptical tube shape also offers a smoother and flatter surface area in front where a user's legs contact the chair frame.
The driver for the development of a new bearing was looking at what was currently being offered, industry-wide, and knowing that a better solution existed. Having a bearing created for the intended usage allowed it to be smaller in size and weight. This has a trickledown effect of allowing the parts associated with the bearing to be smaller and lighter which in turn allows the design to be smaller and improve the chair's maneuverability.
A great question but a hard one to predict. A lot of adaptive mobility design is driven by cost, which was something the CR1 wasn't as constrained by since it is our flagship product. I hope that over time, some of the design and feature benefits pioneered by the CR1 are adapted and spread throughout our product lineup.
Our company was founded on and is known for being the leader in custom fabricating each wheelchair based upon the individual user's specifications and body dimensions. The CR1 needed to have this ability to be customizable, which presented a challenge to do so in carbon fiber since that material requires special tooling for fabrication. Our solution was to section the sideframe into three different sections which allowed for differently sized and angled parts to be used which allows the chair to be custom fitted around each user's individual specifications.
All materials used on the CR1 were chosen based upon the need and the design of the parts. The frame was made out of carbon fiber for its light weight, strength and the ability to molded into the unique shapes required. The other part materials were determined by their application, titanium was selected for parts where high strength or galvanic corrosion was a factor. In other locations, carbon reinforced SMC was used where high wear resistance was needed but the part shape was too complex to be made in titanium.
There were several design iterations the chair progressed from through different prototypes. Some of the major design challenges were attachment of the caster forks to the frame, allowing for the finetuning and adjustments the chair provides for the user to be able to dial in the performance and comfort. The largest design challenge was segmenting the frame and figuring out where doing so provided the optimum location for strength and customization. This project started before the world shut down for Covid, so keeping the project alive and refocused on internally presented its own unique challenges.
The foam core technology for the fabrication process was developed and patented by our carbon fiber frame supplier. The core is critical in minimizing the noise that gets transmitted through the frame. Carbon fiber is already good at absorbing and minimizing vibrations, the foam core adds an additional layer of vibration absorption. This improves the user's experience and the quality perception of the product.
The person's mobility device should fit them so well that every movement translates into a reactive and desired movement of the device, an extension of themselves. Think of it as a wheeled prosthetic. In terms of personal dependence and importance, there isn't a single device a disabled individual will depend upon greater than their personal mobility device.
I hope the way in which it enables and improves the users lives. Partiality aside, the CR1 is the quickest responding, best rolling and instantly reactive wheelchair I've ever used. I hope enough people get to experience it for themselves to see how enabling a device it can be.
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