Custom Bathboard
The client required a bathboard to assist their access to bathing facilities in a care home.
The Challenge
The client required a bathboard to assist their access to bathing facilites in a care home. The client has learning difficulties and requires assistance bathing. Due to their weight, movement to and from the bath can be challenging and dangerous for the client and their carers. Commercial solutions are not available for the size of bath available in the care home. There is a risk of the client falling if the equipment is insufficiently strong to bear their weight. The solution must be suitable for a wet environment and must be light enough for a carer to easlily remove it when not in use.
The solution
I made a bathboard designed to support 30 stone (200kg). This appears to be a standard maximum service load for bathboards. I calculated the bending stress in the bathboard, modeled as a 200kg point load at the centre of the board. I then chose an easily obtainable size of aluminium 3082 tubing, based on a maximum of 2/3 material yield stress. For anyone wishing to reuse this design, please contact the North West Lancashire panel and ask for Sammy, I will be happy to send you the STLs for the 3d printed parts, or to print them for you if you require.
The benefit
The client is now able to support themself when entering and leaving the bath.
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