Adaptive Stairlift
We were asked to design a device which would raise and lower the seat height for a Stannah stairlift for a lady with muscular dystrophy. We designed the adaptive seat in CAD which enabled us to share updates and design intent with the client.
The Challenge
The challenge was to design a height adjustable seat which fitted onto an existing Stannah stairlift, without interfering or damaging the stairlift itself. The seat needed to be able to raise 600 mm for the client to ‘slide’ off the seat, and lower into the neutral position for her to transfer from her wheelchair into the stairlift.
The solution
We used CAD to design a ‘nested’ seat, supported by a metal tray. The mechanism was hung from the metal section of the arm of the stairlift and a simple FEA analysis was performed to ensure the contraption would not damage the Stannah chair. We planned to integrate two air pumps from Amazon to power the piston cylinders located at the side of the seat.
The benefit
The client needs changed before we commenced the build for this project, and therefore, it was never built. However, we understood that the design fit the brief and utilising CAD was a great way to develop a design that the client was able to add their input to.
- Skills involved:
- Issues Addresses:
- Activities Helped:
- Location:
- Solution:
